5 easy tips to decipher the ingredient label of your skincare products

Where is the ingredient label?

The list of ingredients or the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) list is not always on the product itself. It is almost always found on the outer packaging of the product, and is sometimes hidden under peelable stickers.

What order do the ingredients come in?

"According to regulations, all ingredients are listed in descending order, from the most concentrated to those with percentages less than one percent. there, they can be listed in any order the brand wants," explains Qureshi. But consumers find it difficult to not only know the concentration of each ingredient, but also to know where the one percent cutoff is.

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Understanding Ingredient Names

Substances in the formula are listed by their chemical or biological name: "For example, the biological name of a rose is Rosa Damascena, but there are other types of pink, like the root or the leaf, which are defined by a different nomenclature," says Qureshi. The INCI list highlights which part of the ingredient is used. Although knowing exactly what each ingredient is is difficult, a quick Google search or the EU CosIng database should clear everything up.

Common ingredients we should know about

Although the formulas and their ingredients vary, there are some very common words that you should be familiar with. On many INCI lists, water is one of the first ingredients, as are glycols, which are "solubilizing ingredients that sometimes make consumers wary because they sound like harsh chemicals," says Qureshi. Don't jump to conclusions when you see confusing chemical names, as many of these ingredients are skin-friendly, include crucial preservatives (as they maintain the stability of the formula), and help other ingredients dissolve in the solution, thereby increasing efficacy. of the product.

Learn the Symbols

One of the most important symbols on the label is the Period After Open (or PAO), a logo of a half-open tub containing a number followed by an M; for example, 24M means 24 months. "It indicates how long the formula lasts once the product is opened," explains Qureshi. "Other symbols are the Cosmos, which means that the product has been certified as organic or natural, and the recycling symbol, which shows that it is suitable to be poured into the container in question once the product has been consumed."

This article originally appeared on Vogue.co.uk

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