Better Understanding of INGREDIENT labels

In this post, we will be diving into how to read ingredients lists. So, you can understand what you are buying. We will go step-by-step to understand what is going on behind those long and sometimes complex words. Let's get into it!

In recent years, consumers have been more adamant about looking at the ingredients labels of their cosmetic products. While I definitely encourage you to read them, they do not tell you as much as you think.
First, We need to go other the key concepts of cosmetic labels.

• The ingredient's names are in their INCI. INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetics Ingredients.
• Botanical ingredients are different. They have the common name and the Latin name.
  • For example, Shea Butter is Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter. Butyrospermum parkii is the botanical name, followed by the common name and then the form that it is in. 
• Ingredients list are in descending order, but at 1% and below, it can be in any order. A good indicator is Phenoxyethanol, as it is generally used at 1% in a formula. Extracts, Colorants, Fragrances, and Preservative blends tend to be less than 1%.
• Color Additives may be in any order or may have a "May contain" statement if you make a statement for multiple shades in a line.
• Fragrances must be labeled under, fragrance, fragrances, or parfum or parfums.
• Incidental ingredients such as preservatives in an extract do not have to be on the label. In other countries, you do, such as the EU.
• To make a label, you need to know the exact concentration, for example, surfactants like Cocamidopropyl betaine is a 30% dilution. So, when you are looking at an ingredients list, it is made from the exact percentage. 
  • ​If you don't understand the percentage concept, then you need to read this post. (link)

Now that we have gone over the basics of cosmetic labeling, we need to talk about what should not be.
What are the things labels should not have?

• Common Names or Trade Names
• Examples: Shea Butter (Common Name), or Liquid Germall Plus (Trade Name).
• Organic claims in the label or other Marketing in the label, such as Cocamidopropyl betaine (naturally-derived) 
• Some companies can get away with making preservative-free claims. As some ingredients are fragrances or other functions such as being a humectant. However, this is very misleading. I know the EU has banned this, but here in the US, companies still make them. Remember anything that contains water or will be in contact with water has to have a broad-spectrum preservative. 
• Examples: Naticide is a broad spectrum preservative but also is a fragrance ingredient that can be under fragrance. Making it look like the product has no preservative. Honeysuckle Extracts and 1,2-hexanediol; caprylyl glycol are a couple of examples that also fall under this category. 

How can you improve reading labels or better understand them?
I recommend learning even the basics of formulating and ingredients. For example, know when you are looking at a w/o emulsion or an o/w emulsions. I have a post on this, and it is in the Cosmetic Dictionary on the diamond level blog. I also have two posts on breaking down the ingredients that are in skincare and makeup products. That post will give you an idea of the types of ingredients in your products. If you want to know more about ingredients, I have a section called my Ingredients Guide. I give a description, the INCI(s), the benefits it has, how to use it in a formulation, and the applications that the ingredient can be in. I also recommend that you look at free supplier information, I have a whole section on the blog of suppliers. It comes down to you needing to have some cosmetics knowledge to be able to read them. 

What can we not see in an ingredient list?
People tend not to realize that there is a science dedicated to the cosmetic formulation. To the average consumer, the ingredients list only gives a small part of the picture. Ingredients in different concentrations will have a different effect on the formula is just one example of this. Xanthan Gum, for instance. A low grade can be quite stringy, sticky, or even snot-like when formulated above 0.5%. However, there is an exception. Higher grades can be formulated to 1% with some stringiness but no tack. The truth is that they have the same INCI name.
So, what exactly affects the formula that we can't see?
•Concentration: The exact concentration of the ingredient, unless they make a concentration claim. Again that only gives you a picture for some of the ingredients.
•The quality of the ingredient:
I have a whole separate post in this on the diamond level blog about this topic. 
• Method: Some ingredients require shear to work; others don't. It depends on the ingredient. Shear is mixing. Another example is extracts in lip balms. Extracts should be in the cool-down phase, but in a lip balm, you have to account for its setting point or where the product becomes solid. This heat degrades the extract. 
•Chemistry: certain ingredients, when mixed, create a different effect. For example, when you add salt to a surfactant formulation, it increases the viscosity. 
•pH: Some ingredients need to have a certain pH to be active. Most companies do not mention it, but it is something to consider. For example, Niacinamide should be around 6.

• Exceptions: Niacinamide PC, for example, does not have this issue. Encapsulated ingredients are not affected by the external pH as the inner layer can have the right pH. 

•Packaging: Yes, packaging can change the flow or the rheology of the product. For example, whipped products should not be in a pump bottle as the mechanism will push out the air in the formula.

I hope that this post gave you more insight into the ingredients list of formulas and what they tell you about a formulation.