Ultime W+ Whitening Cream
A day and night cream. Targets pigmentation spots and smoothes skin tone. Targets fine lines at the same time.
Uploaded by: fatmakd on 04/18/2020
Aqua, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride, Isostearyl Isostearate, Alpha-Arbutin,
Ascorbyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Kojic Acid, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Acrylamide/​Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Niacinamide, Tocopheryl Acetate, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Citric Acid, Silica, Polysorbate 80, Octocrylene, Methylparaben, BHA, BHT, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Metabisulfite, Homosalate, Propylparaben, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylparaben, Tocopherol, Lecithin, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil, Lepidium Sativum Sprout Extract, Parfum, Phenoxyethanol
Antioxidant: Alpha-Arbutin, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Kojic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol
Skin brightening: Alpha-Arbutin, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Kojic Acid, Niacinamide
Skin-identical ingredient: Glycerin
Sunscreen: Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Octocrylene, Homosalate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane
Antioxidant: BHA, BHT, Sodium Metabisulfite
Buffering: Citric Acid
Emollient: Cetyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetearyl Alcohol, Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride, Isostearyl Isostearate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Isohexadecane, Lecithin, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil
Emulsifying: Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Polysorbate 80, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Lecithin
Moisturizer/humectant: Glycerin, Niacinamide
Perfuming: Propylparaben, Parfum
Preservative: Methylparaben, BHA, BHT, Sodium Metabisulfite, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Phenoxyethanol
Solvent: Aqua, Cyclopentasiloxane, Isohexadecane
Surfactant/cleansing: Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Polysorbate 80, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Viscosity controlling: Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Acrylamide/​Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Silica, Disodium EDTA
Cetyl Alcohol emollient, emulsifying, viscosity controlling, surfactant/​cleansing 2, 2
Cyclopentasiloxane emollient, solvent
Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate sunscreen 0, 0
Cetearyl Alcohol emollient, viscosity controlling, emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 1, 2
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride emollient
Isostearyl Isostearate emollient 1, 4
Alpha-Arbutin antioxidant, skin brightening goodie
Ascorbyl Glucoside antioxidant, skin brightening goodie
Glyceryl Stearate Citrate emollient, emulsifying
Kojic Acid antioxidant, skin brightening
Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer viscosity controlling
Isohexadecane emollient, solvent
Tocopheryl Acetate antioxidant 0, 0
PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing
Silica viscosity controlling
Polysorbate 80 emulsifying, surfactant/​cleansing 0, 0
Octocrylene sunscreen
Methylparaben preservative 0, 0
BHA antioxidant, preservative icky
BHT antioxidant, preservative
Sodium Metabisulfite antioxidant, preservative
Homosalate sunscreen
Propylparaben preservative, perfuming 0, 0
Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate surfactant/​cleansing
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate surfactant/​cleansing, emulsifying com.:0 icky
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane sunscreen goodie
Ethylparaben preservative
Tocopherol antioxidant 0-3, 0-3 goodie
Lecithin emollient, emulsifying goodie
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil emollient 0, 0 goodie
Lepidium Sativum Sprout Extract
Mesoestetic Ultime W+ Whitening Cream
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying, viscosity controlling, surfactant/cleansing, emulsion stabilising | Irritancy: 2 | Comedogenicity: 2
A so-called fatty (the good, non-drying kind of) alcohol that does all kinds of things in a skincare product: it makes your skin feel smooth and nice (emollient), helps to thicken up products and also helps water and oil to blend (emulsifier). Can be derived from coconut or palm kernel oil.
What-it-does: emollient, solvent
A super commonly used 5 unit long, cyclic structured silicone that is water-thin and does not stay on the skin but evaporates from it (called volatile silicone). Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel.
It's often combined with the non-volatile (i.e. stays on the skin) dimethicone as the two together form a water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel.
Also-called: Octinoxate, Octyl Methoxycinnamate | What-it-does: sunscreen | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A clear, oil-soluble, "cosmetically-elegant" liquid that is the most commonly used chemical sunscreen. It absorbs UVB radiation (at wavelengths: 280-320 nm) with a peak protection at 310nm.
It only protects against UVB and not UVA rays (the 320-400 nm range) – so always choose products that contain other sunscreens too. It is not very stable either, when exposed to sunlight, it kind of breaks down and loses its effectiveness (not instantly, but over time - it loses 10% of its SPF protection ability within 35 mins). To make it more stable it can be - and should be - combined with other sunscreen agents to give stable and broad-spectrum protection (the new generation sunscreen agent, Tinosorb S is a particularly good one for that).
Regarding safety, there are also some concerns around Octinoxate. In vitro (made in the lab not on real people) and animal studies have shown that it may produce hormonal (estrogen-like) effects. Do not panic, the studies were not conducted under real life conditions on real human people, so it is probably over-cautious to avoid Octinoxate altogether. However, if you are pregnant or a small child (under 2 yrs. old), choose a physical (zinc oxide/titanium dioxide) or new-generation Tinosorb based sunscreen, just to be on the super-safe side. :)
Overall, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate is an old-school chemical sunscreen agent. There are plenty of better options for sun protection today, but it is considered "safe as used" (and sunscreens are pretty well regulated) and it is available worldwide (can be used up to 10% in the EU and up to 7.5% in the US).
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) tail part that makes them absolutely non-drying and non-irritating and are totally ok for the skin.
Caprylic/​Capric Triglyceride
What-it-does: emollient
A super common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. It comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it's light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. It's a nice ingredient that just feels good on the skin, is super well tolerated by every skin type and easy to formulate with. No wonder it's popular.
Isostearyl Isostearate
What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 1 | Comedogenicity: 4
An emollient ester (oily liquid from Isostearyl Alcohol + Isostearic Acid) that gives excellent slip, lubricity and luxurious softness on skin. It's also popular in makeup products to disperse pigments nicely and evenly.
Alpha-Arbutin - goodie
What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening
An optical isomer of naturally occurring arbutin (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 on human 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.
Ascorbyl Glucoside - goodie
Also-called: Form of Vitamin C | What-it-does: antioxidant, skin brightening
A form of skincare superstar, vitamin C. If you do not know why vitamin C is such a big deal in skincare, we have a really detailed, geeky description that's good to read. :)
So now you know that because pure vitamin C is such a diva (very unstable and hard to formulate) the cosmetic industry is trying to come up with some derivatives that have the badass anti-aging properties of vitamin C (antioxidant protection + collagen boosting + fading hyperpigmentation) but without the disadvantages. This is a hard task, and there is not yet a derivative that is really proven to be better in every aspect, but Ascorbyl Glucoside is one of the best options when it comes to vitamin C derivatives. Let's see why:
First, it's really stable and easy to formulate, so the problems that come with pure vitamin C are solved here.
Second, in vitro (meaning made in the lab, not on real humans) studies show that ascorbyl glucoside can penetrate the skin. This is kind of important for an anti-aging ingredient to do the job, so this is good news, though in-vivo (made on real humans) studies are still needed.
Third, in-vitro studies show that after ascorbyl glucoside is absorbed into the skin it is converted to pure vitamin C (though the rate of conversion is still a question mark). It also shows all the three anti-aging benefits (antioxidant protection + collagen boosting + fading hyperpigmentation) that pure vitamin C does.
Bottom line: ascorbyl glucoside is one of the best and most promising vitamin C derivatives that shows similar benefits to that of pure vitamin C, but it's less proven (in vivo vs. in vitro studies) and the extent of the benefits are also not the same.
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 formulas with both water-based and oil-based ingredients (think moisturizers and lotions).
A spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent. It's claimed to give silicone type softness to the formula and also works as a (temporary) wrinkle filler.
Acrylamide/​Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer
A kind of polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that helps to thicken up and stabilize products. It usually comes to the formula as part of some thickener complex. For example, coupled with isohexadecane and polysorbate 80, the trio helps to create soft and supple textures.
A light, velvety, unique skin feel liquid that is a good solvent and also makes the skin feel nice and smooth (aka emollient). It's often used in makeup products mixed with silicones to give shine and slip to the product. It's also great for cleansing dirt and oil from the skin as well as for taking off make-up.
Also-called: Vitamin E Acetate | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
It's the most commonly used version of pure vitamin E in cosmetics. You can read all about the pure form here. This one is the so-called esterified version.
According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E.
A mildly viscous, amber-colored liquid with fatty odor, made from Castor Oil and polyethylene glycol (PEG).
If it were a person, we'd say, it's agile, diligent & multifunctional. It's mostly used as an emulsifier and surfactant but most often it is used to solubilize fragrances into water-based formulas.
A clear, light yellow water-loving oil that comes from coconut/palm kernel oil and glycerin. It's a mild cleansing agent popular in baby washes and sensitive skin formulas.
It's also a so-called solubilizer that helps to dissolve oils and oil-soluble ingredients (e.g.essential oils or salicylic acid) in water-based formulas.
What-it-does: viscosity controlling, absorbent/mattifier
A white powdery thing that's the major component of glass and sand. In cosmetics, it's often in products that are supposed to keep your skin matte as it has great oil-absorbing abilities. It's also used as a helper ingredient to thicken up products or suspend insoluble particles.
What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together, aka emulsifier.
The number at the end refers to the oil-loving part and the bigger the number the more emulsifying power it has. 20 is a weak emulsifier, rather called solubilizer used commonly in toners while 60 and 80 are more common in serums and creams.
What-it-does: sunscreen
An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects skin in the UVB and somewhat in the UVA II range with a peak absorption of 304 nm. Its protection is not strong enough on its own but it is quite photostable (loses 10% of SPF protection in 95 mins) and is often used to stabilize other photo-unstable UV-filters, for example, Avobenzone. It is also often used to improve the water resistance of the products.
Octocrylene's safety profile is generally quite good, though a review study in Contact Dermatitis reports an "increasing number of patients with photo contact allergy to octocrylene." Mainly adults with ketoprofen-sensitivity and children with sensitive skin are affected, so if you have a small kid, it is probably better to use octocrylene-free sunscreens.
What-it-does: preservative | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
The most common type of feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason parabens. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon.
Apart from the general controversy around parabens (we wrote about it more here), there is a 2006 in-vitro (made in the lab not on real people) research about methylparaben (MP) showing that when exposed to sunlight, MP treated skin cells suffered more harm than non-MP treated skin cells. The study was not done with real people on real skin but still - using a good sunscreen next to MP containing products is a good idea. (Well, in fact using a sunscreen is always a good idea. :))
BHA - icky
Also-called: Butylated Hydroxy Anisole | What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative
It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Anisole. It's a synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.
It's a somewhat controversial ingredient: The U.S. National Institutes of Health says that BHA is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals" (source: wikipedia). But, and this is a big but: these experiments were made on animals and BHA was used in high doses as part of their diet. There is no evidence that the same is true when used in tiny amounts in cosmetics products. So you probably have nothing to worry about, but if you are a better safe than sorry type there are plenty of nice products without BHA to choose from. :)
Also-called: Butylated Hydroxy Toluene | What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative
It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.
There is some controversy around BHT. It's not a new ingredient, it has been used both as a food and cosmetics additive since the 1970s. Plenty of studies tried to examine if it's a carcinogen or not. This Truth in Aging article details the situation and also writes that all these studies examine BHT when taken orally.
As for cosmetics, the CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review) concluded that the amount of BHT used in cosmetic products is low (usually around 0.01-0.1%), it does not penetrate skin far enough to be absorbed into the bloodstream and it is safe to use in cosmetics.
What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative
An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects the skin from UVB (295-315 nm) with a peak protection at 306 nm. Homosalate is not a strong UV filter in and of itself (gives only SPF 4.3 protection at max. allowed 10% concentration) and it is not photostable (looses 10% of its SPF protection in 45 mins) so it always has to be combined with other sunscreens for proper protection. Its big advantage, though, is that it is a liquid and is excellent for dissolving other hard to solubilize powder sunscreen agents, like the famous Avobenzone.
Regarding Homosalate's safety profile, we do not have the best news. In-vitro (made in the labs) studies have shown that it might have some estrogenic activity. Do not panic, these studies were not conducted on real humans under real world conditions. Still, if you are a 'better safe than sorry' type, be careful when using Homosalate containing sunscreens long-term and full-body.
As of 2020, Homosalate is permitted to be used up to 10% in the EU and 15% in the US, but the EU is currently considering restricting it to only 1.4% (probably taking effect from 2022).
What-it-does: preservative, perfuming | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A very common type of feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason parabens. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon.
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - icky
Also-called: SLS | What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing, emulsifying | Comedogenicity: 0
The famous or rather infamous SLS (not to be confused with SLES). It is a cleansing agent known for being too good at the job and potentially irritating the skin. But, on the positive side, it can produce copious, creamy and luxurious foam compared to the more gentle and thus nowadays much more commonly used Sodium Laureth Sulfate.
In fact, SLS is so good at irritating the skin that it is very commonly used in dermatological studies just for that. It is a so-called "primary irritant", a substance that irritates the skin in one go (without prior sensitization) but doesn't do any other big harm (such as being carcinogenic or systematically toxic - those claims are not true). Also, the formula can greatly influence the irritating potential of SLS, and mixing it with other cleaning agents makes it milder.
If it's not in a cleanser, it works as an emulsifier or even as a penetration enhancer for active materials.
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane - goodie
Also-called: Avobenzone | What-it-does: sunscreen
The famous Avobenzone. It is a special snowflake as it is the only globally available chemical sunscreen agent that provides proper UVA protection (in the US, new generation sunscreen agents are not approved because of impossible FDA regulations). It is the global gold standard of UVA protection and is the most used UVA sunscreen in the world.
It gives very good protection across the whole UVA range (310-400 nm that is both UVA1 and UVA2) with a peak protection at 360 nm. The problem with it, though, is that it is not photostable and degrades in the sunlight. Wikipedia says that avobenzone loses 36% of its UV-absorption capacity after just one hour of sunlight (yep, this is one of the reasons why sunscreens have to be reapplied after a few hours).
The cosmetic's industry is trying to solve the problem by combining avobenzone with other UV filters that enhance its stability (like octocrylene, Tinosorb S or Ensulizole) or by encapsulating it and while both solutions help, neither is perfect. Interestingly, the combination of avobenzone with mineral sunscreens (that is titanium dioxide and zinc oxide) is not a good idea. In the US, it is flat out prohibited as avobenzone becomes unstable when combined with mineral sunscreens.
As for safety, avobenzone has a pretty good safety profile. It counts as non-irritating, and unlike some other chemical sunscreens, it shows no estrogenic effect. The maximum concentration of avobenzone permitted is 5% in the EU and 3% in the US.
A very common type of feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. Read more about parabens here >>
Tocopherol - goodie
Also-called: Vitamin E | What-it-does: antioxidant | Irritancy: 0-3 | Comedogenicity: 0-3
Primary fat-soluble antioxidant in our skin
Significant photoprotection against UVB rays
Vit C + Vit E work in synergy and provide great photoprotection
Has emollient properties
Easy to formulate, stable and relatively inexpensive
Read all the geeky details about Tocopherol here >>
Lecithin - goodie
A very common ingredient that can be found in all cell membranes. In cosmetics it's quite the multi-tasker: it's an emollient and water-binding ingredient but it's also an emulsifier and can be used for stabilization purposes. It's also often used to create liposomes.
Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil - goodie
Also-called: Sunflower Oil | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
Sunflower does not need a big intro as you probably use it in the kitchen as cooking oil, or you munch on the seeds as a healthy snack or you adore its big, beautiful yellow flower during the summer - or you do all of these and probably even more. And by even more we mean putting it all over your face as sunflower oil is one of the most commonly used plant oils in skincare.
It's a real oldie: expressed directly from the seeds, the oil is used not for hundreds but thousands of years. According to The National Sunflower Association, there is evidence that both the plant and its oil were used by American Indians in the area of Arizona and New Mexico about 3000 BC. Do the math: it's more than 5000 years – definitely an oldie.
Our intro did get pretty big after all (sorry for that), so let's get to the point finally: sunflower oil - similar to other plant oils - is a great emollient that makes the skin smooth and nice and helps to keep it hydrated. It also protects the surface of the skin and enhances the damaged or irritated skin barrier. Leslie Bauman notes in Cosmetic Dermatology that one application of sunflower oil significantly speeds up the recovery of the skin barrier within an hour and sustains the results 5 hours after using it.
It's also loaded with fatty acids (mostly linoleic (50-74%) and oleic (14-35%)). The unrefined version (be sure to use that on your skin!) is especially high in linoleic acid that is great even for acne-prone skin. Its comedogen index is 0, meaning that it's pretty much an all skin-type oil.
Truth be told, there are many great plant oils and sunflower oil is definitely one of them.
what‑it‑does emollient | emulsifying | viscosity controlling | surfactant/cleansing
A fatty (the good, non-drying kind of) alcohol that makes your skin feel smooth and nice (emollient), helps to thicken up products and also helps water and oil to blend (emulsifier).
what‑it‑does emollient | solvent
It's a super commonly used water-thin volatile silicone that gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel. [more]
what‑it‑does sunscreen
Octinoxate - an old-school chemical sunscreen that absorbs UVB radiation (wavelengths: 280-320 nm). Not photostable and does not protect against UVA. [more]
what‑it‑does emollient | viscosity controlling | emulsifying | surfactant/cleansing
A super common multitasker ingredient that gives your skin a nice soft feel (emollient) and gives body to creams. [more]
A very common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. Comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it's light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. [more]
An emollient ester that gives excellent slip and luxurious softness on skin. [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | skin brightening
An optical isomer of naturally occurring arbutin (or beta-arbutin). Just like its sibling, alpha-arbutin is also a skin-brightening, depigmenting agent. [more]
A stable and easy to formulate form of skincare superstar, vitamin C. In-vitro studies show that it shows all the three anti-aging benefits (antioxidant protection + collagen boosting + fading hyperpigmentation) that pure vitamin C does. [more]
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. [more]
A spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent. [more]
A kind of polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) that helps to thicken up and stabilize products. Helps to create soft and supple textures. [more]
A light, velvety, unique skin feel liquid that is a good solvent and also makes the skin feel nice and smooth. [more]
A form of vitamin E that works as an antioxidant. Compared to the pure form it's more stable, has longer shelf life, but it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin. [more]
A mildly viscous, amber-colored liquid that works as an emulsifier and surfactant. [more]
A clear, light yellow water-loving oil that comes from coconut/palm kernel oil and glycerin. It's a mild cleansing agent popular in baby washes and sensitive skin formulas. [more]
A white powdery thing that can mattify the skin and thicken up cosmetic products. [more]
A common little helper ingredient that helps water and oil to mix together, aka emulsifier. [more]
An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects skin in the UVB and somewhat in the UVA II range with a peak absorption of 304 nm. [more]
The most common type of feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason parabens. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. Apart from the general controversy around parabens (we wrote about it more here), there is a 2006 in-vitro (made in the lab not on real people) research about methylparaben (MP) sho [more]
what‑it‑does antioxidant | preservative
It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Anisole. It's a synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative. It's a somewhat controversial ingredient: The U.S. National Institutes of Health says that BHA is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen based on evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals" [more]
It's the acronym for Butylated Hydroxy Toluene. It's a common synthetic antioxidant that's used as a preservative.There is some controversy around BHT. [more]
An oil-soluble chemical sunscreen agent that protects the skin from UVB (295-315 nm) with a peak protection at 306 nm. Homosalate is not a strong UV filter in and of itself (gives only SPF 4.3 protection at max. [more]
what‑it‑does preservative | perfuming
A very common type of feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason parabens. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. [more]
what‑it‑does surfactant/cleansing | emulsifying
com. 0
The famous or rather infamous SLS (not to be confused with SLES). It is a cleansing agent known for being too good at the job and potentially irritating the skin. [more]
Avobenzone - the only globally available chemical sunscreen that gives proper UVA protection. It is not photostable so has to be combined with ingredients that help to stabilize it. [more]
A very common type of feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. [more]
irritancy, com. 0-3, 0-3
Pure Vitamin E. Great antioxidant that gives significant photoprotection against UVB rays. Works in synergy with Vitamin C. [more]
It's quite the multi-tasker: an emollient and water-binding ingredient but also an emulsifier and can be used for stabilization purposes. It's also often used to create liposomes. [more]
Sunflower Oil - it's a great emollient that protects & enhances the skin barrier. [more]