Alcohol Denatured is a great bacteria killer. Manufacturers often put it inside products to increase their shelf life.
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Magnesium Carboxymethyl Beta-Glucan
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Water
Roles: Solvent
Water is a great solvent. It’s neutral and doesn’t provide any strong positive or negative effects. It just helps components to mix better and to transport active components.
Glycerin is one of the most outstanding and helpful skincare components. It's used in many skincare products because it works and provides notable results. It's one of the best moisturizers. Molecules of Glycerin can absorb water and deliver it into deep layers of the skin making it hydrated.
Butylene Glycol is a very popular synthetic alcohol. It helps the product to absorb deeper and faster. It is also a solvent for other ingredients. As for the skin benefits, it helps to attract water and helps to make the skin softer.
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Pentylene Glycol
Roles: Skin conditioning, Solvent
Moisturizing
Hair conditioning
Pentylene Glycol is a great replacement for Propylene Glycol. It has very similar characteristics but it’s derived from plants (usually from corn). Natural cosmetics lovers will find this component very useful. It enhances the moisturizing effect of cosmetic products, improves the efficiency of preservatives and it’s an effective emulsifier. It’s approved by ECOCERT and COSMOS so it’s considered to be 100% safe and can be used in vegan products.
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Cupressus Sempervirens Leaf/Nut/Stem Oil (Cyprs)
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Fragrance
Roles: Deodorant, Fragrance, Masking
Fragrances
Fragrance is a mix of chemical ingredients (usually 20-30 chemicals but up to 200 sometimes) that help the product to smell better. It can hide many bad things. Synthetic fragrances may contain many different chemicals, but manufacturers don’t want to reveal each of them for some reason and hide them behind the word "Fragrance".
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Melaleuca Leucadendron (Cajuput) Oil
Roles: Masking
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Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Flower Extract
Roles: Skin conditioning, Deodorant
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Salvia Officinalis (Sage) Leaf
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Serenoa Serrulata Fruit Extract
Roles: Skin conditioning
Soothing
Anti-aging
Lightening
Elasticity improvement
Antiseptic
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Malus Domestica Fruit Cell Culture Extract
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Limonene
Roles: Fragrance
Antiseptic
Allergens
Limonene provides a nice and fresh citrus scent. It can be found in many plants. It's used in cosmetics because of its low price and pleasant smell.
Linalool gives the product a nice and fresh lavender scent. It can be found in many essential oils. It oxidizes during air exposure and becomes allergenic. It can lead to irritation causing problems for people with sensitive skin. The threat is even higher if the product was opened several months ago. In such products, more Linalool is oxidized.
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Isoeugenol
Roles: Flavoring, Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
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Geraniol
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Geraniol is a fragrance ingredient that gives product a nice rose scent. That’s why it’s used by many manufacturers. In addition to its pleasant scent, it also provides an antifungal effect increasing the shelf life of a product. There are several ways of obtaining this ingredient but all of them are chemical.
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Eugenol
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
Eugenol is a fragrance and one of the ingredients you should use carefully. It is in the list of 26 European Union fragrances that have to be labeled separately because of allergen potential. Laboratory studies show that the component is cytotoxic even at low concentrations. But no studies were performed on humans. In general, it's not the best skincare component.
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Farnesol
Roles: Deodorant, Fragrance, Masking, Solvent
Acne fighting
Antifungal
Antiseptic
Deodorant
Anti dandruff
Allergens
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Benzyl Benzoate
Roles: Antimicrobial, Fragrance, Masking, Solvent
Allergens
Benzyl Benzoate is a potentially harmful fragrance ingredient. It's one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labeled separately because of allergen potential. It's a good idea to avoid this component if you have sensitive skin.
Xanthan Gum is used as a thickener or rheology modifier and emulsion stabilizer. It doesn’t provide any notable skin-related effects and is used mostly for formulation purposes. It makes the product’s texture smooth and even. It’s a naturally-derived thickener. Notable fact: it can also be found in the food you eat every day, so it is 100% safe.
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Glycoproteins
Roles: Skin conditioning, Hair conditioning
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Methylsilanol Mannuronate
Roles: Skin conditioning, Antistatic
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Acetyl Tetrapeptide-2
Roles: Skin conditioning
Softening
Anti-aging
Regeneration
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Sodium Dextran Sulfate
Roles: Gel forming, Viscosity controlling
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Potassium Sorbate
Roles: Fragrance, Preservative
Antifungal
Antiseptic
Potassium Sorbate is a preservative that increases the shelf life of the product. It’s a great alternative to parabens. That's why manufacturers like to use this component. It is safe in concentration of up to 10% but it is used in cosmetics in amounts of 1% or even lower.
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Sodium Benzoate
Roles: Fragrance, Masking, Preservative
Antifungal
Antiseptic
Sodium Benzoate doesn’t have any great skincare effects and is used for formulation purposes. It’s a corrosion inhibitor, fragrance ingredient, and preservative. It is not a broad-spectrum preservative and it’s used with other preservatives for good efficiency. It’s safe, but people with eczema or a history of skin allergies should use this component with attention.
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Sorbic Acid
Roles: Fragrance, Preservative
Antifungal
Sorbic Acid is a very effective synthetic preservative that is used even in food. It’s considered to be safe for use in cosmetic products. It’s great for increasing the shelf life of a product.
