Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product. Show It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water. Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying. One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
It's a sweet tasting sugar substitute that helps your skin to hold onto water when used in cosmetic products. It also helps to thicken up products and give them a bit more slip. We don't have description for this ingredient yet. A big molecule created from repeated subunits (a polymer of acrylic acid) that magically converts a liquid into a nice gel formula. It usually has to be neutralized with a base (such as sodium hydroxide) for the thickening to occur and it creates viscous, clear gels that also feel nice and non-tacky on the skin. No wonder, it is a very popular and common ingredient. Typically used at 1% or less in most formulations. What-it-does: buffering | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 2 It’s a little helper ingredient that helps to set the pH of a cosmetic formulation to be just right. It’s very alkaline (you know the opposite of being very acidic): a 1% solution has a pH of around 10. It does not have the very best safety reputation but in general, you do not have to worry about it. What is true is that if a product contains so-called N-nitrogenating agents (e.g.: preservatives like 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol, 5-Bromo-5-Nitro- 1,3-Dioxane or sodium nitrate - so look out for things with nitro, nitra in the name) that together with TEA can form some not nice carcinogenic stuff (that is called nitrosamines). But with proper formulation that does not happen, TEA in itself is not a bad guy. But let’s assume a bad combination of ingredients were used and the nitrosamines formed. :( Even in that case you are probably fine because as far as we know it cannot penetrate the skin. But to be on the safe side, if you see Triethanolamine in an INCI and also something with nitra, nitro in the name of it just skip the product, that cannot hurt. It’s pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, but even more importantly, it’s not a feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben. It’s not something new: it was introduced around 1950 and today it can be used up to 1% worldwide. It can be found in nature - in green tea - but the version used in cosmetics is synthetic. Other than having a good safety profile and being quite gentle to the skin it has some other advantages too. It can be used in many types of formulations as it has great thermal stability (can be heated up to 85°C) and works on a wide range of pH levels (ph 3-10). It’s often used together with ethylhexylglycerin as it nicely improves the preservative activity of phenoxyethanol. It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically. No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. Has to be combined with some other nice preservatives, like potassium sorbate to be broad spectrum enough. In high amounts, it can be a skin irritant, but don’t worry, it’s never used in high amounts. 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. :)) What-it-does: soothing | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0 Super common soothing ingredient. It can be found naturally in the roots & leaves of the comfrey plant, but more often than not what's in the cosmetic products is produced synthetically. It's not only soothing but it' also skin-softening and protecting and can promote wound healing. 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. Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!). If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it. Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!). You may also want to take a look at...Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. A real oldie but a goodie. Great natural moisturizer and skin-identical ingredient that plays an important role in skin hydration and general skin health. A common glycol that improves the freeze-thaw stability of products. It's also a solvent, humectant and to some extent a penetration enhancer. It's a sweet tasting sugar substitute that helps your skin to hold onto water when used in cosmetic products. It also helps to thicken up products and give them a bit more slip. A handy white powder that magically converts a liquid into a nice gel formula. Helps to set the pH of a cosmetic formulation to be right. It’s very alkaline. Pretty much the current IT-preservative. It’s safe and gentle, and can be used up to 1% worldwide. It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It can be naturally found in fruits and teas but can also be made synthetically. No matter the origin, in small amounts (up to 1%) it’s a nice, gentle preservative. 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 Super common soothing ingredient. It can be found naturally in the roots & leaves of the comfrey plant, but more often than not what's in the cosmetic products is produced synthetically. It's not only soothing but it' A mildly viscous, amber-colored liquid that works as an emulsifier and surfactant. The generic term for nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. It is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average. What is the best aloe vera gel on the market?Best Overall: Sun Bum After Sun Cool Down Gel at Walmart. ... . Best Budget: Fruit of the Earth Aloe Vera Gel at Amazon. ... . Best Organic: Seven Minerals Organic Aloe Vera Gel at Amazon. ... . Best Natural: Bloomscape Hedgehog Aloe at Bloomscape.com. ... . Best for Acne: ... . Best for Sensitive Skin: ... . Best for Face: ... . Best for Sunburns:. Which brand is best for aloe vera gel?The 12 Best Aloe Vera Gels of 2023. Wow Aloe Vera Beauty Gel.. Indus Valley Bio Organic Aloe Vera Gel.. Khadi Natural Herbal Aloe Vera Gel.. Lakmé 9 to 5 Naturale Aloe Aquagel.. Plum Hello Aloe Calm This Way Soothing Gel.. Oriental Botanics 99% Aloe Vera Fresh Soothing Gel.. Urban Botanics Pure Aloe Vera Gel.. Do dermatologists recommend aloe vera gel?Besides having serious antibacterial skills, aloe vera gel contains salicylic acid, which is an exfoliant that helps to unclog pores, making it especially helpful if you deal with pimples and blackheads. Bonus: It also acts as an anti-inflammatory on the oil glands that cause acne, says Dr. Mark. Which company is best for aloe vera?7 best aloe vera gels of 2022. Best multipurpose: Beauty by Earth Aloe Vera Gel.. Best for lips: Organic Doctor Organic Aloe Vera Lip Balm.. Best lightweight: Badger Unscented Aloe Vera Gel.. Best for a splurge: COOLA Radical Recovery After-Sun Lotion.. Best for organic: Green Leaf Naturals Aloe Vera Gel at Green Leaf Naturals.. |
