Ingredients

what‑it‑does

solvent

Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. [more]

what‑it‑does	sunscreen
irritancy, com.	0, 0

Octinoxate - an old-school chemical sunscreen that absorbs UVB radiation (wavelengths: 280-320 nm). Not photostable and does not protect against UVA. [more]

what‑it‑does

sunscreen

Avobenzone - the only globally available chemical sunscreen that gives proper UVA protection. It is not photostable so has to be combined with ingredients that help to stabilize it. [more]

what‑it‑does	moisturizer/humectant | solvent
irritancy, com.	0, 1

An often used glycol that works as a solvent, humectant, penetration enhancer and also gives a good slip to the products. [more]

what‑it‑does

sunscreen

An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects skin in the UVB and somewhat in the UVA II range with a peak absorption of 304 nm. [more]

A microsphere powder that can scatter the light to give products a soft focus effect. It also works as a texture enhancer giving formulas an exceptional smoothness and a velvet touch. [more]

what‑it‑does

preservative

Pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, and can be used up to 1% worldwide. [more]

what‑it‑does

buffering

An AHA that comes from citrus fruits. It is usually used as a helper ingredient to adjust the pH of the formula. [more]

what‑it‑does

viscosity controlling

what‑it‑does	buffering
irritancy, com.	0, 2

Helps to set the pH of a cosmetic formulation to be right. It’s very alkaline. [more]

what‑it‑does

perfuming

The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. It is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average. [more]

what‑it‑does

chelating

Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. [more]

what‑it‑does

preservative

It can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too. [more]

what‑it‑does

emollient | emulsifying

It's quite the multi-tasker: an emollient and water-binding ingredient but also an emulsifier and can be used for stabilization purposes. It's also often used to create liposomes.  [more]

what‑it‑does	skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant
irritancy, com.	0, 0

A real oldie but a goodie. Great natural moisturizer and skin-identical ingredient that plays an important role in skin hydration and general skin health. [more]

what‑it‑does	emollient
irritancy, com.	0, 0

Sunflower Oil - it's a great emollient that protects & enhances the skin barrier. [more]

what‑it‑does	moisturizer/humectant | solvent
irritancy, com.	0, 0

A common glycol that improves the freeze-thaw stability of products. It's also a solvent, humectant and to some extent a penetration enhancer. [more]

what‑it‑does

antioxidant

what‑it‑does

antioxidant | soothing | antimicrobial/antibacterial

Rosemary leaf extract - Its main active is rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. It has also anti-bacterial, astringent and toning properties. [more]

what‑it‑does	antioxidant
irritancy, com.	0-3, 0-3

Pure Vitamin E. Great antioxidant that gives significant photoprotection against UVB rays. Works in synergy with Vitamin C. [more]

what‑it‑does

preservative

A not so strong preservative that doesn’t really work against bacteria, but more against mold and yeast. [more]

what‑it‑does

preservative

A preservative that works mainly against fungi. Has to be combined with other preservatives. [more]

what‑it‑does

chelating

A common helper ingredient that works as a so-called chelating agent.  It helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. [more]

what‑it‑does	emollient | emulsifying
irritancy, com.	0, 1

Waxy, white, solid stuff that helps water and oil to mix together and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth. [more]

what‑it‑does	emollient | viscosity controlling
irritancy, com.	2, 2

A fatty (the good, non-drying kind of) alcohol that makes your skin feel smooth and nice (emollient), helps to thicken up products and also helps water and oil to blend (emulsifier).

what‑it‑does	emollient | perfuming
irritancy, com.	0, 4

There is definitely some craze going on for coconut oil both in the healthy eating space (often claimed to be the healthiest oil to cook with but this is a topic for another site) and in the skin and hair care space. We will talk here about the latter two and see why we might want to smear it all over ourselves. [more]

what‑it‑does	emollient | viscosity controlling
irritancy, com.	0, 2-3

A common multi-tasker fatty acid that works as an emollient, thickener and emulsion stabilizer. [more]

what‑it‑does	emollient
irritancy, com.	0, 1

A very common silicone that gives both skin and hair a silky smooth feel. It also forms a protective barrier on the skin and fills in fine lines. Also used for scar treatment. [more]

what‑it‑does

surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying

A polymeric (big molecule from repeated subunits) emulsifier that comes from Inulin. It can emulsify high amounts of oil and stabilize oil droplets or non-water soluble particles so that they do not clump together.  [more]

what‑it‑does

sunscreen

Uvinul T 150 - A new generation, chemical sunscreen (not available in the US due to impossible FDA regulations) that gives the highest photo-stable absorption of all available UVB filters today. [more]

what‑it‑does

cell-communicating ingredient | skin brightening | anti-acne | moisturizer/humectant

A multi-functional skincare superstar that has clinically proven anti-aging, skin lightening, anti-inflammatory and barrier repair properties. [more]

what‑it‑does

preservative | antimicrobial/antibacterial

A little helper ingredient that works as a preservative. It works against bacteria and some species of fungi and yeast. [more]

what‑it‑does	skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant
irritancy, com.	0, 0

It's the salt form of famous humectant and natural moisturizing factor, hyaluronic acid. It can bind huge amounts of water and it's pretty much the current IT-moisturizer. [more]

what‑it‑does

buffering

It's a very alkaline stuff that helps to set the pH of the cosmetic formula to be just right. [more]

what‑it‑does

moisturizer/humectant

The big and important protein molecule that usually comes from animal skin such as fish or bovine. The gist of the "collagen in topical skincare" subject is to know that collagen in a jar has nothing to do with wrinkles but everything to do with skin hydration. [more]

what‑it‑does

skin-identical ingredient

Ceramides make up 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated.  [more]

what‑it‑does

surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying | viscosity controlling