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: Best
Categories: Exfoliant, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
This fruit-derived ingredient can serve different purposes in cosmetics, including as an exfoliant (when formulated between pH 3-4) and as a pH adjuster.

Rating: Best
Categories: Exfoliant, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
This acid acts as both an antioxidant and alpha hydroxy acid. It also helps stabilize the pH of other AHAs so they can work as exfoliants.

Rating: Best
Categories: Peptides
Synthetic peptide proven to strengthen skin’s underlying supportive elements and visibly reduce signs of sun damage such as wrinkles and rough texture.

Rating: Best
Categories: Peptides
This peptide blends four amino acids with a fatty acid to enhance penetration, where it goes to work quieting factors in skin that trigger irritation and damage to skin’s supportive elements.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
Formerly called ceramide 2, this ceramide helps improve skin’s barrier strength.

Rating: Best
Categories: Exfoliant, Humectant
Oil-soluble exfoliating ingredient that gently helps slough off dead skin cells and unclogs pores, for softer, smoother texture and tone.

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

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant
Better known as green tea, this plant is a rich source of antioxidants.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
This ingredient, also known as pomegranate fruit extract, has antioxidant and anti-wrinkle properties for skin.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
The extract of the fruit commonly known as goji, goji berry, or wolfberry.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Latin name for the vines that produce wine grapes.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Also known as black elderberry, this shrub-growing berry has potent antioxidant and skin-soothing properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant
A type of green tea plant, this ingredient has antioxidant and soothing properties that make it an impressive addition to skin care products.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Extract with soothing properties and anti-aging benefits, inlcuding the ability to fade dark spots.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
This plant seed extract that has been shown to help mitigate the effects environmental stressors have on skin.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Plant extract famous for its soothing properties; also provides antioxidant benefits. Those allergic to plants in the daisy family may need to avoid this ingredient.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
A plant extract that serves as an antioxidant. It visibly calms and firms skin, plus it’s a rich source of iron, potassium, and beta-carotene.

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts
An ingredient that can be naturally derived or made synthetically. It has skin-soothing and moisturizing properties, making it an excellent inclusion in products designed for sensitive skin.

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts
Known for wrinkle-smoothing and skin-soothing benefits. Adenosine is also naturally present in skin, allowing for ideal biocompatibility.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Emulsifier, Suspending-Dispersing-Agent
Plays many different roles including dispersing agent, skin-conditioning emollient, and emulsifying agent. Enhances the penetration of other ingredients for greater efficacy.

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant
Soothing ingredient with significant skin-calming properties. Can be derived from plants (such as chamomile) or made synthetically.

Rating: Good
Categories: Film-Forming-Agent, Emollient, Texture-Enhancer
Synthetic polymer used in both skin care and hair care products. Adds value as a flexible film-forming agent and texture enhancing ingredient. Offers emollient properties for skin and conditioning and detangling benefits for hair.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
This naturally derived ingredient is produced from the fermentation of simple sugars, and acts as a thickening agent, texture enhancer, and emulsion stabilizer in cosmetics.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Polymer, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Often used to create gel-textured formulas or to influence the product’s thickness. Research also shows carbomers can enhance the penetration effectiveness of key actives.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
Used in cosmetics primarily as a mild cleansing agent, this coconut-derived ingredient is considered extremely stable and safe.

Rating: Average
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
A synthetic inorganic salt more commonly known as baking soda. It has many functions in cosmetics, including pH adjuster, buffering agent, and abrasive, such as in face or body scrubs.

Rating: Average
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Also known as lye, this ingredient is highly alkaline, meaning it is on the basic side of the pH range (its pH is naturally 13). It is used in small amounts in cosmetics (such as cleansers and exfoliants) adjust their pH.

Rating: Good
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Used to adjust and control a formula’s pH. Also enhances the penetration of other skin care ingredients, making them more effective.

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

Rating: Average
Categories: Preservative, Solvent, Texture-Enhancer
Derived from natural sources, this non-drying alcohol serves as a preservative in cosmetics products, and is considered one of the least-sensitizing preservatives in use.