Aqua
Also-called: Water | 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.
Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
Hydrated Silica
What-it-does: abrasive/scrub, absorbent/mattifier, viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
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 >>
Sodium Coco-Sulfate
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, emulsifying
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Cellulose Gum
Also-called: Carboxymethyl Cellulose | What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A cellulose(thebig molecule found in the cell wall of green plants) derivative that is used as an emulsion stabilizer and thickener.
Aroma
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Potassium Citrate
What-it-does: buffering, chelating
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc Hydroxyapatite
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Zinc Citrate
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Sodium Bicarbonate
What-it-does: abrasive/scrub, buffering, deodorant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Stevia Rebaudiana Leaf Extract
What-it-does: emollient
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Ci 77891
Also-called: Titanium Dioxide/Ci 77891 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
Ci 77891 is the color code of titaniumdioxide.It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility.
Bisabolol - goodie
Also-called: Alpha-Bisabolol | What-it-does: soothing
It's one of the active parts ofChamomile that contains about 30% of bisabolol. It's aclear oily fluid that is used in skincare as a nice anti-inflammatory and soothing ingredient.
Xanthan Gum
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like.Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-calledrheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). The typical use level of Xantha Gum is below 1%, it is usually in the 0.1-0.5% range.
Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. It’s approved by Ecocert and also used in the food industry(E415).
Betaine - goodie
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
A sugar beet-derivedamino acid derivative with nice skin protection and moisturization properties. Betaine's special thing is being an osmolyte, a molecule that helps to control cell-water balance. It is also a natural osmoprotectant, meaning that it attracts water away from the protein surface and thusprotects them from denaturation and increases their thermodynamic stability.
It also gives sensorial benefits to the formulaand when used in cleansers, it helps to make them milder and gentler.
Calcium Lactate
What-it-does: astringent, buffering
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Sodium Polyphosphate
What-it-does: chelating
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Juniperus Communis Sprout Extract
What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial, antioxidant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Fish Oil
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Lactobacillus Lysate
What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Lactic Acid - superstar
What-it-does: exfoliant, moisturizer/humectant, buffering
- It’s the second most researched AHA after glycolic acid
- It gently lifts off dead skin cells to reveal newer, fresher, smoother skin
- It also has amazing skin hydrating properties
- In higher concentration (10% and up) it improves skin firmness, thickness and wrinkles
- Choose a product where you know the concentration and pH value because these two greatly influence effectiveness
- Don’t forget to use your sunscreen (in any case but especially so next to an AHA product)
Read all the geeky details about Lactic Acid here >>
Bacteria Lysate
This ingredient name is not according to the INCI-standard. :( What, why?!
Ananas Sativus Fruit Extract - goodie
Also-called: Pineapple Fruit Extract | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant
A goodie fruit extract coming from the lovelypineapple. It contains a bunch of good-for-the-skinstuff: bromelain and fruit acids have mild exfoliant properties, and fruit sugars and amino acids give the pineapple fruit nice moisturizing and soothing properties.
There is also a pineapple extract called pineapple ceramide on the market that's claimed to be loaded with aglucose linked ceramide derivative called glucoceramide. According to the manufacturer, glucoceramideis not only a skin moisturizerbut it also helps to lighten the skin and make it more smooth.
Maltodextrin
What-it-does: absorbent/mattifier, emulsion stabilising
It's a little helper ingredient coming from corn, rice or potato starch that can help to keep skin mat (absorbent), to stabilise emulsions, and to keep the product together (binding).
Thymus Serpillum Oil
What-it-does: perfuming
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Mentha Piperita Oil - icky
Also-called: Peppermint Oil | What-it-does: perfuming
The essential oil coming from steam distillation of freshlyharvested, flowering peppermint sprigs. Its major component is mentholthat gives the oil its well-known refreshing and cooling properties. Peppermint oil is traditionally used as an inhalant for cold and coughs and there is also some clinical data validating its use against headaches by rubbing a peppermint oil cream on the forehead.
As for skincare, other than the nice grassy-minty smell and the refreshing sensations, we cannot write good things. It can be a skin irritant, so much so that it is a well-known counterirritant for muscle pains creating mild surface irritation to make things better in the deeper layers. But for everyday skincare, counterirritation is not something you wanna do, so we think that peppermint oil is better to avoid, especially if your skin is sensitive.
Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil - icky
Also-called: Mandarin Orange Oil, Tangor Oil | What-it-does: perfuming
The essential oil coming from the peel of the mandarin orange or tangor.In general, the main component of citrus peel oils is limonene (77-86% for mandarin peel), a super common fragrant ingredient that makes everything smell nice (but counts as a frequent skin sensitizer). Apart from smelling nice (and thus being a popular natural fragrance alternative),Mandarin Orange Oil also has significant antioxidant properties that's comparable to synthetic antioxidant BHT or oil-soluble antioxidant big shot vitamin E.
On the con side, the fragrant components of citrus peels might irritate sensitive skin and citrus peels also containthe problematic compound called furanocoumarin that makes them (mildly) phototoxic. Orange mandarin peel contains less from it than some other citruses (likebergamotor lime), but still, be carefulwith it especially if it's in a product for daytime use.
Citrus Paradisi Peel Oil - icky
Also-called: Pink Grapefruit Peel Oil | What-it-does: perfuming
The essential oil coming from the peel of the pink grapefruit. In general, the main component of citrus peel oilsis limonene (around 90% for grapefruit peel), a super common fragrant ingredient that makes everything smell nice (but counts as a frequent skin sensitizer). Similar to other essential oils, grapefruit peelhas also antibacterial and antifungal acitivity.
Other than that, citrus peels contain the problematic compounds called furanocoumarins that makethem (mildly) phototoxic. So be careful with grapefruit peel oil, especially if it's in a product for daytime use.
Illicium Verum Fruit/Seed Oil
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Protease
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Sodium Benzoate
What-it-does: preservative
A helper ingredient that helps to makethe 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.
Potassium Sorbate
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.
BTW, it’s also a food preservativeand even has an E number, E202.
Limonene - icky
What-it-does: perfuming, solvent, deodorant
A supercommon and cheap fragrance ingredient. It's in many plants, e.g. rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, lemongrass, peppermint and it's the main component (about 50-90%) of the peel oil of citrus fruits.
It does smellnice but the problemis that it oxidizes on air exposure and the resulting stuff is not good for the skin. Oxidizedlimonene cancause allergic contact dermatitis and counts asa frequent skin sensitizer.
Limonene's nr1 function is definitely being a fragrance component, but there are several studies showing that it's also a penetration enhancer, mainly for oil-loving components.
All in all, limonene has some pros and cons, but - especially if your skin is sensitive -the cons probably outweigh the pros.
