Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant, Texture-Enhancer, Solvent
A naturally occurring substance in skin that helps retain moisture. It is used in skin care products to help defend against dryness.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Texture-Enhancer, Emulsifier
Sugar- and fatty acid-derived cleansing agent that aids in formula stability mostly due to its emulsification properties.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent
Commonly used mild surfactant in cleansing formulas; may also function as an emulsion stabilizer.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Solvent, Preservative
This water-binding ingredient works well in cosmetics as a hydrating ingredient, solvent, and texture enhancer. It has been deemed safe for use in skin care products.

Rating: Average
Categories: Texture-Enhancer
Better known as salt, this ingredient is primarily used to thicken skin and hair care formulations. It also functions as a binding agent and sometimes a scrub particle in physical exfoliants.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent
This gentle cleansing ingredient is derived from coconut and has been ruled safe as used in cosmetics.

Rating: Best
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Humectant, Emulsifier
Versatile ingredient that can function as a cleansing agent/emulsifier. Also known to strengthen skin’s microbiome and offer soothing properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Exfoliant, Humectant, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
This exfoliating acid helps skin shed dead cells on the surface also offers hydrating properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Cleansing-Agent
Contributes skin-softening, soothing, and cleansing properties. Created by condensing the chloride form of a fatty acid with amino acids derived from oats.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
Cleansing agent/emulsifier used to enhance the overall texture of the formula.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent
This mild cleansing agent is derived from coconut and the amino acid glutamic acid. It is considered non-irritating as used in skin care products.

Rating: Good
Categories: Chelating-Agent
One of the salt forms of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, it improves the stability of other cosmetics ingredients, helping them last longer. It’s been deemed safe as used in cosmetics and is even used as an additive in some foods.

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts
This form of aloe is the powder form of the aloe barbadensis leaf plant.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Texture-Enhancer, Plant-Extracts
Emollient and skin-replenishing ingredient derived from coconut oil and glycerin. Contains fatty acids that help skin resist moisture loss.

Rating: Good
Categories:
This mixture of coconut fatty acids and the amino acid proline functions as a hydrating and conditioning ingredient in skin care.

Rating: Good
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer, Chelating-Agent, Antioxidant, Preservative
This workhorse ingredient helps control the pH of skin care products, making it valuable in exfoliants, cleansers, and toners. It also has antioxidant, chelating and preservative properties, and is used in both food and medical applications.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Extract from the minimally processed buds and leaves of green tea.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Offers soothing and anti-aging benefits.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant
This excellent hydrating ingredient is part of skin’s natural moisturizing factor (NMF). As such, it is a cornerstone of many moisturizers thanks to its ability to help skin both attract and retain moisture, resulting a more supple, youthful appearance.

Rating: Good
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer, Humectant
The sodium salt of lactic acid, which works as a hydrating and buffering agent (to adjust a product’s pH value). It also offers antioxidant properties as a secondary benefit.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Humectant
Amino acid with antioxidant and hydration properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant
Glycine soja sterols, derived from soybeans, have both moisturizing and antioxidant properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
Omega-6 fatty acid that’s the most abundant fatty acid found in skin’s upper layers. In skin care, it serves as an antioxidant, emollient, and thickening ingredient.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant, Emollient, Antioxidant
A type of fat found naturally in skin, these ingredients have value in skin care for their ability to both attract water and deliver it to areas that need increased hydration. They also have antioxidant properties.

Rating: Good
Categories: Antioxidant
Considered a non-essential amino acid because the body can make it, aspartic acid is a key building block of skin’s proteins.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant
Humectant derived from amino acids. Increases water content (hydration) in the uppermost layers of skin. Also part of skin’s natural moisturizing factor.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant
This skin replenishing ingredient is an amino acid produced by the body, but that can also be obtained through diet. Chemically, it is the simplest amino acid.

Rating: Good
Categories: Antioxidant
This amino acid is one of the building blocks of skin-strengthening proteins including collagen, elastin, and keratin. Applied topically it also has hydrating and calming properties.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Antioxidant
This amino acid helps synthesize proteins and occurs naturally in the human body. Topically it helps skin retain moisture and supports structures for a more youthful look.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant
This essential amino acid helps soothe skin and improve hydration. It works with other amino acids to improve skin and bodily health.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant
Amino acid that whose humectant properties help maintain skin’s hydration while consuming isoleucine via foods supports skin’s collagen and elastin.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant
This amino acid helps skin retain moisture and supports the structures in skin that keep it looking and feeling youthful.

Rating: Good
Categories: Antioxidant, Humectant
An essential amino acid known to do more in the body than on skin, with its benefit for skin mostly being about hydration and promoting firmer skin

Rating: Good
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Chelating agent and pH adjuster. May be plant-derived or synthetic.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant
This natural enzyme’s antimicrobial action helps restore skin’s flora (its microbiome), aids in hydration, and improves pore function.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant
An essential amino acid that helps defend skin from environmental aggressors, maintain hydration, and also offers documented soothing benefits.

Rating: Good
Categories: Antioxidant
This amino acid helps hydrate skin and can improve the appearance of an uneven tone because of its ability to inhibit melanin production.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Preservative
This enzyme functions as a skin conditioning ingredient in cosmetics. In nature, it is synthesized by several species of fungi and insects.

Rating: Good
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer, Chelating-Agent
Ingredient used in skin care products to adjust a formula's pH. In the right concentration/formula, it can also exfoliate skin.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative
Safe preservative known to be well-tolerated by skin; offers wide spectrum protection against unwanted microbials in a formula.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative, Humectant
Skin-softening agent with hydration boosting properties. Also plays an important preservative role to help keep cosmetic formulas stable.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative
This preservative, which can be naturally derived, is often used in conjunction with others because of its weak activity. It also is used to help preserve foods like dried meats and cheeses.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative
This preservative is used to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi in cosmetics and food products. It’s derived from benzoic acid.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts, Emollient
Glycine soja (soybean) oil is a non-fragrant plant oil with multiple uses for skin.