Ingredients
| what‑it‑does | solvent |
Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products.
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| what‑it‑does | sunscreen | colorant |
A physical/inorganic sunscreen with pretty broad spectrum (UVB and UVA II, less good at UVA I) protection and good stability. Might leave some whitish tint on the skin, though.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| what‑it‑does | sunscreen |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
A chemical sunscreen agent that absorbs UVB and short UVA rays (280-350nm). It's a highly stable but weak UVB absorber, that's often used as a photostabilizer in non-sunscreen proudcts.
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| what‑it‑does | skin-identical ingredient | emollient |
A type of lipid that's the major component of all cell membranes. As for skincare, it works as an emollient and skin-identical ingredient. It's also often used to create liposomes.
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| 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.
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| what‑it‑does | viscosity controlling |
A big polymer (a molecule from repeated subunits) with crazy water binding abilities. Used as a thickening and emulsion stabilizing agent.
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| 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.
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| what‑it‑does | sunscreen |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 1 |
A physical/inorganic sunscreen with the broadest spectrum (UVB and UVA II, less good at UVA I) protection available today. It also has good stability and also works as a skin protectant, anti-irritant. Might leave some whitish tint on the skin, though.
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| what‑it‑does | moisturizer/humectant |
A type of sugar that's part of a moisturizing trio called Aquaxyl. You can read more about its magic properties at xylitylglucoside.
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| what‑it‑does | surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying | perfuming |
| irritancy, com. | 3, 1 |
| 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.
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| 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.
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| what‑it‑does | skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant |
A famous natural moisturizing factor that can bind up to 1000 times its own weight in water. Works as an excellent surface hydrator in skincare.
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| what‑it‑does | emollient |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
Sunflower Oil - it's a great emollient that protects & enhances the skin barrier.
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| what‑it‑does | antioxidant |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
A form of vitamin E that works as an antioxidant. Compared to the pure form it's more stable, has longer shelf life, but it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin.
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| what‑it‑does | soothing | moisturizer/humectant |
The famous aloe vera. A great moisturizer and anti-inflammatory ingredient that also helps wound healing and skin regeneration.
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| what‑it‑does | buffering | moisturizer/humectant |
The sodium salt of lactic acid. It's a great skin moisturizer and also used to regulate the pH value of the cosmetic formula.
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| what‑it‑does | moisturizer/humectant |
A type of sugar that has water-binding properties and helps to keep your skin hydrated.
| what‑it‑does | preservative |
A preservative that works mainly against fungi. Has to be combined with other preservatives.
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| what‑it‑does | preservative |
Pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, and can be used up to 1% worldwide.
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| what‑it‑does | soothing |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
Super common soothing ingredient. It can be found naturally in the roots & leaves of the comfrey plant, but more often than not what's in the cosmetic products is produced synthetically. It's not only soothing but it'
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| what‑it‑does | emollient |
A very low viscosity and high spreadability emollient fluid that gives a nice light skin feel and can be used to solubilize crystalline actives such as chemical UV filters.
| what‑it‑does | viscosity controlling |
A white powdery thing that can mattify the skin and thicken up cosmetic products.
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| what‑it‑does | emulsifying |
| what‑it‑does | emollient |
A very common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. Comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy.
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| what‑it‑does | emollient |
A light emollient ester (C8-10 fatty acids connected to C12-18 fatty alcohols) that absorbs quickly and leaves a dry but silky finish on the skin. In terms of skin feel, it is similar to Dicaprylyl Carbonate, another commonly used light emollient.
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| what‑it‑does | solvent | moisturizer/humectant |
A natural corn sugar derived glycol. It can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula.
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A film forming polymer that usually comes to the formula as part of a thickener-emulsifier trio paired with Polyisobutene and Polysorbate 20.
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| what‑it‑does | viscosity controlling |
A polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that's used as a gloss improver for lipsticks and lipglosses. Combined with polyacrylate-13 and polysorbate 20, it forms a very effective tickener-emulsifier trio.
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| what‑it‑does | emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing |
| irritancy, com. | 0, 0 |
It's a common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together. Also, it can help to increase the solubility of some other ingredients in the formula.
| what‑it‑does | viscosity controlling |
A helper ingredient that helps to thicken up formulas and form a nice gel texture. It leaves a rich, elegant feel with a velvety finish on the skin.
| what‑it‑does | antioxidant | skin brightening |
A stable and easy to formulate form of skincare superstar, vitamin C. In-vitro studies show that it shows all the three anti-aging benefits (antioxidant protection + collagen boosting + fading hyperpigmentation) that pure vitamin C does.
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| what‑it‑does | moisturizer/humectant |
| what‑it‑does | antioxidant | moisturizer/humectant |
Beetroot is a natural moisturizer, colorant, and antioxidant.
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| what‑it‑does | antioxidant | skin brightening |
| what‑it‑does | antioxidant |
| 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.
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| what‑it‑does | chelating |
A helper ingredient that helps to neutralize the metal ions in the formula (they usually come from water) so it stays nice longer.
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| what‑it‑does | viscosity controlling |
A super commonly used thickener and emulsion stabilizer.
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| 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.
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