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Ouai Curl Shampoo

Curl Shampoo

A light, hydrating cleanser infused with our unique Smart Technology complex that cleans strands while replenishing moisture—leaving curls bouncy, buoyant and soft.
Uploaded by: maryssa10 on

Ingredients overview

Water, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate, Cocamide Mea, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Acrylates Copolymer, Glycerin, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Water, Panthenol, Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice, Tamarindus Indica Seed Gum, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Hydrolyzed Hibiscus Esculentus Extract, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower Extract, Nasturtium Officinale Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Linseed Extract, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract, Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Extract, Alanine, Arginine, Glycine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Phenylalanine, Proline, Serine, Threonine, Valine, Aspartic Acid, Laurdimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Keratin, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Hydrolyzed Corn Protein, Hydrolyzed Yeast Protein, Rice Oil Glycereth-8 Esters, Jojoba Oil Glycereth-8 Esters, Coconut Oil Glycereth-8 Esters, Ethylhexylglycerin, Propanediol, Dimethicone, Amodimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Divinyldimethicone/​Dimethicone Copolymer, Decyl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate, Glycol Distearate, Parfum (Fragrance), Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Pg-Propyl Silanetriol, Cystine Bis-Pg-Propyl Silanetriol, Sodium Pca, Pca, Polyquaternium-51, Polyquaternium-7, Diisostearyl Malate, Laureth-23, Laureth-4, Trideceth-12, C12-13 Pareth-23, C12-13 Pareth-3, Cetrimonium Chloride, Polysilicone-15, Leuconostoc/​Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Sodium Lactate, Pentylene Glycol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Disodium Edta, Citric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide, Disteareth-75 Ipdi, Bht, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol, Benzyl Salicylate, Hexyl Cinnamal

Highlights

#alcohol-free
Alcohol Free

Skim through

Ingredient name what-it-does irr., com. ID-Rating
Water solvent
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate surfactant/​cleansing
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate surfactant/​cleansing
Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate surfactant/​cleansing
Cocamide Mea surfactant/​cleansing, viscosity controlling, emulsifying
Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine surfactant/​cleansing, viscosity controlling
Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying, viscosity controlling
Peg-7 Glyceryl Cocoate emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Acrylates Copolymer viscosity controlling
Glycerin skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 superstar
Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil antioxidant, emollient goodie
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Water moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Panthenol soothing, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 goodie
Phyllostachis Bambusoides Juice
Tamarindus Indica Seed Gum moisturizer/​humectant, viscosity controlling goodie
Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract antioxidant, emollient goodie
Hydrolyzed Hibiscus Esculentus Extract
Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower Extract perfuming
Nasturtium Officinale Extract perfuming
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Extract
Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract antioxidant, soothing goodie
Moringa Oleifera Seed Extract
Hydrolyzed Linseed Extract
Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract
Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract
Amaranthus Caudatus Seed Extract emollient goodie
Alanine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Arginine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Glycine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Histidine skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Isoleucine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Phenylalanine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Proline skin-identical ingredient goodie
Serine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Threonine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Valine skin-identical ingredient goodie
Aspartic Acid skin-identical ingredient goodie
Laurdimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Keratin
Hydrolyzed Rice Protein
Hydrolyzed Corn Protein
Hydrolyzed Yeast Protein
Rice Oil Glycereth-8 Esters surfactant/​cleansing, surfactant/​cleansing
Jojoba Oil Glycereth-8 Esters emollient
Coconut Oil Glycereth-8 Esters surfactant/​cleansing, surfactant/​cleansing
Ethylhexylglycerin preservative
Propanediol solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Dimethicone emollient 0, 1
Amodimethicone emollient
Cyclopentasiloxane emollient, solvent
Dimethiconol emollient, moisturizer/​humectant
Divinyldimethicone/Dimethicone Copolymer
Decyl Glucoside surfactant/​cleansing
Lauryl Glucoside surfactant/​cleansing
Polyglyceryl-3 Laurate emulsifying
Glycol Distearate emollient, emulsifying, viscosity controlling
Parfum (Fragrance) perfuming icky
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein Pg-Propyl Silanetriol
Cystine Bis-Pg-Propyl Silanetriol
Sodium Pca skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant 0, 0 goodie
Pca skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Polyquaternium-51 moisturizer/​humectant
Polyquaternium-7
Diisostearyl Malate emollient, surfactant/​cleansing
Laureth-23 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 0, 3
Laureth-4 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 4, 5
Trideceth-12 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
C12-13 Pareth-23 surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
C12-13 Pareth-3 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Cetrimonium Chloride antimicrobial/​antibacterial, emulsifying, preservative, surfactant/​cleansing
Polysilicone-15 sunscreen goodie
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate antimicrobial/​antibacterial, preservative
Sodium Lactate buffering, moisturizer/​humectant goodie
Pentylene Glycol solvent, moisturizer/​humectant
Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride viscosity controlling
Disodium Edta chelating
Citric Acid buffering
Potassium Hydroxide buffering
Disteareth-75 Ipdi viscosity controlling
Bht antioxidant, preservative
Phenoxyethanol preservative
Chlorphenesin preservative, antimicrobial/​antibacterial
Potassium Sorbate preservative
Sodium Benzoate preservative
Benzyl Alcohol preservative, perfuming, solvent, viscosity controlling
Benzyl Salicylate perfuming icky
Hexyl Cinnamal perfuming icky

Ouai Curl Shampoo
Ingredients explained

Also-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent

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. 

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing

A cleansing agent that's claimed to be so gentle on the skin that it hardly impacts the skin barrier. It also gives a rich, creamy foam, it's based on vegetable fatty acids and is readily biodegradable.

It's an especially important and popular ingredient in "syndet bars" (or soapless soaps). Dr. Leslie Baumann says in her great Cosmetic Dermatology book that thanks to the unique molecular characteristic of Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, it "has defined a new dimension in the mildness of cleansing bars".

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing

A cleansing agent that's described by multiple manufacturers as a very mild, non-irritating surfactant but with great foam properties. It's recommended for gentle cleansers suitable for sensitive or baby skin.

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing

A naturally derived, readily biodegradable cleansing agent that gives a rich, creamy foam, is milder to the skin than most sulfate-based cleansers and provides a luxurious, silky skin-feel. 

A cleansing agent whose main thing is adding viscosity and foam to cleansing formulas

Chemically speaking, it is the little sister of Cocamide DEA and has similar properties to that guy. However, being a monoethanolamine instead of diethanolamine has the advantage that the nitrosamine-concern does not apply for Cocamide MEA.

A thickening and foam-boasting co-surfactant with amphoteric structure meaning that its head contains both a positively and a negatively charged part (surfactants are most commonly anionic meaning their head has a negative charge). It's very mild and gentle, comes from coconut oil and is readily biodegradable. 

A mild, biodegradable cleansing agent that is also a very good team-player next to other cleaning agents. It is known for its good foam-boosing abilities while improving the mildness of the formula. Its performance is similar to Isethionates, another group of cleaning agents known for their gentleness. 

A clear, light yellow water-loving oil that comes from coconut/palm kernel oil and glycerin. It's a mild cleansing agent popular in baby washes and sensitive skin formulas.

It's also a so-called solubilizer that helps to dissolve oils and oil-soluble ingredients (e.g.essential oils or salicylic acid) in water-based formulas. 

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

A big polymer molecule that has a bunch of different versions and thus different uses. It can act as a film former,  as thickening agent, or it can increase the water-resistance in sunscreens. It is also used to entrap pigments/inorganic sunscreens within a micron size matrix for even coverage and easy application.

Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
  • A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
  • A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
  • Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
  • Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
  • High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>

Also-called: Rice Bran Oil | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient

The oil coming from the bran of rice. Similar to many other emollient plant oils, it contains several skin-goodies: nourishing and moisturizing fatty acids (oleic acid:  40%, linoleic acid: 30%, linolenic acid:1-2%), antioxidant vitamin E, emollient sterols and potent antioxidant gamma-oryzanol

Also-called: Coconut Water, Coconut Liquid Endosperm | What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

Coconut Water is the liquid inside the coconut and/or the juice pressed from the coconut fruit. It is a really nice and refreshing beverage loaded with good for the body and the skin things. It is about 95% of water and the other 5% are things such as skin-moisturizing sugars, skin nourishing amino acids, minerals, vitamins and phytohormones (kinetin)

This adds up to coconut water being a nice moisturizing and nourishing ingredient on the skin and it is also claimed to have some antioxidant and anti-glycation properties

Panthenol - goodie
Also-called: Pro-Vitamin B5 | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. As you might guess from the “pro” part, it’s a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid). 

Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. It’s a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Tamarind Seed Gum | What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, emulsion stabilising, viscosity controlling

Tamarind seed gum is a polysaccharide that moisturizes and smoothes the skin. According to manufacturer info, it also improves the skin's elasticity and leaves an extremely pleasant velvety feeling on the skin.

Also-called: Carrot Root Oil | What-it-does: antioxidant, emollient

The oil-soluble extract coming from the edible, orange part of the carrot. It is created by macerating the carrot root in a carrier oil such as sunflower or olive oil, and the resulting thing (base oil + carrot root extract) is often called carrot oil or carrot root oil. (Not to be confused with carrot seed oil, that can be fixed or essential and comes from the seeds.)

The root extract is known for containing the orange pigment beta-carotene, aka provitamin A. It is a famous molecule for being a potent antioxidant, suntan accelerator and having skin-regenerative abilities. Carrot oil also contains vitamin E and some fatty acids that give the oil further antioxidant and barrier repairing properties. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: perfuming

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Watercress Extract | What-it-does: perfuming

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Ginger Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing

The extract coming from ginger, the lovely spice that we all know from the kitchen. It is also a medicinal plant used both in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for pretty much everything you can imagine (muscular pain, sore throat, nausea, fever or cramps,  just to give a few examples).

As for ginger and skincare, the root extract contains the biologically active component called gingerol that has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Combined with Bisabololthe duo works synergistically to sooth the skin and take down redness. 

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Artichoke Leaf Extract

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Amaranth Seed Extract | What-it-does: emollient

It's the seed extract of a plant called amaranth or love-lies-bleeding.  It's a really ancient plant grown by Aztecs, Incas and Mayas as their main food and they called it “the golden grain”. They believed it had supernatural powers. Nowadays it's a popular health food because the seeds have great nutritional benefits and are high in protein.

As for skincare there are two types of the seed extract: 

Alanine - goodie

A non-essential amino acid (a building block of skin proteins like collagen or elastin) that hydrates the skin.

Arginine - goodie

A semi-essential (infants cannot synthesize it, but adults can) amino acid that is one of the primary building blocks of hair keratin and skin collagen. It's a natural moisturizing factor, a skin hydrator and might also help to speed up wound healing

Arginine usually has a positive charge (cationic) that makes it substantive to skin and hair (those are more negatively charged surfaces) and an excellent film former.  Thanks to the positive charge, it also creates a complex with AHAs (AHAs like to lose a hydrogen ion and be negatively charged, so the positive and the negative ions attract each other) that causes a "time-release AHA effect" and reduces the irritation associated with AHAs

Glycine - goodie

A non-essential amino acid (the building blocks of skin proteins, like collagen or elastin), that the body can produce itself, but its production decreases with age. When you put it all over your face, it works as a moisturizer and maybe more. 

According to great skincare blog Futurederm, glycine might help with wound healing and tissue repair and when used together with other amino acids, leucine and proline it might improve wrinkles

Histidine - goodie

A semi-essential amino acid meaning that enough has to be eaten from it so that the body does not use up essential amino acids (that our body cannot produce itself) to synthesize it. It has an important role in regulating the immune defense, allergic reactions, and inflammatory processes in the body.

As for skincare, it's a skin moisturizer that might also protect from some skin infections

Isoleucine - goodie

A branch-chained, essential amino acid that can be found in things like almond, cashew or soy protein. When taken orally it may promote protein synthesis. As for skincare - like all the amino acids - it's a skin-identical ingredient and moisturizer. It also seems to be useful as a barrier repair ingredient.  

Phenylalanine - goodie

An essential amino acid that the body cannot produce itself but has to take from the diet. Combined with UVA exposure, phenylalanine is used in the treatment of vitiligo (a pigmentation disorder where patches of the skin lose the pigment).

Proline - goodie

A non-essential amino acid (meaning that our body can produce it) that's also one of the major building blocks of collagen. According to the Futurederm blog, it might be able to improve wrinkles when combined with other amino acids, glycine and leucine

Serine - goodie

Serine is an amino acid that most often comes to the formula as part of a moisturizing complex. It's a non-essential amino acid (meaning that our body can synthesize it) and serves as a water-binding ingredient.

In general, amino acids are great skincare ingredients that play an important role in proper skin hydration but there is not much info out there about what specifically serine can do for the skin.

Threonine - goodie

An essential amino acid that's also a key building block of collagen and elastin. When taken orally, it helps the digestive and intestinal tracts function more smoothly and also helps the absorption of nutrients. As for skincare, it is not clear what it does other than being a skin hydrator

Valine - goodie

An essential amino acid (a building block of skin proteins like collagen) that our body cannot produce itself but has to take from external sources, like diet. 

It's a branched chain amino acid that is claimed to enhance energy, increase endurance and aid in muscle tissue recovery and repair when taken as a supplement. It's not clear what valine does when you put it on the skin, but as all amino acids, it must be at least a great skin hydrator.

Aspartic Acid - goodie

A non-essential amino acid  (important building block of collagen and elastin) that hydrates the skin. It is also used to set the pH of the cosmetic product (buffering).

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: preservative, deodorant

If you have spotted ethylhexylglycerin on the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol. They are good friends because ethylhexylglycerin can boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.

Also, it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreading emollient

Also-called: Zemea | What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant

Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often used and often bad-mouthed propylene glycol. It's produced sustainably from corn sugar and it's Ecocert approved. 

It's quite a multi-tasker: can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacy or to influence the sensory properties of the end formula. 

What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1

Probably the most common silicone of all. It is a polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule and has different molecular weight and thus different viscosity versions from water-light to thick liquid.

As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). Also, works well to fill in fine lines and wrinkles and give skin a plump look (of course that is only temporary, but still, it's nice). There are also scar treatment gels out there using dimethicone as their base ingredient. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity. 

What-it-does: emollient

A modified dimethicone-type silicone molecule that also contains amino-groups. Having amino-groups means that Amodimethicone also has Nitrogen in its molecule that likes to have a positive charge. Positively charged (or quaternised) molecules are substantive to skin and hair as those are negatively charged surfaces and are excellent film formers. Amodiemthcone is no exception and it is especially recommended for hair-care products for its long-lasting hair conditioning benefits.

What-it-does: emollient, solvent

A super commonly used 5 unit long, cyclic structured silicone that is water-thin and does not stay on the skin but evaporates from it (called volatile silicone). Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel

It's often combined with the non-volatile (i.e. stays on the skin) dimethicone as the two together form a water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel.

A thick, high molecular weight silicone that is usually diluted in another, lighter silicone fluid (like dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane). The dimethiconol containing silicone blends leave a silky smooth, non-greasy film on the skin.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A vegetable origin (coconut or palm kernel oil and glucose) cleansing agent with great foaming abilities. It's also mild to the skin and readily biodegradable.

What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing

A 100% vegetable origin, biodegradable, mild cleansing agent that gives moderate to high amount of foam. It's happy to work together with other surfactants (in general, that helps to create milder formulas). 

What-it-does: emulsifying

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

A so-called diester created from two stearic acid molecules and an ethylene glycol molecule. Its main thing is being an opacifier and pearling agent in cleansing products making them white and glossy. It can also give body to creams and emulsions.

Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming

Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!). 

If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.  

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Sodium Pca - goodie
Also-called: Sodium Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid;Sodium PCA | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0

PCA stands for Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid and though it might not sound like it, it is a thing that can be found naturally in our skin. The sodium salt form of PCA is an important skin-identical ingredient and great natural moisturizer that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated. 

Pca - goodie
Also-called: Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant

PCA stands for Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid and though it might not sound like it, it is a thing that can be found naturally in our skin. In fact, after amino acids, it is the second biggest NMF component of the skin with 12% being PCA of the NMF composition of normal skin.  So similar to other NMFs, it's a skin goodie that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated. 

What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant

A biocompatible copolymer (a big molecule that consists of more than one type of building blocks) that has the same structure as important cell membrane ingredient, phospholipid. Polyquaternium-51 is a good skin moisturizer, leaves a silky, smooth feel on the skin and can help to reduce irritation caused by some not-so-nice ingredients (like surfactants).

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 3

A white waxy solid that helps water and oil to mix nicely together (emulsifier). It is derived from the fatty alcohol lauryl alcohol by ethoxylating it and thus making the molecule a lot more water-soluble. In fact, Laureth-23 is mostly water-soluble acting as a solubilizer for dissolving small amounts of oily things into water-based formulas. 

What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 4 | Comedogenicity: 5

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Parsol SLX | What-it-does: sunscreen

A silicone-based, chemical sunscreen agent that protects the skin in the UVB range (290-320 nm) with a peak absorbance at 312 nm. It is a colorless to pale yellow liquid with nice and non-shiny (at least compared to most other sunscreens) sensorial properties. 

It is a pretty good team player and can stabilize the famously unstable UVA filter, avobenzone and works especially well with Ensulizole to achieve high SPF protection. It is approved up to 10% as a sunscreen filter in the EU and most parts of the world, except for the United States. 

Also-called: Fermented Radish Root | What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial, preservative

It's an alternative, natural preservative that comes from radishes fermented with Leuconostoc kimchii, a lactic acid bacteria that has been used to make traditional Korean dish, kimchi. During the fermentation process, a peptide is secreted from the bacteria that has significant antimicrobial properties

It is one of the more promising natural preservatives that can be used even alone (recommended at 2-4%), but it's not as effective as more common alternatives, like parabens or phenoxyethanol

The sodium salt of lactic acid. It's a great skin moisturizer and also used to regulate the pH value of the cosmetic formula. It's a natural ingredient approved by both ECOCERT and COSMOS.

A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. According to manufacturer info, it's also a moisturizer and helps to make the product feel great on the skin. It works synergistically with preservatives and helps to improve water-resistance of sunscreens. 

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

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.

It is typically used in tiny amounts, around 0.1% or less.

What-it-does: buffering

Citric acid comes from citrus fruits and is an AHA. If these magic three letters don’t tell you anything, click here and read our detailed description on glycolic acid, the most famous AHA. 

So citric acid is an exfoliant, that can - just like other AHAs - gently lift off the dead skin cells of your skin and make it more smooth and fresh. 

What-it-does: buffering

It's a very alkaline stuff that helps to set the pH of the cosmetic formula to be just right. It's similar to the more often used sodium hydroxide and pretty much the same of what we wrote there applies here too. 

What-it-does: viscosity controlling

We don't have description for this ingredient yet.

Also-called: Butylated Hydroxy Toluene;BHT | What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative

It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.

There is some controversy around BHT. It's not a new ingredient, it has been used both as a food and cosmetics additive since the 1970s. Plenty of studies tried to examine if it's a carcinogen or not. This Truth in Aging article details the situation and also writes that all these studies examine BHT when taken orally.

What-it-does: preservative

It’s pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, but even more importantly, it’s not a feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben.

It’s not something new: it was introduced around 1950 and today it can be used up to 1% worldwide. It can be found in nature - in green tea - but the version used in cosmetics is synthetic. 

A little helper ingredient that works as a preservative. It works against bacteria and some species of fungi and yeast. It's often combined with IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol.

What-it-does: preservative

It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It’s not a strong one and doesn’t really work against bacteria, but more against mold and yeast. To do that it has to break down to its active form, sorbic acid. For that to happen, there has to be water in the product and the right pH value (pH 3-4). 

But even if everything is right, it’s not enough on its own. If you see potassium sorbate you should see some other preservative next to it too.

What-it-does: preservative

A helper ingredient that helps to make the products stay nice longer, aka preservative. It works mainly against fungi. 

It’s pH dependent and works best at acidic pH levels (3-5). It’s not strong enough to be used in itself so it’s always combined with something else, often with potassium sorbate.

It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically.

No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. Has to be combined with some other nice preservatives, like potassium sorbate to be broad spectrum enough.  

What-it-does: perfuming

It’s a common fragrance ingredient that has a light floral smell.  It’s one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labelled separately (and cannot be simply included in the term “fragrance/perfume” on the label) because of allergen potential. Best to avoid if your skin is sensitive.

What-it-does: perfuming

A common fragrance ingredient that smells like jasmine. It is one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labelled separately because of allergen potential. Best to avoid if your skin is sensitive.

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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 surfactant/cleansing
A cleansing agent that's claimed to be so gentle on the skin that it hardly impacts the skin barrier. It also gives a rich, creamy foam, it's based on vegetable fatty acids and is readily biodegradable. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing
A cleansing agent that's very mild, non-irritating but also has great foam properties. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing
A naturally derived, readily biodegradable cleansing agent that gives a rich, creamy foam, is milder to the skin than most sulfate-based cleansers and provides a luxurious, silky skin-feel. 
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | viscosity controlling | emulsifying
A cleansing agent whose main thing is adding viscosity and foam to cleansing formulas.  Chemically speaking, it is the little sister of Cocamide DEA and has similar properties to that guy. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | viscosity controlling
A very mild and gentle thickening and foam-boasting co-surfactant. Comes from coconut oil. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying | viscosity controlling
A mild, biodegradable cleansing agent that is also a very good team-player next to other cleaning agents. It is known for its good foam-boosing abilities while improving the mildness of the formula. [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
A clear, light yellow water-loving oil that comes from coconut/palm kernel oil and glycerin. It's a mild cleansing agent popular in baby washes and sensitive skin formulas. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
A big polymer molecule that has a bunch of different versions and thus different uses. It can act as a film former,  as a thickening agent, or it can increase the water-resistance in sunscreens. [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 antioxidant | emollient
Rice Bran Oil - emollient plant oil with nourishing and moisturizing fatty acids (oleic acid:  40%, linoleic acid: 30%, linolenic acid:1-2%), antioxidant vitamin E, emollient sterols and potent antioxidant gamma-oryzanol. 
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
Coconut Water is the liquid inside the coconut and/or the juice pressed from the coconut fruit. It is a really nice and refreshing beverage loaded with good for the body and the skin things. [more]
what‑it‑does soothing | moisturizer/humectant
irritancy, com. 0, 0
Pro-Vitamin B5 is a goodie that moisturises the skin, has anti-inflammatory, skin protecting and wound healing properties. [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant | viscosity controlling
A polysaccharide that moisturizes and smoothes the skin. According to manufacturer info, it also improves the skin's elasticity and leaves an extremely pleasant velvety feeling on the skin.
what‑it‑does antioxidant | emollient
The oil-soluble extract coming from the edible, orange part of the carrot. It is created by macerating the carrot root in a carrier oil such as sunflower or olive oil, and the resulting thing (base oil + carrot root extract) is often called carrot oil or carrot root oil. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
what‑it‑does perfuming
what‑it‑does antioxidant | soothing
Ginger extract that has antioxidant and soothing properties. It is also known to increase blood circulation and thus have a toning effect. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient
It's the seed extract of the popular health food, amaranth. The oily extract works as a great emollient, moisturizing plant oil for skin and hair. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
A non-essential amino acid (a building block of skin proteins like collagen or elastin) that hydrates the skin.
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
An amino acid that is one of the primary building blocks of hair keratin and skin collagen. It's a natural moisturizing factor and might also help to speed up wound healing.  [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
An amino acid (the building blocks of skin proteins, like collagen) that hydrates the skin and might help wound healing and improve wrinkles. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant
An amino acid that is important in regulating the immune defense and inflammatory processes in the body. It's a skin moisturizer that might protect from skin infections. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
An essential amino acid that hydrates the skin and might be also a barrier repair ingredient. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
An essential amino acid that is used in the treatment of vitiligo. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
A non-essential amino acid (meaning that our body can produce it) that might be able to improve wrinkles combined with other amino acids, glycine and leucine. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
Serine is an amino acid that most often comes to the formula as part of a moisturizing complex. It's a non-essential amino acid (meaning that our body can synthesize it) and serves as a water-binding ingredient.In general, amino acids are great skincare ingredients that play an important role in proper skin hydration but there is not much info out there about what specifically serine can d [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
An essential amino acid (important building block of collagen and elastin) that hydrates the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
An essential amino acid (a building block of skin proteins like collagen) that is a skin hydrator. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient
A non-essential amino acid  (important building block of collagen and elastin) that hydrates the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does emollient
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | surfactant/cleansing
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 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. [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 emollient
A modified dimethicone-type silicone molecule that also contains amino-groups. Having amino-groups means that Amodimethicone also has Nitrogen in its molecule that likes to have a positive charge. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | solvent
It's a super commonly used water-thin volatile silicone that gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel.  [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | moisturizer/humectant
A thick, high molecular weight silicone that is usually diluted in a lighter silicone fluid. The dimethiconol containing silicone blends leave a silky smooth, non-greasy film on the skin. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing
A vegetable origin (coconut or palm kernel oil and glucose) cleansing agent with great foaming abilities. It's also mild to the skin and readily biodegradable.
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing
A 100% vegetable origin, biodegradable, mild cleansing agent that gives moderate to high amount of foam. [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying
what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying | viscosity controlling
A so-called diester created from two stearic acid molecules and an ethylene glycol molecule. Its main thing is being an opacifier and pearling agent in cleansing products making them white and glossy. [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 skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant
irritancy, com. 0, 0
It's an important skin-identical ingredient and great natural moisturizer that helps the skin to hold onto water and stay nicely hydrated. [more]
what‑it‑does skin-identical ingredient | moisturizer/humectant
PCA stands for Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid and though it might not sound like it, it is a thing that can be found naturally in our skin. In fact, after amino acids, it is the second biggest NMF component of the skin with 12% being PCA of the NMF composition of normal skin.  So similar to other NMFs, it's a skin goodie that  [more]
what‑it‑does moisturizer/humectant
A biocompatible copolymer with a similar structure to cell membrane ingredient, phospholipid. It's a good skin moisturizer and can also help to reduce irritation. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
irritancy, com. 0, 3
A white waxy solid that helps water and oil to mix nicely together (emulsifier). It is derived from the fatty alcohol lauryl alcohol by ethoxylating it and thus making the molecule a lot more water-soluble. [more]
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
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what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does antimicrobial/antibacterial | emulsifying | preservative | surfactant/cleansing
what‑it‑does sunscreen
A silicone-based, chemical sunscreen agent that protects the skin in the UVB range (290-320 nm) with a peak absorbance at 312 nm. It is a colorless to pale yellow liquid with nice and non-shiny (at least compared to most other sunscreens) sensorial properties.  It is a pretty good team player and can stabilize the famously unstable UVA filter, avobenzone and works especially well with& [more]
what‑it‑does antimicrobial/antibacterial | preservative
It's an alternative, natural preservative that comes from radishes fermented with Leuconostoc kimchii, a lactic acid bacteria that has been used to make traditional Korean dish, kimchi. [more]
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. [more]
what‑it‑does solvent | moisturizer/humectant
A multi-functional, silky feeling helper ingredient that can do quite many things. It's used as an emulsion stabilizer, solvent, and a broad spectrum antimicrobial. [more]
what‑it‑does viscosity controlling
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 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 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 viscosity controlling
what‑it‑does antioxidant | preservative
It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.There is some controversy around BHT. [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 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 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 preservative | perfuming | solvent | viscosity controlling
It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically. No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
It’s a common fragrance ingredient that has a light floral smell.  It’s one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labelled separately (and cannot be simply included in the term “fragrance/perfume” [more]
what‑it‑does perfuming
A common fragrance ingredient that smells like jasmine. It is one of the “EU 26 fragrances” that has to be labelled separately because of allergen potential. [more]