Ceramides on an ingredient list: the names decoded

What ceramides are

Ceramides are lipids. In the stratum corneum, the skin's outermost layer, they are the main lipid in the layered sheets between the cells, and that lipid domain is generally described as roughly equal molar parts of ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids.¹ A review of skin barrier lipids calls this lipid matrix crucial to the barrier: it limits water loss through the skin and keeps substances from the environment from passing into the deeper layers.²

They are a family, not one substance. Each ceramide joins a sphingoid base to a fatty acid, and differences in chain length, hydroxylation and saturation make the family diverse¹: one analysis of human stratum corneum identified 342 ceramide species, and a new class on top of the 10 generally known.³ Those findings describe the skin's own lipids. A ceramide in a cream is an ingredient a formulator chose, and its name says nothing about how much is present.

How to read the letters

Cosmetic ceramides are named after their two building blocks, and CosIng's descriptions show the pattern. The last letter names the base: P for phytosphingosine, S for sphingosine, G for sphinganine. The letters before it name the fatty acid part: N for a normal fatty acid, A for an alpha-hydroxy acid, and EO for an omega-hydroxy acid esterified with a second fatty acid.

A name that starts with "Ceramide" and goes on is a different ingredient again. Ceramide NS Dilaurate, for example, is the diester of Ceramide NS and lauric acid.¹²

The old numbered names

Before the letters, cosmetic ceramides had numbers. CosIng's entry for Ceramide 3 records that the name was developed in 1997 and retired in 2014, and that trade names published under it are now also published under Ceramide NP.⁵ Two of the old names did not map one to one: Ceramide 2 covered both sphingosine-based and sphinganine-based ceramides and was split into Ceramide NS and Ceramide NG, while Ceramide 4 and Ceramide 5 both became Ceramide AS.⁸⁹¹⁰

Retired does not mean gone from labels. The Personal Care Products Council, which sponsors the committee that assigns INCI names, says a retired name is kept in publication for a transition period¹³, and the EU glossary of label names that applies from 30 July 2026 still lists Ceramide 1, 1 A, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 II alongside the letter names.¹⁴ So Ceramide 1 on one pack and Ceramide EOP on another can describe the same kind of ingredient.

What they are listed for

CosIng lists Ceramide NP for hair conditioning and for skin conditioning - miscellaneous, which it defines as enhancing the appearance of dry or damaged skin by reducing flaking and restoring suppleness.⁴¹⁵ Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Ceramide AS and Ceramide EOS are listed for hair conditioning and skin conditioning, defined simply as maintaining the skin in good condition.^67101115

The US Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel describes ceramides as working in cosmetics mainly as hair conditioning agents and miscellaneous skin conditioning agents. In 2020 it concluded that they are safe in the present practices of use and concentration described in its assessment.¹⁶ No ceramide name has an entry in the annexes of the EU cosmetics regulation.¹⁷ Function names describe a purpose in a formula, not a result on skin, and CosIng states that its information has no legal value.¹⁸

Related lipids on the same label

A formula with ceramides may also list other lipids that occur in the stratum corneum or inside ceramides themselves. Each is its own ingredient:

• Cholesterol: one of the three main lipid classes of the stratum corneum.² CosIng lists it as an emollient, emulsifier, skin conditioning, viscosity controlling and light stabilising ingredient.¹⁹
• Phytosphingosine: the base of the P ceramides, such as NP, AP and EOP, and listed on its own for hair and skin conditioning.⁴²⁰
• Sphinganine: the base of the G ceramides, such as Ceramide NG, also listed for hair and skin conditioning.⁹²¹
• Fatty acids, such as Stearic Acid or Palmitic Acid: free fatty acids are the third main lipid class of the stratum corneum.²

What to look for on the label

• Ceramide plus letters (NP, AP, EOP, NS, NG, AS, EOS) is a current INCI name; the table above decodes it.
• Ceramide plus a number is an older name for the same kind of ingredient, and still a valid EU label name.¹⁴
• A front-of-pack phrase such as "ceramide complex" is the brand's description. The list shows which ceramides are actually named.
• Position: below 1%, ingredients may be listed in any order²², so a ceramide's place says little about its amount. See ingredient list order.
• Check a whole list with the skincare ingredient checker to see what each name, old or new, is listed for.

A list can show which ceramides a product contains, not how much of each or how the formula performs. Nothing on this page is advice about treating a skin condition.