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.
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.
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.
Sodium PCA is a nice moisturizer and skin softener. It contains amino acids and Sodium Hyaluronate. It’s part of the Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF) that is responsible for keeping the outer layer of the skin hydrated. If you don’t have enough NMF you can face dryness even if you don’t have other skin problems.
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Phenoxyethanol
Roles: Fragrance, Preservative
Antiseptic
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.
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.
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.
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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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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Disodium EDTA
Roles: Chelating, Viscosity controlling
Disodium EDTA is an emulsion stabilizer and chelating agent. It deactivates the metal ions preventing them from reacting with other active ingredients. It improves the stability of a cosmetic formula and keeps the product’s consistency, texture, and pH unchanged. It doesn’t have any skincare effects and is used for formulation purposes only.
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Ethylhexylglycerin
Roles: Skin conditioning, Deodorant
Moisturizing
Softening
Antiseptic
Deodorant
Ethylhexylglycerin makes the skin softer, smoother and more hydrated. It acts deeply but without any heavy or sticky feeling. In haircare products, it works as a conditioner and scalp cleanser. It is safe but only in concentration below 8% in rinse-off products and below 2% in leave-on products. Can be an irritator in higher concentrations. In general, this component is great if you see it somewhere at the bottom of the list.
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Sodium Hyaluronate
Roles: Skin conditioning, Humectant
Moisturizing
Softening
Anti-aging
Rejuvenation
Good for dry skin
Sodium Hyaluronate is an amazing component! It plays very important role in skin hydration process. It helps to maintain water balance and lower water loss. Scientists have found a direct dependence between the level of Sodium Hyaluronate in cells and skin aging. That's why this component is so much important. It must be in your routine if you want to have a healthy and fresh looking skin.
Some people think that Sodium Hyaluronate and Hyaluronic acid are different names of the same component, but it is not entirely correct. Hyaluronic acid is a different chemical but with similar effects. Actually, Sodium Hyaluronate is used in cosmetics much more often because it’s more stable and has much better resistance to oxidation.
Lecithin is a great emulsifier. It also has slight antioxidant activity, but it’s not enough if you are looking for a strong and effective anti-oxidant. Our skin cells contain Lecithin and that’s why this component will hardly cause any problems or negative reactions. It soaks in pretty fast and it’s accepted by skin cells very well.
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Adenosine
Roles: Skin conditioning
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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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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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PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
Roles: Emulsifying, Fragrance, Surfactant
Cleansing
Soothing
Malassezia unsafe
PEG
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil helps ingredients to mix better. It has nice cleansing activity helping to remove sebum and dirt from the surface of your skin. It's also responsible for making soft foam in soaps, shower gels, etc. Despite it having "PEG" in the title, it's considered to be safe.
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Trideceth-9
Roles: Emulsifying, Surfactant
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Polysorbate-20
Roles: Emulsifying, Fragrance, Surfactant
Nutrifying
Malassezia unsafe
Polysorbate 20 doesn’t have any notable skin benefits but is used in cosmetics quite often. Manufacturers use it for formulation purposes. It improves the scent, texture, and feel of the product.
