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.
Sorbitol is usually used for making different gels. It helps the product to keep water and it helps to deliver active components deeper into the skin. It is a moisturizing and soothing component. It is usually accepted well by all skin types.
Propylene Glycol is a useful componet with many positive effects. It’s a very good moisturizer. It helps to deliver ingredients into deeper layers of the skin. It creates a protective layer on the skin preventing water loss. The component is researched very well and doesn’t have notable side effects. It’s used even for making food.
6
Tetrapotassium Pyrophosphate
Roles: Buffering, Chelating, Corrosion inhibitor
Cleansing
7
Sodium C14-16 Olefin Sulfonate
Roles: Cleansing, Foaming, Surfactant
Cleansing
Sulfates
8
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".
9
Cellulose Gum
Roles: Binding, Emulsion stabilizer, Film former, Fragrance, Masking, Viscosity controlling
10
Disodium Pyrophosphate
Roles: Buffering, Chelating, Corrosion inhibitor
11
Sodium Fluoride
Antiseptic
12
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
Roles: Cleansing, Hair conditioning, Surfactant
Cleansing
Malassezia unsafe
13
Sodium Saccharin
Roles: Flavoring, Fragrance, Masking
14
Titanium Dioxide
Roles: Colorant
UV Protection
Titanium Dioxide is a very effective sunscreen. It belongs to physical sunscreens, meaning it reflects the UV rays like a mirror. The component is a mineral with white color. That’s why it’s also used in different powders as a pigment or brightener.
The component can be both safe and unsafe. It’s reported to be possibly carcinogenic to humans when inhaled. That’s why we don’t recommend using products where TiO2 is used in the form of powder and can be inhaled.
Sometimes it can be a nanoparticle. We recommend avoiding this form because it’s not researched well enough. A safer option is to use a non-nano form.
