Avon

Nutra Effects Soothe Melting Gel Cleanser

It’s a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol. 

The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.

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Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.  

BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin.

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Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product. 

It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water. 

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It’s the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here. This one is the so-called esterified version. 

According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it’s also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E. 

A standardized powdered extract from the roots of the Curcuma longa (Turmeric) plant (together with this and this).  The trio is called Tetrahydrocurcuminoids (THC) and has skin-brightening, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant magic properties. 

Other turmeric extracts have brilliant yellow color that makes them difficult to use but this one is color-free. 

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When you hear oatmeal, you probably think of breakfast, but the finely ground version of whole oat kernels, aka colloidal oatmeal, can do good things for your skin, especially if it's dry, itchy or prone to skin-rashes or eczema.

Oat is loaded with compounds good for the body, inside or outside, such as soothing agent beta-glucan (5%),  lipids (3-11%) including barrier repairing omega-3 and 6 fatty acids or phenolic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents (avenanthramides). 

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We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A triterpene ester-rich extract that comes from the shea butter. It is claimed to have barrier strengthening and anti-inflammatory properties. It is typically used at 0.5-1% in formulas. 

Comes from the well-known Indian spice, turmeric and is part of a trio called Tetrahydrocurcuminoids (THC). You can read more about THC's good properties here. 

It's one of those ingredients that defies the *BS* theory that if you cannot pronounce it, it must be an evil synthetic and you should not put it on your face.

It comes from the well-known Indian spice, turmeric and is part of a trio called Tetrahydrocurcuminoids (THC). You can read more about THC's good properties here.