Rating: Good
Categories: Solvent
This is the most widely used ingredient in skin care, often appearing first in product ingredient lists. Used as a solvent.

Rating: Good
Categories: Silicone, Emollient, Solvent
Lightweight, conditioning silicone that creates silky-smooth spreadabilty and an enhanced sensorial feel. Also promotes even distribution of other ingredients in a formula.

Rating: Good
Categories: Emollient
This synthetic ingredient is an ester made from the non-irritating fatty alcohol octyldodecanol and texture-enhancing compound neopentanoic acid. It’s an emollient that softens and smooths dry skin.

Rating: Good
Categories: Silicone, Polymer, Texture-Enhancer
This blend of silicone polymers works as a texture enhancer and thickener and has been ruled safe as it’s used in cosmetics.

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: Best
Categories: Antioxidant
Stable, effective form of vitamin C that visibly firms, brightens dullness and evens skin tone.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Emollient, Emulsifier
This moisturizing ingredient can be either naturally or synthetically derived. It’s one of the longest-known fatty alcohols.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Humectant
Helps visibly minimize pore size, improve dull/uneven tone, and reduce wrinkle depth. Also known to fortify skin's barrier strength and boost hydration.

Rating: Best
Categories: Silicone, Emollient
An skin-softening silicone known for its permeable (think breathable) barrier that helps skin retain hydration. It has a uniquely silky, non-greasy feel.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Emollient
Beneficial skin softening ingredient for skin (completely different from damaging/drying forms of alcohol). Also influences the foaming effects of a cleanser.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Texture-Enhancer
Humectant (hydration booster), texture/penetration enhancer, and formulary solvent. May also help decrease rough surface skin and stabilize the formula.

Rating: Good
Categories: Emollient, Emulsifier, Cleansing-Agent
This moisturizing ingredient is found naturally in the human body but is usually plant- or synthetically derived in cosmetics. It has been deemed safe as used in cosmetics and is also used as a food additive.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Versatile, commonly used ingredient that can be used as an emulsifier, cleansing agent, and emollient. In general, it helps enhance the texture of the formula and contributes to a soft after feel on 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: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
A component of green tea that’s well known for its potent antioxidant abilities for skin, as well as its properties as a soothing ingredient.

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: 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: Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant
Skin-soothing antioxidant that delivers additional beneficial compounds, such as amino acids. May also help visibly correct uneven skin tone.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant
The extract of the fruit of the coconut tree, this ingredient is rich in skin-conditioning fatty acids, proteins, and complex B vitamins.

Rating: Best
Categories: Prebiotic-Probiotic-Postbiotic
Lactobacillus ferment is a lab-created, non-living probiotic ingredient made by fermentation of the microorganism Lactobacillus.

Rating: Good
Categories: Silicone, Texture-Enhancer
Silicone elastomer that forms a flexible, breathable mesh-like film on skin as it imparts a powder-soft finish that enhances skin texture

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: Average
Categories: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Important element in diet that is present in such fruits as bananas and citrus.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Prebiotic-Probiotic-Postbiotic
This sugar derived from plants hydrates and adds a pleasant, sweet flavor to products such as cleansers and lip balms.

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: Cleansing-Agent
Plays various roles depending on the formula, including being used as a thickener, texture enhancer, cleansing surfactant and solubilizing agent to help ingredients stay mixed together.

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

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.