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.
Dipropylene Glycol is a solvent, emulsifier, viscosity decreasing, and masking agent. It helps to extract useful chemicals from plants and leaves, making natural components in a product more effective. It also helps to hydrate the skin. Considered safe for health and doesn't irritate the skin in common concentration.
Dimethicone is the most popular silicone. It makes the skin softer and forms a film adding smooth and silky feeling. This film not only improves how the skin feels but also works as a protective barrier. It also improves the visual appearance of your skin by filling small wrinkles. That's why some people think dimethicone removes wrinkles. Actually, it does not. It's just a visual effect.
One of the most important characteristics of this component is that it helps to spread other ingredients evenly on the surface to provide good coverage. It's very important because you want all your skin cells to receive an equal proportion of the components.
Dimethicone is considered as safe, but remember that it is rather difficult to wash off! This may lead to clogged pores and acne if you use it too often and don't wash off quite well.
Behenyl Alcohol is an emulsifier. It makes the product feel softer and more pleasant to touch. It also provides an anti-inflammation effect. Made of natural ingredients and can be seen in organic products a lot.
Phenoxyethanol is one of the most popular preservatives. It kills bacteria and makes the product live longer. Manufacturers like this ingredient because it can dissolve in any liquid, even in oils.
Another purpose of this component is the fixation of aromas in perfumery. Phenoxyethanol is also used as a strong antiseptic and a good antibacterial agent. It is widely used in dermatological cosmetics alongside natural antiseptics such as chamomile, sage, and calendula.
19
Tocopheryl AcetateVitaminsAntioxidant
Roles: Skin conditioning
Softening
Nutrifying
Tocopheryl Acetate is a form of Vitamine E. It’s used as an alternative to Tocopherol because it is more stable in the formulation. It has all the positive effects of Tocopherol plus better stability. It’s a brilliant component. It conditions and nourishes the skin helping it to resist aging. It also helps to protect the skin from the sun. High concentrations of Tocopheryl Acetate can lead to irritation and allergic reactions.
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.
22
Glyceryl Stearate SE
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
Moisturizing
Softening
Comedogenic rating [ 3 ]
Bad for oily skin
Glyceryl Stearate SE is a nice moisturizing ingredient. It hydrates the upper layers of the skin and fills small wrinkles. In haircare products, it's used for making hair softer.
23
Sorbitan Tristearate
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
Cleansing
24
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".
25
Carbomer
Roles: Emulsion stabilizer, Gel forming, Viscosity controlling
Moisturizing
Carbomer is used for formulation purposes. It helps to control the viscosity and flow of a product. It’s considered safe but only if it’s well purified. Poorly purified carbomers may contain benzol which may lead to irritation.
26
Succinoglycan
Roles: Skin conditioning
27
Polyquaternium-51
Roles: Skin conditioning, Film former, Humectant
28
Talc
Roles: Abrasive, Anticaking, Bulking
UV Protection
Softening
Comedogenic rating [ 1 ]
29
Potassium Hydroxide
Roles: Buffering
30
Trisodium EDTA
Roles: Chelating
31
Aluminum Hydroxide
Roles: Colorant
Soothing
32
Sodium Metaphosphate
Roles: Buffering, Chelating
Cleansing
33
Silica
Silica is used for improving texture of the product. It helps the product to spread out evenly. Very often it’s used in different exfoliants as an abrasive. It's safe and non-toxic.
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.
36
Linalool
Roles: Deodorant, Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
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.
37
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.
38
Iron Oxides
Roles: Colorant
Moisturizing
Iron Oxides are colorants. They give different colors to the product: yellow, red, or black. Different scientific researches show that they are much safer than other organic colorants. That's because they are much more stable and they don’t provoke allergic reactions. Though they can be received from minerals organically, manufacturers don’t use natural Iron Oxides. They chemically synthesize them in a laboratory to get a pure component without extra chemicals.
39
Lilial
Roles: Fragrance, Masking
Allergens
40
Fagus Sylvatica Bud Extract
41
TocopherolAntioxidant
Roles: Skin conditioning, Fragrance
UV Protection
Anti-aging
Regeneration
Comedogenic rating [ 3 ]
Good for dry skin
Tocopherol is one of the most popular active ingredients in cosmetics. It’s a brilliant component. It's a form of Vitamin E and it does help the skin and hair a lot. It conditions the skin, strengthens its barrier, protects it against harm, and makes the tone even. It also helps your skin and hair to resist the sun. It’s safe but can irritate sensitive skin sometimes. Pay attention to concentration!
