According to EU cosmetics legislation, the packaging of a cosmetic product must display a list of the ingredients contained in the product. This is called the INCI list. The raw materials contained in the product are indicated in order of quantity. However, substances that form less than 1% of the product may be declared in any order. On Djusie’s INCI lists, the raw materials are always listed in their actual order of quantity.
Product lines do not indicate the concentrations of the raw materials used as this would reveal the recipe of the product. However, some products indicate the contents of the active ingredients.
A complete recipe cannot be established based on the INCI list alone, but when you know a few basic things about making a moisturiser, for example, you can draw indicative conclusions about the composition of the product.
To interpret an INCI list, it is necessary to understand the functions of raw materials. One ingredient can have several functions. The common functions of the raw materials used in skincare products can be found below.
Surface-active agent or surfactant
Surfactants reduce the surface tension of a product, affecting its spreadability, and help insoluble substances to dissolve in each other. Surfactants act as the emulsifier in an emulsion (e.g. a moisturiser), as well as the cleaning agent in a cleansing product, enabling the product to be rinsed off the skin. The ‘solubilisers’ used in toners containing essential oils to dissolve the oils in an otherwise aqueous product are also surfactants.
Solvent
Dissolves other substances. The most common solvent is water (aqua), but natural cosmetics often also use floral waters, birch sap or aloe vera juice, which are also mainly water. In addition, plant-based propylene glycol (propylene glycol) may be used in natural cosmetics. A solvent is an essential substance in emulsions such as moisturiser, essence and serums containing water-soluble ingredients.
Occlusive
Occlusives are substances that form a thin film on the surface of the skin. This film protects the skin from water evaporation, cold temperatures and wind. Occlusives may be synthetic, such as mineral oil or synthetic fats, or natural vegetable waxes, such as cocoa butter, beeswax or shea butter. Vegetable waxes contain fatty acids, vitamins and minerals that are good for the skin, thus making them the most beneficial option.
Emulsion Stabiliser
Emulsion stabilisers ensure that the phases contained in an emulsion do not begin to separate from each other and that the composition of the product remains smooth. Examples of such substances are cetearyl alcohol and chelating agents such as sodium phytate and sodium gluconate. Chelating agents bind to and neutralise metal ions, which helps to maintain the product’s stable composition, that is, keep it smooth.
Emulsifier
An emulsifier is a surfactant that causes two insoluble materials to combine with each other. It is a mandatory substance in an emulsion, such as moisturiser. Cleansing oil, which is rinsed off the skin with water, also contains an emulsifier. The emulsifiers used in natural cosmetics are always plant-based. Common emulsifiers include, for example, cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate, cetearyl alcohol, coco-glucoside, polyglyceryl-6 distearate and glyceryl stearate.
Gelling agent
A gelling agent makes a liquid product gel-like. For example, gel serums, rich essences and micellar gel cleansers are aqueous liquid products that are thickened into a gel through the use of a gelling agent. Common gelling agents in natural cosmetics are gum arabic (acacia senegal gum) and xanthan gum (xanthan gum).
Preservative
Products containing water are highly susceptible to the growth of harmful microbes and fungi, which is why such products must contain a preservative. In order to improve the shelf life, natural cosmetics use nature-identical substances, which are also used in the food industry. The most common preservatives include dehydroacetic acid, sodium dehydroacetate, sodium levunilate, sodium anisate, benzyl alcohol, benzoic acid, potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate. Products that contain only oil-soluble substances do not need a preservative. However, many vegetable oils and essential oils are sensitive to oxidation, causing them to lose their potency. Oxidation can be prevented through the addition of antioxidants such as vitamin E.
Humectant
Humectants are substances that moisturise the skin. When applied to the skin, they begin to absorb moisture from the environment, attaching it to the surface of the skin and thus improving the skin’s moisture balance. Some humectants are characterised by a slightly sticky or clammy composition. If humectants are used too much or in a very dry environment, they can absorb moisture from the skin and dry it out. Common humectants include glycerin, betaine, Sodium PCA, hyaluronic acid and xylitol.
Viscosity modifier
Viscosity modifiers are also called thickeners and may additionally have a stabilising effect on emulsions. Examples of viscosity modifiers include vegetable waxes, cetearyl alcohol and various gums, such as xanthan gum.
Emollient
Substances that soften the skin are called emollients. They also have a moisturising effect as they prevent water from evaporating from the skin. Emollients can be natural, such as vegetable oils or esters produced by resolving vegetable oils and converting them into another substance, or synthetic, such as silicones or mineral oils. The most beneficial emollients for the skin are whole vegetable oils.
Fragrance
Fragrances can be either natural or synthetic. Only natural fragrances are allowed in natural cosmetics. These can be either whole essential oils or individual fragrance components isolated from the essential oils. Some fragrance components are classified as allergens, that is, the most common allergens are marked as such. If the whole essential oil or perfume mixture contains such components, they must be listed in the INCI list in accordance with EU cosmetics legislation. There are currently 26 substances classified as allergens, 16 of which are present in essential oils. If, for example, the product contains lavender essential oil, the fragrance component linalool must also be included in the list. The 16 substances classified as allergens in natural perfumes and essential oils are:
Geraniol
Isoeugenol
Anisyl alcohol
Benzyl benzoate
Benzyl cinnamate
Citronellol
Farnesol
Limonene
Linalool
Benzyl alcohol
Benzyl salicylate
Cinnamyl alcohol
Cinnamal
Citral
Coumarin
Eugenol
An example of a lotion INCI:
Moisturisers are almost invariably o/w or oil-in-water emulsions, which means that the aqueous phase is the external phase (water and water-soluble substances) and the oil phase is the internal phase (oil and oil-soluble substances).
The aqueous phase constitutes 80%–90% of the product, depending on the composition of the moisturiser. The thinner the composition, the higher the proportion of the aqueous phase. Since a skin cream contains mostly water, the first substance on the INCI list will be purified water, or aqua. Purified water can also be partially or completely replaced with some floral water or plant extract. However, this does not make the product anhydrous, as the floral waters are formed as a by-product of the distillation of essential oils, that is, they are purified water into which the components contained in essential oils have been dissolved. Often purified water is also replaced with aloe vera juice, which is purified water mixed with freeze-dried aloe vera powder. In this case, the INCI name will be Aloe barbadensis leaf juice. Plant extracts used in place of purified water are also extracted into water.
After water or its substitute, there will be an oil phase on the INCI list, which accounts for 10%–25% of the product, depending on its composition. If the oil phase consists of genuine vegetable oils, the raw materials are easy to identify, as they appear as the Latin name of the plant and in many cases the English name of the plant is also given. Whole vegetable oils are always the most caring option for the skin, however they can also be replaced by resolved facial oils, that is, ester oils, which are natural substances but lack the caring effects of whole vegetable oils. The reason for the use of esters may be the silky feeling the ester oil offers on the skin, as well as its lower cost compared to authentic, whole vegetable oils. In general, low-cost cosmetics contain just these oils. Ester oils include caprylic/capric triglyceride, dicaprylyl ether, coco-caprylate, decyl cocoate and isoamyl laurate. These oils are almost invariably palm-oil derivatives.
The oil phase also contains an emulsifier, which often comprises 4%–6% of the total product, and ranks at the top of the INCI list after the most-used oils in the oil phase. Emulsifiers used in natural cosmetics are always plant-based and are almost invariably sold as ready-made mixtures of two or more substances. The emulsifier is an essential substance in an emulsion as it dissolves the insoluble aqueous phase and the oil phase.
Water, oils and an emulsifier form the basis of the moisturiser – about 90% or more of the product. For this reason, it is important to choose a product with a base that is as caring as possible, that is, it contains whole vegetable oils instead of resolved ester oils.
The amount of actual active ingredients in the product is low, some 5% or less in low-price products. The active ingredients include humectants, that is, moisturising agents, as well as various plant extracts, fruit acids, vitamins and so on.
Each active ingredient and humectant has individual, recommended concentrations for use in such a product and a large amount does not equate to efficacy or an optimal concentration. In addition to the active ingredients, the vegetable oils in the oil phase are also caring agents and the water in the aqueous phase hydrates the skin.
Plant extracts are among the most important active ingredients in natural cosmetics. There are also differences in their quality: they are often extracted into glycerin, water, alcohol, or a combination of water and glycerin. What is crucial is the amount of solid (i.e. plant) in the extract, as well as the quality of the plant itself and the extraction process. For plant extracts, the solvent into which the extract has been extracted must also be entered in the INCI list. For example, if the product contains 2% of a plant extract, this does not mean that this is the amount of plant in the product, because, for example, a 10% strength extract contains 90% solvent. In this case, the solvent is first mentioned in the INCI list according to its concentration, and the name of the plant itself and the part of the plant from which it has been extracted are mentioned later. Solvent and plant name are rarely listed in succession.
The viscosity of the moisturiser can be adjusted with a thickener or viscosity modifier. Thickeners can be vegetable waxes, hydrogenated vegetable oils or, commonly, cetearyl alcohol (cetearyl alcohol). Thickeners may also have emulsion stabilising properties. Various gums such as xanthan gum (xanthan gum) are also popular viscosity modifiers and can act as a gelling agent too. The amount of thickeners in a product varies, but is usually in the 0.5%–2% range, except for gums, which comprise 0.2%–1% of the product.
Because moisturisers contain water-soluble substances and oils, they are susceptible to harmful microbes. Therefore, the product must contain a preservative, usually comprising 1%–2% of the product.
The moisturiser may also contain a fragrance unless the product is fragrance-free. In natural cosmetics, whole essential oils are used as fragrances, identified in the INCI list by their Latin name, as well as fragrance components which are isolated from essential oils, in which case the INCI list will state ‘parfum’. In addition to the fragrant effect, the whole essential oils have caring effects, and using an essential oil as the fragrance makes the product kinder on the skin. The amount of perfume in a moisturiser is typically less than 1%.
Fragrances and preservatives typically appear at the end of the INCI list and the very last ones listed are the potential allergens.
Djusie products do not contain any raw materials that are not necessary for the skin or the functioning of the product. The effectiveness of the products is based on the genuine benefits to skin care of ingredients, not how they feel on the skin. Therefore, Djusie’s products do not contain ester oils or isolated fragrance components; rather the oils used are always whole vegetable oils and the scents of the products come from genuine essential oils. For this reason, where products contain entirely water-soluble ingredients, such as Djusie’s Acid Bloom essence, it will smell of the active ingredients it contains. If essential oils had been added to it, the product would also have to contain a solubiliser, that is, a surfactant, which has no benefit for the skin.