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.
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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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Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
Roles: Skin conditioning, Fragrance
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride is an emollient that also hydrates the skin without leaving a fatty film. When applied, the component feels smooth and light. In haircare products, it’s also used for hydrating purposes. It makes hair silky, lowers tangling, and makes hair smooth.
It’s safe for most people, except for people with allergic reactions to coconut or palm oil because these oils are usually used for producing the component.
Cetyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol. It’s responsible for making your skin soft and improving product thickness. It makes the product easier to apply and feel richer. Though it contains the word “Alcohol” in its title, the component doesn’t belong to harmful alcohols. That’s why a product with this component can still be marked as Alcohol-free. Usually, manufacturers receive this component from coconut or palm oil.
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil is a great vegetable oil to counter dryness. It reduces inflammation and it’s a very nice ingredient for people with redness, eczema, and rosacea. It’s accepted very well by humans skin because its chemical structure is very similar to sebum. That’s why it will hardly provoke any allergy. It’s a very good helper for people with dry skin.
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Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel OilAntioxidant
Roles: Skin conditioning, Emollient
Moisturizing
Softening
Soothing
Elasticity improvement
Rejuvenation
Tones up skin
Regeneration
This oil consists of Olein and Linoleic acids mostly. It also contains a lot of Tocopherol. That's why it's a great component to counter ageing. It soaks into the skin pretty fast without leaving an oily film. It makes the skin feel silky and helps to recover hydro-lipid layer, increases its firmness and elasticity.
Squalane is a more stable equivalent of Squalene. It is a very important component of our skin. It’s a major part of natural sebum that forms a protection barrier on the skin's surface. If the barrier isn’t strong enough, your skin will become more sensitive. Squalanehelps to keep skin hydrated, protects it from the negative impact of the environment, lowers irritation, stimulates regeneration, and removes dryness. It is accepted by our skin very well and will not cause allergic reactions.
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Oil is an ingredient known from ancient times. It’s the oil people receive from Sunflower Seeds and use for different purposes, including cooking. It contains a lot of Lenoic acid which moisturizes the skin, makes it softer, and reduces inflammation. The oil also works as an occlusive agent that forms a protective film and helps to keep skin hydrated.
As for haircare, it’s the second most popular basic oil used in haircare products. It helps to lower hair fragility and make hair softer.
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Sericin
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Propanediol
Roles: Solvent, Viscosity controlling
Moisturizing
Hair conditioning
Propanediol is a good solvent, emollient and humectant. It helps to moisturize the skin and prevent moisture loss. In haircare products, it conditions hair and improves absorption of the product.
Arginine is an essential amino acid. It works as an antioxidant when used in skincare products. It also helps the skin to regenerate and stay hydrated. In hair care, it is used to decrease damage from oxidative coloring or bleaching.
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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.
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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Sodium Levulinate
Roles: Skin conditioning
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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!
Lactic Acid is the most popular and the least aggressive acid among all the AHAs. Unlike Salicylic and Glycolic acids which can irritate your skin, Lactic Acid will hardly cause any problems. The combination of its soft action and effectiveness makes it a real brilliant. It exfoliates dead cells, makes the skin tone even, clears pores, kills bacteria, moisturizes the skin and helps to keep water, helps the cells to produce Hyaluronic Acid. It also works as a strong antioxidant and anti-aging component.
It's a great acid for getting familiar with the world of AHAs. If you want to start using "fruit acids" but struggling for some reason, try to use Lactic Acid first. If your skin accepts it well, you can try stronger acids.
Sodium Lactate is very effective for recovering the natural lipid layer of the skin. It’s safe and doesn’t provoke negative reactions. It provides a strong moisturizing effect. It’s a nice soothing ingredient.
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.
Roles: Skin conditioning, Binding, Emulsion stabilizer, Film former, Hair conditioning
Maltodextrin is an organic sugar derived from corn, rice, or potato. It is a multipurpose ingredient. It is a skin softener, absorbent, and film-forming agent. But mostly it’s used because of its viscosity-controlling effect. It makes the product feel even. It is ruled safe by CIR for use in cosmetics.
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Citric AcidAntioxidantAHA
Roles: Buffering, Chelating, Fragrance, Masking
Cleansing
Exfoliating
Soothing
Lightening
Lifting
Hair growth stimulating
Citric Acid is one of the AHAs and it is a super useful component! It’s a great antioxidant. It acts as a soft peeling that removes dead cells and kills bacteria. It becomes even more effective if used with other cosmetic acids. Combined formulations are more active, but can irritate sensitive skin if used too often. The component can also whiten the skin and remove dark areas.
It can be an irritator due to its naturally lower pH level of 2.2. But manufacturers also use it as a pH adjuster so in most cases you will not have any issues.
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Sodium Chloride
Roles: Flavoring, Viscosity controlling
Antiseptic
Sodium Chloride is a very famous ingredeint also known as Salt. Yes, it’s the same salt you can find on your table. In cosmetics, it is used as a preservative helping the product to live longer. It is also used as a peeling agent in different scrubs. Human contact with this element since ancient times and that's why it is 100% safe.
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Sodium Citrate
Roles: Buffering, Chelating, Masking
Sodium Citrate is a water-soluble soft organic surfactant with strong stabilizing and conditioning effects. It helps to produce foam and lowers the negative impact of hard water on your skin and hair. It also helps to regulate the pH level of the product. It’s a natural ingredient and it’s safe for most people. It’s used in food (additive number E331).
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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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Allantoin
Roles: Skin conditioning
Moisturizing
Pore Shrinking
Softening
Soothing
Regeneration
Good for dry skin
Good for oily skin
Allantoin usually doesn’t catch too much attention, but it is an essential ingredient for sensitive, dry, and problem skin. It is a good moisturizer that makes skin hydrated. But manufacturers love it because of its strong soothing effect. It also exfoliates dead cells, stimulates recovery of your skin, and helps to protect the skin from the sun, frost, and similar negative impacts.
The component is researched very well and its soothing activity is confirmed by scientists. Used in concentration between 0.5-2%.
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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".