Organic Shea Butter (Butyrospermum Parkii) - goodie
Also-called: Shea Butter;Butyrospermum Parkii Butter | What-it-does: emollient
Unless you live under a rock you must have heard about shea butter. It's probably the most hyped up natural butter in skincare today.It comes from the seeds of African Shea or KariteTreesand used as a magic moisturizer and emollient.
But it's not only a simple emollient, it regenerates and soothes the skin,protects it from external factors (such as UV rays or wind) and is also rich in antioxidants (among others vitamin A, E, F, quercetin and epigallocatechin gallate). If you are looking for rich emollient benefits + more, shea is hard to beat.
Cocos Nucifera (Organic Coconut) Oil - goodie
Also-called: Coconut Oil | What-it-does: emollient, perfuming | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 4
There is definitely some craze going on for coconut oil both in the healthy eating space (often claimed to be the healthiest oil to cook with but this is a topic for another site) and in the skin and hair care space.
We will talkhere about the latter two and seewhy we might want to smear it all over ourselves. Chemically speaking, coconutoil has a unique fatty acid profile. Unlike many plant oils that mostly contain unsaturatedfatty acids (fatty acids with double bonds and kinky structure such as linoleic or oleic), coconut oil is mostly saturated (fatty acids with single bonds only) and its most important fatty acid is Lauric Acid(about 50%). Saturated fatty acids have alinear structure that can stack niceand tight and hence they are normally solid at room temperature. Coconut oil melts around 25°C so it is solid in the tub but melts on contact with the skin.
The saturated nature of coconut oil also means that it is a heavy-duty-oil ideal for dry skin types. A double-blind research confirmed that extra virgin coconut oilis as effective in treating xerosis (aka very dry skin) as mineral oil.Another study found that coconut oil is more effective than mineral oil in treatingmild to moderate atopic dermatitis (aka eczema) in children.
So when it comes to dry skin,coconut oil is a goodie, noquestionthere. The question is ifit is good or bad for acne-prone skin. Its main fatty acid, Lauric Acid has some research showing that it is a promising ingredient againstevil acne-causing bacteria, P. acnes but at the same time, both Lauric Acid and coconut oil have a very high comedogenic rating (4 out of 5). Though comedogenic ratings are not very reliable, anecdotal evidence (i.e. people commenting in forums) shows that people havemixed experiences. While some claim that it worked wonders on their acne others say that it gave them serious blackheads and zits. Try it at your own risk.
As for hair care, coconut oil has pretty solid research showing that it can penetrate into the hair very well (better than mineral oil and sunflower oil) and it can prevent hair protein loss as well as combing damage. If you have problems with damaged hair, split ends, coconut oil is worth trying as a pre- or/and post-wash treatment. Labmuffin has an awesome blogpost explaining in more detail why coconut oil is good for your hair.
A couple of other things worth mentioning: coconut oil might help with wound healing (promising animal study), it has some antifungal activity (against dermatophytes that cause the thing known as ringworm) and it also works as an insect repellent against blackflies.
Overall, coconut oil is definitely a goodie for the hair and dry skin. If that warrants for the magic oil status it enjoys, we don't know.
Kokum Butter
Also-called: Garcinia Indica Seed Butter
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Mango Butter - goodie
Also-called: Mango Seed Oil, Mango Seed Butter;Mangifera Indica Seed Oil | What-it-does: emollient
The soft solid, off-white to ivory butter or oil coming from the kernel (the seed inside of the seed) of the Mango. Similar to many other plant oils, it's a great moisturizing and nourishing emollient oil. It has medium spreadability and gives skin a creamy-dry feel.
It's loaded with a bunch of good-for-the-skin stuff: it contains almost all of the essential amino acids, has several antioxidant phenolic compounds (including famous antioxidant ferulic acid) and is a rich source of nourishingfatty acids (like stearic and oleic acid).
All in all, a skin goodie especially for dry skin types.
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond)Oil - goodie
Also-called: Sweet Almond Oil | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1-3
The emollient plant oil that comes from almonds. Similar to other plant oils, it is loaded with skin-nourishing fatty acids (oleic acid - 55-86% and linoleic acid 7-35%) and contains several other skin goodies such as antioxidant vitamin E and vitamin B versions.
It's a nice, basic oil that is often used duetoits greatsmoothing, softening and moisturizing properties. It's alsoparticularly good at treating dry brittle nails (source).
Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) SeedOil - goodie
Also-called: Jojoba Oil | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0-2
Jojoba is a drought resistant evergreen shrub native to South-western North America. It's known and grown for jojoba oil, the golden yellow liquid coming from the seeds (about 50% of the weight of the seeds will be oil).
At first glance, it seems like your average emollient plant oil: it looks like an oil and it's nourishing and moisturizing to the skin but if we dig a bit deeper, it turns out that jojoba oil is really special and unique: technically - or rather chemically - it's not an oil but awax ester (and calling it an oil is kind of sloppy).
So what the heck is a wax ester and why is that important anyway? Well, to understand what a wax ester is, you first have to know that oils are chemically triglycerides:one glycerin + three fatty acids attached to it. The fatty acids attached to the glycerin vary and thus we have many kinds of oils, but they are alltriglycerides. Mother Nature created triglycerides to be easily hydrolyzed (bebroken down to a glycerin + 3 fatty acid molecules) and oxidized (the fatty acid is broken down into small parts) - this happens basically when we eat fats or oils and our body generates energy from it.
Mother Nature also created wax esters but for a totally different purpose. Chemically, a wax ester is a fatty acid + a fatty alcohol, one long molecule. Wax esters are on the outer surface of several plant leaves to give them environmental protection. 25-30% of human sebum is also wax esters to give uspeople environmental protection.
So being a wax ester results in a couple of unique properties: First, jojoba oil is extremely stable. Like crazy stable. Even if you heat it to 370 C (698 F) for 96 hours, it does notbudge. (Many plant oils tend to go off pretty quickly). If you have some pure jojoba oil at home, you should be fine using it for years.
Second, jojoba oil is the most similar to human sebum (both being wax esters), and the two are completely miscible. Acne.org has this not fully proven theory that thanks to this, jojoba might be able to "trick" the skin into thinking it has already produced enough sebum, so it might have "skin balancing" properties for oily skin.
Third, jojoba oil moisturizes the skin through a unique dual action:on the one hand, it mixes with sebum and forms a thin, non-greasy, semi-occlusive layer; on the other hand, it absorbs into the skin through pores and hair follicles thendiffuses into the intercellular spaces of the outer layer of the skin to make it soft and supple.
On balance, the point is this: in contrast to real plant oils, wax esters were designed by Mother Nature to stay on the surface and forma protective, moisturizing barrier and jojoba oil being a wax ester is uniquely excellent at doing that.
Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Cacao) - goodie
Also-called: Cocoa Seed Butter;Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter | What-it-does: emollient | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 4
Theobroma means "food of the gods" in Greek though probably "treat of the people" would be more spot on. The cacao fruits and especially the seeds in it need no introduction as everyone knows them as the magical raw material of the magical sweet treat,chocolate(the flavour is composed of more than 1200(!) substances, and the exact chemical nature of it is not really understood, so it's indeed magic. :)).
As for skincare, cocoa butter counts as a rich emollient that can moisturize and nourish even the driest skin (think chapped hands or lips). It's solid at room temperature and melts nicely when you smear it on. It's loaded with good-for-the-skin things: it contains fatty acids, mainly oleic (35%), stearic (34%), and palmitic (25%) and it also has antioxidant vitamin E and polyphenols.
An ex-vivo (made on human skin but not on real people) study examined the cocoa polyphenols and found that 0.5-0.75% of themimproved skin tone and elasticity and had a similarly positive impact on GAGs (important natural moisturizing factors in the skin) and collagen synthesis than a commercial high-end moisturizer (it was an Estee Lauder one).
All in all, cocoa butter is a goodie, especially for very dry skin.
Vitamin E (Tocopherol) - goodie
Also-called: Tocopherol | 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 >>
Maranta Arundinacea (Arrow) Root Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Corallina Officinalis Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Betaine - goodie
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
A sugar beet-derivedamino acid derivative with nice skin protection and moisturization properties. Betaine's special thing is being an osmolyte, a molecule that helps to control cell-water balance. It is also a natural osmoprotectant, meaning that it attracts water away from the protein surface and thusprotects them from denaturation and increases their thermodynamic stability.
It also gives sensorial benefits to the formulaand when used in cleansers, it helps to make them milder and gentler.
Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract
What-it-does: emollient
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Flower/Leaf Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract - goodie
Also-called: Turmeric Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, skin brightening, perfuming
Turmeric is the yellow spice you probably know from curry and Indian food. It's also a traditional herbal medicine used inAyurveda for its bunch of anti-something magic abilities including being anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticarcinogenic.
As for turmeric and skincare, we have good news: studies show that the root extract and its main biologically active component, curcumin can do multiple good things for the skin. Thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activity, it shows some promise for acne-prone skin and a small study from 2013 showed that it might be able to regulate sebum production.
It's also a potent antioxidant and skin-brightening agentso it often shows up in anti-aging and/or radiance-boosting products.
Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate
Also-called: Fermented Radish Root | What-it-does: antimicrobial/antibacterial, preservative
It's an alternative, natural preservative that comes fromradishes fermented withLeuconostoc kimchii, a lactic acid bacteria that has been used to make traditional Korean dish, kimchi. During the fermentation process, a peptide issecreted from the bacteria that has significant antimicrobial properties.
It is one of the more promising natural preservatives that can be used even alone (recommended at 2-4%), but it's not as effective as more common alternatives, like parabens or phenoxyethanol.
Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract - goodie
Also-called: Japanese Honeysuckle Flower Extract | What-it-does: soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial
Lonicera Japonica,or Japanese Honeysuckle as normal people call it,is a white-flowered honeysuckle known for being a traditional Chinese medicine. Modern research confirms that the planthas a super complex chemical composition with more than 140 compounds identified with possible anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, antioxidative and hepatoprotective activities.
As for Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract in skin care, it can have two main roles. The first one is being ananti-inflammatory and soothing ingredient, probably due to chlorogenic acid,a polyphenol thought to be the main bioactive component of the flower.
The other possible role is being a naturalpreservative. If this is the case, it iscoupled with its Italian Honeysuckle cousinto form a broad spectrumantimicrobial preservative blend. You can read about this more here.
Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract
What-it-does: perfuming
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Populus Tremuloides (Aspen Bark) Extract
Also-called: Aspen Bark Extract;Populus Tremuloides Bark Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Gluconolactone - superstar
What-it-does: exfoliant, chelating
- It’s a polyhydroxy acid (PHA), that is often referred to as next generation AHA
- It gently lifts off dead skin cells form the skin surface making skin smooth and even
- In the long term it provides anti-aging benefits, like increased skin thickness and decreased wrinkles (though a tad less than even more proven superstar AHAs)
- It’s a great moisturizer and even helps to repair impaired skin barrier
- It’s antioxidant, and does not make your skin more sensitive to the sun
- It can be used even if your skin is very sensitive, rosacea prone or if you are post cosmetic procedure
Read all the geeky details about Gluconolactone here >>
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil
What-it-does: emollient, moisturizer/humectant, viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Phenoxyethanol
What-it-does: preservative
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.
Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate
What-it-does: chelating
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Cbd Isolate
What-it-does: antioxidant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Spirulina Extract
What-it-does: antioxidant, moisturizer/humectant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Beta Vulgaris (Beet) Root Extract - goodie
Also-called: Beet Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, moisturizer/humectant
Beetroot is a beautifully colored vegetable that you probably know from the kitchen. As for skincare - according to manufacturer info - it works as a natural moisturizer that might be able to increase the concentration of NMFs (natural moisturizing factors) in the upper layer of the skin giving skin both immediate and longer term hydration.
According to Paula's Choice, it's also a colorant and a source of antioxidants.
Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil
Also-called: Hemp Oil | What-it-does: emollient
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Water
Also-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent
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.
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.
Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
- A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
- A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
- Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
- Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
- High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>
Euterpe Oleracea (Acai) Fruit Extract
Also-called: Acai Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Sodium Benzoate
What-it-does: preservative
A helper ingredient that helps to makethe products stay nice longer, aka preservative. It works mainly against fungi.
It’s pH dependent and works best at acidic pH levels (3-5). It’s not strong enough to be used in itself so it’s always combined with something else, often with potassium sorbate.
Potassium Sorbate
What-it-does: preservative
It's one of those things that help your cosmetics not to go wrong too soon, aka a preservative. It’s not a strong one and doesn’t really work against bacteria, but more against mold and yeast. To do that it has to break down to its active form, sorbic acid. For that to happen, there has to be water in the product and the right pH value (pH 3-4).
But even if everything is right, it’s not enough on its own. If you see potassium sorbate you should see some other preservative next to it too.
BTW, it’s also a food preservativeand even has an E number, E202.
Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Extract - goodie
Also-called: Green Tea | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing
- Green tea is one of the most researched natural ingredients
- The active parts are called polyphenols, or more precisely catechins (EGCG being the most abundant and most active catechin)
- There can be huge quality differences between green tea extracts. The good ones contain 50-90% catechins (and often make the product brown and give it a distinctive smell)
- Green tea is proven to be a great antioxidant, UV protectant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial
- Because of these awesome properties green tea is a great choice for anti-aging and also for skin diseases including rosacea, acne and atopic dermatitis
Read all the geeky details about Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract here >>
Organic Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Extract
What-it-does: emollient
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Organic Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract - goodie
Also-called: Rosemary Leaf Extract;Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing, antimicrobial/antibacterial
The extract coming from the lovely herb, rosemary. It contains lots of chemicals, including flavonoids,phenolic acids, and diterpenes. Its main active is rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant, andanti-inflammatory. It has also anti-bacterial, astringent and toning properties.
The leaves contain a small amount of essential oil (1-2%) with fragrant components, so if you are allergic to fragrance, it might be better to avoid it.
Rosa Damascena (Rose) Distillate
Also-called: Damask Rose Flower Water, Rose Hydrosol;Rosa Damascena Flower Water
The flower water coming from the flowers of the Damask Rose.In general, flower waters (also called hydrosols) are diluted versions of essential oils coming from the same plant. They contain the same components but in much-reduced concentrations.
Similar to its big sister,rose oil,rose water also has a lovely, relaxing scent. It contains some antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds, as well as some fragrant components.
If your skin is super sensitive, it is a good idea to choose products without fragrant floral waters.
Vegetable Collagen - goodie
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
The big and important protein molecule that usually comes from animal skin such as fish or bovine. The gist of the "collagen in topical skincare" subject is to know thatcollagen in a jar has nothing to do with wrinkles but everything to do with skin hydration. We have a shiny explanation about this at soluble collagen, so click here to read more >>
Fragrance (Phthalate Free) - icky
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!).
Mica
Also-called: CI 77019 | What-it-does: colorant
A super versatile and common mineral powder that comes in different particle sizes. It is a multi-tasker used to improve skin feel, increase product slip, give the product light-reflecting properties, enhance skin adhesion or serve as an anti-caking agent.
It is also the most commonly used "base" material for layered composite pigments such as pearl-effect pigments. In this case, mica is coated with one or moremetal oxides (most commonly titanium dioxide) to achieve pearl effect via the physical phenomenon known as interference.
Titanium Dioxide
Also-called: Titanium Dioxide/Ci 77891;Ci 77891 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
Ci 77891 is the color code of titaniumdioxide.It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility.
Iron Oxide
Also-called: Iron Oxide Red;Ci 77491 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
Red Iron Oxide is the super common pigment that gives the familiar, "rust" red color. It is also the one that gives the pink tones in your foundation. Chemically speaking, it is iron III oxide (Fe2O3).
Manganese Violet
Also-called: Ci 77742 | What-it-does: colorant
An inorganic (as in no carbon in its molecule)pigmentthat gives purple or violet shade.
