How to read a cosmetic ingredient list

1. Find the list, and know why the names look odd

In the EU the list starts with the word Ingredients, and each ingredient is named with its common ingredient name from a glossary the European Commission publishes.¹² Those names follow the international INCI system, which is why water appears as Aqua and a scent mixture as Parfum, whatever language the rest of the pack is in.

An INCI name is a label name, not a seal of approval. The Commission's own ingredient database says that a name being listed does not mean the ingredient is approved for use in cosmetics, and that the database has no legal value.³

2. What the order does and does not tell you

So the first few names usually make up most of the product, often water first. In the EU, a range sold in several shades can list every colourant used across the range after "May contain" or "+/-".¹ Below 1%, the order means nothing: an active ingredient at 0.5% and a preservative at 0.9% can appear either way round. In the US, ingredients accepted as trade secrets can be replaced by the words "and other ingredients".⁴

3. Group the names by what they do

A long list becomes manageable once you sort it by job instead of by how the names sound. Most ingredients do one of a handful of things: dissolve or carry the rest (water, solvents), attract water (humectants), soften and smooth (emollients), clean (surfactants), keep the formula stable or fresh (thickeners, preservatives), or add colour and scent.

Two things in that example are worth noticing. Linalool is named on its own, next to Parfum, because EU rules require certain fragrance allergens to be listed individually.⁵ And CI 77891, a white pigment, sits at the very end, where the colourant rule allows it.¹

One ingredient can do several jobs. Glycerin is recorded as a humectant, a skin protectant and a hair conditioning agent, among others.⁶ Salicylic acid can exfoliate or preserve, depending on the amount.

4. What the list cannot tell you

• Exact amounts. A percentage on the front of a pack is the brand's statement; the regulated list has none.
• What is inside Parfum. The individual scent substances are not listed, apart from the allergens that must be named.¹⁷
• How your skin will respond. That depends on the whole formula, how you use it and you.
• Whether the product is safe. That is assessed for the finished product, with its amounts, not read from names.³

If you know you react to a specific ingredient, its name on the list is what to look for. A list that says only Parfum cannot confirm that a particular fragrance substance is absent.

5. Scanning a label

Typing out a long list is slow, so the app reads it from a photo. Text recognition can misread a letter, especially in long chemical names, so the app shows anything it corrected next to the name as printed, and asks rather than guesses when two readings are equally likely. You can try the same matching on a list you paste in the ingredient checker.