Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice - goodie
Also-called: Aloe Vera | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant
Aloe Vera is one of today’s magic plants. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped.
What research does confirm about Aloe is that it’s a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicylates, polysaccharides, magnesium lactate and C-glucosyl chromone) as well as some antibacterial components. It also helps wound healing and skin regeneration in general. All in all definitely a goodie.
Lactobacillus/Arundinaria Gigantea Ferment Filtrate (Bamboo Isoflavones) - goodie
Also-called: Bamboo Isoflavones | What-it-does: antioxidant
The fancy name for fermented bamboo that's obtained by macerating bamboo stalks and leaves and then fermenting them with Lactobacillus lactis. According to the manufacturer, the end result containssilica (silicones also come from silica) and powerful antioxidants called isoflavones.
Thanks to its silica content, bamboo ferment is not only an antioxidantbut can be used as a natural silicone replacement giving slip to the cosmetic products.
Aqua
Also-called: Water | 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.
Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract - goodie
Also-called: White Willow Bark Extract | What-it-does: soothing, astringent
The extract coming from the bark of the White Willow, a big (25 m/80 ft.) tree that likes to liveon riverbanks. It's famous for containing anti-inflammatory natural salicylates (this powder, for example, is standardized to contain 53-65%), a close chemical relative to famous exfoliantsalicylic acid.
Thanks to its salicin content, willow barkis often touted as a natural alternative to salicylic acid, though it's quite questionable how effective it is as a chemical exfoliant in the tiny amounts used in cosmetics. Apart from soothing salicin, it also containsflavonoids and phenolic acids that give willow bark tonic, astringent, and antiseptic properties.
Lactobacillus Ferment - goodie
What-it-does: soothing, preservative
Lactobacillus ferment is an interesting probiotic ingredient with some promising properties.
First, according to a 2009 Estee Lauder patent, it’s a DNA repair enzyme and it can help to protect the skin against environmental aggressors.
Second, still according to Estee Lauder research but now from 2012 the ingredient has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties and holds promise in the treatment of acne and rosacea. For the former one 5% was needed to show effectiveness, but for reducing skin sensitivity already 1% showed results.
The anti-acne effect is confirmed also by US manufacturer, Barnet, that says that Lactobacillus ferment is helpful in killing harmful bacteria and creating a healthy balanced microflora. Compared to well-known anti-acne and anti-inflammatory salicylic acid the probiotic worked faster at reducing the size and redness of acne lesions.
It also goes by the trade nameLeucidalLiquid SF and can serve in the formula as a natural preservative.
Bottom line: It’s not the most proven ingredient (yet) but definitely a very promising one especially if you have sensitive skin, acne or rosacea.
Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract (Pomegranate Enzyme) - goodie
Also-called: Pomegranate Enzyme | What-it-does: exfoliant
It's the fancy name forpomegranate enzyme that's obtained by fermenting thepomegranate fruit withLactobacillus lactis.The fermentation process makes the desired phytochemicals readily available and selective filtration techniques are used toisolate the proteolytic fractions.
The end result is the enzyme that increases cell renewal and can be an alternative to acid exfoliation (though it is not as effective as glycolic acid even according to the manufacturer's measurementsnot to speak about the other benefits of glycolic acid).
Hydrolyzed Opuntia Ficus-Indica (Prickly Pear) Flower Extract
What-it-does: abrasive/scrub
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Vaccinium Myrtillus (Bilberry) Fruit Extract
Also-called: Bilberry Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Glucono Delta Lactone - 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 >>
Malic Acid - goodie
What-it-does: exfoliant, buffering
Malic acid comes from apple and is an AHA. If these magic three letters don’t tell you anything, click here and read our detailed description on glycolic acid, the most famous AHA.
So malic acid is an exfoliant, that can - just like other AHAs - gently lift off the dead skin cells of your skin and make it more smooth and fresh.
There is not much research out there about malic acid itself. We could find one comparative study, thatcompared the effectiveness of glycolic acid, lactic acid, citric acid and malic acid. The first two ones were the winners while malic and citric acid were less effective.
Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract
Also-called: Coconut Fruit Extract | What-it-does: emollient
The extract coming from the coconut fruit. It is a similar thing to coconut water and fruit juice and is loaded with sugars, minerals, amino acids. It is also claimed to havevitalizing and energizing effects, and somesmoothing, emollient and hydrating props.
If you are into coconut, we have more details at coconut water and coconut oil.
Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract - goodie
Also-called: Apple Fruit Extract | What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
Apple needs no introduction as one of the most common fruits on planet Earth. It's not only a healthy fruit snack, it's also a goodie if you put in all over your face.
It's loaded withproteins, starch, sugars, acids, vitamins and salts. The sugars (mainly fructose, glucose, sucrose) give apple fruit extract nice moisturizing and smoothing properties, while the acids (mainly malic and gallic acid) give it mild exfoliant, skin brightening and antibacterial properties.
Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract - goodie
Also-called: Sugar Cane Extract | What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant
Also known as Sugarcane, Saccharum Officinarum is a handy moisturizing ingredient mostly used as a humectant. This means that it can help the skin to attract water and then to hold onto it.
It bears a close relationship to AHA superstar,Glycolic Acid that can be derived from it, so it's often claimed that SugarcaneExtract itself also exfoliates and brightens the skin. We could not find any research studies to back this up, but Saccharum Officinarum very often comes to the formula combined with other acid containing plant extracts trade namedACB Fruit Mix. According to manufacturer data, 5% of the fruit mix increases cellular renewal by 24%, while 4% pure Glycolic did the same by 33%. So maybe, a tiny bit of exfoliation, but if you want proven efficacy, stick to pure acids.
Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract - goodie
Also-called: Pineapple Fruit Extract | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant
A goodie fruit extract coming from the lovelypineapple. It contains a bunch of good-for-the-skinstuff: bromelain and fruit acids have mild exfoliant properties, and fruit sugars and amino acids give the pineapple fruit nice moisturizing and soothing properties.
There is also a pineapple extract called pineapple ceramide on the market that's claimed to be loaded with aglucose linked ceramide derivative called glucoceramide. According to the manufacturer, glucoceramideis not only a skin moisturizerbut it also helps to lighten the skin and make it more smooth.
Hexylene Glycol
What-it-does: solvent, emulsifying, perfuming, surfactant/cleansing | Irritancy: 0-1 | Comedogenicity: 0-2
Similar to other glycols, it's a helper ingredient used as a solvent, or to thin out thick formulas and make them more nicely spreadable.
Hexylene Glycol is also part a preservative blend namedLexgard® HPO, where it helps the effectiveness of current IT-preservative, phenoxyethanol.
2-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.
Averrhoa Carambola (Starfruit) Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Passiflora Incarnata (Passionfruit) Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Extract
Also-called: Kiwi Extract | What-it-does: emollient
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Garcinia Mangostana (Mangosteen) Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract - goodie
Also-called: Pineapple Fruit Extract | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant
A goodie fruit extract coming from the lovelypineapple. It contains a bunch of good-for-the-skinstuff: bromelain and fruit acids have mild exfoliant properties, and fruit sugars and amino acids give the pineapple fruit nice moisturizing and soothing properties.
There is also a pineapple extract called pineapple ceramide on the market that's claimed to be loaded with aglucose linked ceramide derivative called glucoceramide. According to the manufacturer, glucoceramideis not only a skin moisturizerbut it also helps to lighten the skin and make it more smooth.
Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract
What-it-does: astringent
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Litchi Chinensis (Lychee) Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Zizyphus Jujuba (Jujube) Fruit Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Psidium Guajava (Guava) Fruit Extract
What-it-does: astringent
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
1,2-Octanediol
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, emollient, deodorant
It’s a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol.
The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.
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.
Citric Acid
What-it-does: buffering
Citric acid comes from citrus fruits and is an AHA. If these magic three letters don’t tell you anything, click here and read our detailed description on glycolic acid, the most famous AHA.
So citric acid is an exfoliant, that can - just like other AHAs - gently lift off the dead skin cells of your skin and make it more smooth and fresh.
There is also some research showing that citric acid with regular use (think three monthsand 20% concentration) can help sun-damaged skin, increase skin thickness and some nice hydrating things called glycosaminoglycans in the skin.
But according to a comparative study done in 1995, citric acid has less skin improving magic properties than glycolic or lactic acid. Probably that’s why citric acid is usually not used as an exfoliant but more as a helper ingredient in small amounts to adjust the pH of a formulation.
Caprylyl Glycol
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, emollient, deodorant
It’s a handy multi-tasking ingredient that gives the skin a nice, soft feel. At the same time, it also boosts the effectiveness of other preservatives, such as the nowadays super commonly used phenoxyethanol.
The blend of these two (caprylyl glycol + phenoxyethanol) is called Optiphen, which not only helps to keep your cosmetics free from nasty things for a long time but also gives a good feel to the finished product. It's a popular duo.
Wasabia Japonica (Wasabi) Root Extract
Also-called: Wasabi Root Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract - goodie
Also-called: Ginger Root Extract | What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing
The extract coming from ginger, the lovely spice that we all know from the kitchen. It is also a medicinal plant used both in Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for pretty much everything you can imagine (muscular pain, sore throat, nausea, fever or cramps, just to give a few examples).
As for ginger and skincare, the root extract contains the biologically active component called gingerolthat has potentantioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Combined with Bisabolol, the duo works synergistically to sooth the skin and take down redness.
Other than that, ginger also contains moisturizing polysaccharides,amino acids,and sugars, and it is also quite well known to increaseblood circulation and have a toningeffect.
Last but not least, Ginger alsohas some volatile, essential oil compounds (1-3%). Those are mostly present in ginger oil, but small amounts might be in the extract as well (around 0.5% based on manufacturer info).
Allium Sativum (Garlic) Bulb Extract
Also-called: Garlic Bulb Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract
Also-called: Orange Fruit Extract
We have to start by writing that there are about 900 citrus species in the world, and plenty of them are used to make different kinds of extracts used in cosmetics.This particular one,Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract is a very common ingredient, however,the species "Citrus Aurantium Dulcis" seem to exist only on ingredient listsand the real world calls this guy Citrus Sinensis or, you know, orange.
To complicate matters further, there are lots of varieties and lots of extraction methods, so it is a bit hard to know what you are gettingwith this one, but we will try our best to summarize the possibilities.
A very common scenario is that Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Extract is onthe ingredient list for its mild, natural exfoliant properties. It contains mainlycitric acidand somemalic acid, AHA exfoliants known for their skin renewing properties. If that's the case, it is usually combined with other AHA containing fruits such asbilberry, sugar cane, lemon, and sugar maple in a super popular ingredient mix trade named ACB Fruit Mix.
But orange fruit is loaded with lots of other active compounds with a wide variety of possible effects. A well-knownoneis the antioxidantvitamin C, aka ascorbic acid, but the dosage will vary based on the extraction method, and it’s possible that some of the ascorbic acid content will degrade before extraction process even takes place. If you want vitamin C in your skincare, that is smart, but do not rely on orange fruit extract for it.
Flavonoids(hesperidin, naringin, luteolin, and ferulic acid) are also nice active compounds with possible antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and vasoprotective effects. Some of them (namely hesperidin and luteolin) might evenhave skin brightening activity by inhibiting tyrosinase, the famous enzyme needed for melanin production.
The orange extract also contains carbohydrates, aka sugars (mostly glucose, fructose, and sucrose, but also some bigger polysaccharides such as pectin) giving the ingredient some moisturizing properties.
Some essential oil content is usually also present in citrus fruit extracts, which means a nice scent and antibacterial properties, but also some questionable compounds such as fragrance allergenlimoneneor phototoxic compoundbergaptene. If the amount is big enough to worry about is questionable, probably not, however, the same question applies to all the nice beneficial compounds.
Overall, we think that the orange fruit extract is a very complex ingredient with lots of potentially good things in it, but we could not find proper in-vivo (made on real people) studies made with standardized extracts to validate what it really does or does not under real-world use cases.
Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract
Also-called: Lemon Fruit Extract
If life gives the cosmetic industry lemon, it makes lemon fruit extract. As to why, we can write here extremely similar things to our shiny description of orange fruit extract.Being both of them citruses, they contain very similar active compounds with very similar (potential) effects on the skin.
Just like orange fruit, lemon fruitalso containscitric acid so it is commonly used as anatural, mild exfoliating agent. If this is the case, it is usually combined with other AHA containing fruit extracts such asbilberry,sugar cane, orange, andsugar maplein a super popular ingredient mix trade namedACB Fruit Mix.
But, citrus fruits are chemically complex mixtures with a bunch of other active components such as vitamin C, flavonoids, phenolics, carbohydrates and essential oil(this latter one coming from the rind of the fruit, but still present in some amount in the fruit extract). These have the potential to give lemon extract antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-dandruff, venotonicand moisturizing properties, but the essential oil also brings somequestionable compounds such as fragrance allergen limonene or phototoxic compound bergaptene. If your skin is sensitive, be careful with citrus extracts.
Disodium EDTA
What-it-does: chelating
Super common little helper ingredient thathelps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.
It is typically used in tiny amounts, around 0.1% or less.
