Water(Aqua)
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.
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.
Dibutyl Adipate
What-it-does: emollient, solvent
A clear, colorless, odorless oily liquid that makes the formula easily spreadable and also makes the skin nice and smooth (emollient). It's especially helpful in sunscreensas it can help to solubilizeUV filters.
Propanediol
Also-called: Zemea | What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant
Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often usedand 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 efficacyor to influence the sensory properties of the end formula.
Methylpropanediol
What-it-does: solvent
It's a type of glycol that - according to the manufacturer - is an extremely good replacement for other glycols like propylene or butylene glycol. Its main job is to be a solvent, but it has also very good antimicrobial properties andacts as a true preservative booster. Also helps with skin hydration without stickiness or tacky feel.
Terephthalylidene Dicamphor Sulfonic Acid - goodie
Also-called: Ecamsule, Mexoryl SX | What-it-does: sunscreen
AL'Oréal-group exclusive sunscreen agent commonly calledMexoryl SX. As opposed to most sunscreen agents, it is water soluble and protects in the UVA range with a peak absorbance at345 nm.
1,2-Hexanediol
What-it-does: solvent
A really multi-functional helper ingredient that can do several things in a skincare product: it can bring a soft and pleasant feel to the formula, it can act as a humectant and emollient, it can be a solvent for some other ingredients (for example it can help to stabilize perfumesin watery products) and it can also help to disperse pigments more evenly in makeup products. And that is still not all: it can also boost the antimicrobial activity of preservatives.
Ethylhexyl Triazone - goodie
Also-called: Uvinul T 150, Octyltriazone | What-it-does: sunscreen
Ethylhexyl Triazone is anew generation, chemical sunscreen (not available in the US due to impossible FDA regulations) thatgives the highest photo-stable absorption of all available UVB filters today. It protects in the UVB range (280-320nm) with a peak protection of 314nm. It is an oil soluble, odorless, colorless powder that works well in fragrance-free formulas. It can be used up to 5% worldwide except for the US and Canada.
Niacinamide - superstar
Also-called: vitamin B3, nicotinamide | What-it-does: cell-communicating ingredient, skin brightening, anti-acne, moisturizer/humectant
- A multi-functional skincare superstar with several proven benefits for the skin
- Great anti-aging, wrinkle smoothing ingredient used at 4-5% concentration
- Fades brown spots alone or in combination with amino sugar, acetyl glucosamine
- Increases ceramide synthesis that results in a stronger, healthier skin barrier and better skin hydration
- Can help to improve several skin conditions including acne, rosacea, and atopic dermatitis
Read all the geeky details about Niacinamide here >>
Polymethylsilsesquioxane
Aspherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancerand soft focus agent. It's claimed to give silicone type softness to the formula and also works as a (temporary) wrinkle filler.
Polysilicone-15 - goodie
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 withEnsulizole 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.
Trimethylpentanediol/Adipic Acid/Glycerin Crosspolymer
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Tromethamine
What-it-does: buffering
It's a little helper ingredient that helps to set the pH of the products to be right. It has an alkaline pH and can neutralizeacidic ingredients.
Caprylyl Methicone
What-it-does: emollient
A clear, colorless, low viscosity, volatile (does not absorb into the skin but rather evaporates from it) silicone fluid that has excellent spreadability and leaves a light, silky and smooth feel on the skin.
According to manufacturer info, its big advantage is that it's compatible both with other silicones and with natural plant oils, so it's a great ingredient to formulate products with good-sounding, consumer-pleasing vegetable oils but still maintain a cosmetically elegant, non-greasy and non-tacky feel.
Cetearyl Alcohol
What-it-does: emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, emulsion stabilising, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 1 | Comedogenicity: 2
An extremely common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams and lotions. It also helps to stabilize oil-water mixes (emulsions), though it does not function as an emulsifier in itself. Its typical use level in most cream type formulas is 2-3%.
It’s a so-called fatty alcohol, a mix of cetyl and stearyl alcohol, other two emollient fatty alcohols. Though chemically speaking, it is alcohol (as in, it has an -OH group in its molecule), its properties are totally different from the properties of low molecular weight or drying alcohols such as denat. alcohol. Fatty alcohols have a long oil-soluble (and thus emollient) tailpart that makes them absolutelynon-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.
Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate - goodie
Also-called: Uvinul A Plus, DHHB | What-it-does: sunscreen
Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate is anew generation, chemicalsunscreen agent (not available in the US due to impossible FDA regulations) that's designed for high UVA protection and high photostability. It gives sun protection in the whole UVA range (320-400 nm) with peak protection at 354nm. It can be used up to 10% worldwide except for the US and Canada.
Polyglyceryl-3 Distearate
What-it-does: emulsifying
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Methyl Trimethicone
What-it-does: solvent
Methyl Trimethicone is a very light, volatile silicone (it evaporates from the skin rather than absorbs into it) that's similar to super commonly used Cyclopentasiloxane but it dries even faster when applied to the skin.
Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine - goodie
Also-called: Tinosorb S, Bemotrizinol | What-it-does: sunscreen
Its INCIname is abit of a mouthful, but Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine is worth recognizing it as it isone of the best sunscreen agents known today. Unfortunately, it's not FDA-approved so you will not find it in sunscreens coming from the US (not because it's not good, but becauseUS regulations make it impossible for newer sunscreen agents to get approved), but it is widely available in other parts of the world like Europe, Australia or Asia.
It is abroad-spectrum (covers the whole UVB and UVA range, 280-400 nm) chemical sunscreen agent with peak protections at about 310 and 345 nm and unlike older UV filters, it's very photostable. It hardlydeteriorates in the presence of UV light and it's also useful in stabilizing other less stable sunscreen agents, like the famous UVA protector, avobenzone.
It's a new generation sunscreen agent that was specifically designed for high SPF and good UVA protectionand based on a 2007 study that compared 18 sunscreen agents available in the EU it really had the best SPF protection(they used the highest concentration allowed by EU regulations from each 18 sunscreens and Trinosorb S gave an SPF 20 all by itself).
It is an oil-soluble, slightly yellowish powder that is not absorbed into the skin too much. This is good news for a sunscreen agent as it needs to be on the surface of the skin to do its job properly. Regarding Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine side effects, we have good news here as well: ithas a great safety profile and unlike a couple of other chemical sunscreens, Trinosorb S (and M) does not showestrogenic activity.
Overall, we think Trinosorb S is one of the best sunscreen options available today.
Are you into sunscreen agents? We have shiny explanations(along with product lists) about others as well:
- Methylene Bis-Benzotriazolyl Tetramethylbutylphenol, aka Tinosorb M, the good buddy of our current molecule Tinosorb S
- Tris-Biphenyl Triazine, aka Tinosorb A2B, the newest addition to the Tinosorb family that protects strongly in an in-between wavelength that most other filters miss
- Ethylhexyl Triazone, aka Uvinul T 150, another new generation sunscreen agent with super-high UVB protection
- Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate, aka Uvinul A Plus, a new generation sunscreen for UVA protection
Glyceryl Stearate
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1
A super common, waxy, white, solid stuff that helps water and oil to mix together, gives body to creams and leaves the skin feeling soft and smooth.
Chemically speaking, it is the attachment of a glycerin molecule to the fatty acid calledstearic acid. It can be produced from most vegetable oils (in oils three fattyacidmolecules are attached to glycerin instead of just one like here) in a pretty simple, "green" process that is similar to soap making. It's readily biodegradable.
It also occurs naturally in our body and is used as a food additive. As cosmetic chemistColins writes it, "its safety really is beyond any doubt".
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing
A white to beige powder that is described as the goldenstandard emulsifier for emulsions (oil+water mixtures) that are difficult to stabilize. It is especially popular in sunscreens as it can boost SPF protection and increase the water-resistance of the formula.
Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
Though its long name does not reveal it, this polymer molecule (big molecule from repeated subunits or monomers) is a relative to the super common, water-loving thickener, Carbomer. Both of them are big molecules that contain acrylic acid units, butAcrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer also contains some other monomers that are hydrophobic, i.e. water-hating.
This means that our molecule is part water- and part oil-loving, so it not only works as a thickener but also as an emulsion stabilizer. It is very common in gel-type formulas that also contain an oil-phase as well as in cleansers as it also works with most cleansing agents (unlike a lot of other thickeners).
VP/VA Copolymer
A big polymer (created from repeating subunits) molecule that works as a film former and hair fixative agent.
It is a modified version of the first and classic hair fixative, PVP that alternates the water-loving VP (Vinyl Pyrrolidone) units with water-hating VA (Vinyl Acetate) units to create a film that is less brittle and less sensitive to air humidity.
Polyether-1
What-it-does: viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Alpha-Arbutin - goodie
What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening
An optical isomer of naturally occurringarbutin(or beta-arbutin). Just like its sibling, alpha-arbutin is also a skin-brightening, depigmenting agent.
Researching the difference between the two kinds of arbutin, you can read in multiple places on the internet that alpha-arbutin is stronger in effect. Unfortunately, it's never backed up with a credible source. :( Our own research resulted in conflicting results: a study from 1995 found that alpha-arbutin is 10x as effective on mouse melanoma as beta-arbutin. On the other hand, a more recent study from 2015 found that beta-arbutin is more effective both on mouse melanoma cells and onhuman melanoma cells (btw, kojic acid was the most effective on human melanoma cells).
None of the studies we could find is in-vivo (made on real people) anyways, so who knows. We think you cannot go wrong with trying both beta- and alpha-arbutin and see if one works better for you than the other.
Carbomer
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1
A big molecule created from repeated subunits (a polymer of acrylic acid) that magically converts a liquidinto a nice gel formula. It usually has to be neutralized with a base (such as sodium hydroxide) for the thickening to occur and it creates viscous, clear gels that also feel nice and non-tacky on the skin. No wonder, it is a very popular and common ingredient. Typically used at 1% or less in most formulations.
Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer
What-it-does: viscosity controlling
A white, elastomeric silicone powder that gives a nice silky and powdery feel to the products. It also has some oil and sebum absorptioncapabilities.
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying
Glyceryl stearate citrate is similar to the super common skincare ingredient glyceryl stearate, and is similarly used to help combine waters and oils (emulsifier) and to make your skin feel nice and soft (emollient).
The main difference between glyceryl stearate citrate and its cousin glyceryl stearate is that this one has a citric acid molecule also attached to its glycerin. This makes it what chemists call a diacylglycerol, which is a fancy word for two acids (in this case, citric acid and stearic acid) attached together with a glycerin bridge. But when it comes to cosmetics, all you need to know is that both glyceryl stearate citrate and glyceryl stearate are safe, tried and true emulsifiers. Expect to see them in formulaswith both water-based and oil-based ingredients (think moisturizers and lotions).
Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
It's a helper ingredient that helps to thicken up formulas and form a nice gel texture. It leaves a rich, elegantfeel with a velvety finish on the skin and works over a wide pH range.
Dimethicone Crosspolymer
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, emulsion stabilising
A high-molecular-weightsilicone elastomer (rubber-likeelastic material) that is usually blended with a base silicone fluid (such as dimethicone or cyclopentasiloxane) to give the formula a silky smooth feel and to act as a thickening agent.
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil - icky
Also-called: Bergamot Fruit Oil | What-it-does: perfuming
Theessential oilcoming from the fruit (probably the rind) of thebergamot orange.It's acommon top notein perfumes and contains (among others)fragrant compoundslimonene (37%),linalyl acetate (30%) and linalool (8.8%).
A well-known issue with bergamot oil (apart from the fragrance allergens) is that it contains phototoxiccompounds calledfuranocoumarins, but more and more commonlyfuranocoumarin-free versions are used in cosmetic products. Still, if you have sensitive skin and prefer fragrance-free products, bergamot oil is not for you.
Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil - icky
Also-called: Rose Geranium Flower Essential Oil | What-it-does: perfuming
Thefragrant essential oil coming from the flowers of Rose Geranium. Like most essential oils, it contains antioxidant and antimicrobial components, but the main ones are fragrant constituents (like citronellol and geraniol). Be careful with it, if your skin is sensitive.
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.
