Basic guideline to read skincare ingredients list
- Thuong Dinh
- Dec 18, 2022
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2022
Skincare product labels can be confusing and overwhelming, particularly when it comes to the ingredients list. We know they're important, but how can we know what each ingredient is, what it does, and if it's good for our skin? It's difficult, but education is crucial, especially when it comes to spending your hard-earned money on products meant to help your skin stay healthy and look best. Let’s figure it out together.
Start with the INCI
INCI isn’t just a trendy way of saying ‘ingredient.’ It actually stands for ‘International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients’ and definitely isn’t as complicated as it sounds. Ensuring consistency across brands, product types and countries, it means all brands need to follow the same rules when telling consumers what’s in their products, which in theory makes it easier to read your skincare ingredient labels.
The Order of Ingredients
Ingredients are listed from highest to lowest concentration. Generally the first 5-6 ingredients are the highest percentages. In most skin care, water is the first ingredient (or it’s Aloe or an Oil). Followed by other key ingredients such as glycerin or “actives”. But the first ingredient is typically 75% to 90% of the product’s formula.
Evaluating individual skincare ingredients
As you evaluate the INCI list to read the skincare ingredients label, the next thing to look at is the individual ingredients in the list.
Here’s a quick reference guide to some of the most confusing ingredients:
Alcohol: to keep it simple, low molecular weight alcohols such as alcohol denat can cause dryness and should be avoided. Fatty alcohols like cetyl or staryl are great emulsifiers and perfectly safe for your skin.
Sulphates: essentially a detergent, sulphates attract oil and water and are therefore common cleansing agents found in many soaps, shampoos and face washes. They’re perfectly safe to use although as they work by absorbing oil and water, overuse can result in dryness and sensitivity.
Parabens: Parabens are a group of preservatives that work to keep a formula stable and maintain its effectiveness. But are parabens the cancer-causing skincare pariah we’ve been led to believe? In short, no. ‘Paraben-free’ claims by brands have led consumers to believe that parabens are harmful, but any parabens you find listed in your skincare ingredient lists are completely safe for use on the skin.
If you would like to decode the ingredient list like a pro, try something like this: https://incidecoder.com/
Symbols
Shelf life: The open-jar symbol represents how long the product is good for once it's opened. For example: 6M, 12M, 24M,...
Recycling and Disposal: The 3-arrow triangle, also known as the Mobius Loop, is the universal symbol for recycling but a lot of us don’t really know the true meaning. There will be a numerical code indicated inside the loop which helps determine the amount that can be recycled and provides a code that helps determine which packaging is safe and will not leach into the product. Plastic packaging labelled with codes 1, 3, 6 and 7 are said to be more likely to contain phthalates and BPA. If there’s no number in the loop that means it’s 100% safe and can be recycled in its entirety.
Until next post ;)
Source:
Comments