The ingredient list on the back of the pack is the most detailed information about what a product is made of; because it is written in Latin and English names, it is often skipped. Knowing a few rules is enough to find an ingredient in the list and to tell what it does and does not say.
In short: An INCI list is an ingredient list in which cosmetic ingredients are written under shared international names. Under EU cosmetics legislation, ingredients are generally listed in descending order of their weight at the time they are added to the product. Water appears as “Aqua” and plant extracts under their Latin names. The list shows order; it does not show percentage, efficacy or origin. As an example, the list for Rice You Up has 38 items and the list for Love In Blue This Time has 33.
What is INCI?
INCI stands for “International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients”, the international naming system for cosmetic ingredients. The same ingredient is written under the same name in every country. In the EU, the requirement for an ingredient list on the label is part of the labelling rules of the Cosmetic Products Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009; you can look up an ingredient's INCI name and its function in cosmetics in the European Commission's CosIng database.
In what order are ingredients listed in an INCI list?
Ingredients are listed in descending order of quantity: the ingredient present in the largest amount in the formula is at the top of the list. The EU regulation ties this order to the weight of the ingredients at the time they are added to the product. Two conclusions follow when you read it:
- The first positions show the base and the core ingredients that make up most of the formula.
- The order does not give an ingredient's percentage; you cannot work out a concentration from its position.
Under the same regulation, ingredients below 1% may be listed in any order after those above 1%; that is why the order in the lower part of the list cannot be used to compare the amounts of two ingredients.
How do you read INCI names?
- Water: listed as “Aqua”; in water-based serums and creams it is usually in first place.
- Plant extracts: listed under their Latin botanical name, often with the common name in brackets. “Centella Asiatica Extract” is gotu kola extract. Two raw materials from the same plant are separate items: in the Rice You Up list, “Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract” is rice extract and “Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Oil” is rice bran oil.
- Vitamins and their derivatives: “Niacinamide” is a form of vitamin B3, “Panthenol” is provitamin B5, “Tocopherol” is vitamin E and “Ethyl Ascorbic Acid” is a vitamin C derivative.
- Forms of the same ingredient: “Sodium Hyaluronate”, “Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid” and “Potassium Hyaluronate” are different forms of hyaluronic acid; each is listed as a separate item.
- Ceramides: written with letter codes, such as “Ceramide NP”.
- Preservatives: “Phenoxyethanol”, “Sodium Benzoate” and “Potassium Sorbate” are among the preservatives used to control the growth of microorganisms in formulas that contain water.
Example: how do you read the Love In Blue This Time and Rice You Up lists step by step?
Find, in turn, the base, the actives stated on the pack, the auxiliary ingredients and the preservatives. To try the same reading on a product you use, you can start with the ingredient lists on our product pages. The table shows the first six positions of the two serums:
| Position | Love In Blue This Time | Rice You Up |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aqua | Aqua |
| 2 | Niacinamide | Niacinamide |
| 3 | Ethyl Ascorbic Acid | Glycerin |
| 4 | Pentylene Glycol | Tranexamic Acid |
| 5 | Panthenol | Panthenol |
| 6 | Phenoxyethanol | Centella Asiatica Extract |
- Find the base. Both lists have Aqua in first place; both are water-based serums.
- Match the actives on the pack to the list. Rice You Up Brightening Serum with Niacinamide and Rice Extract states 5% niacinamide and 5% rice extract on its pack; in the list these appear as “Niacinamide” and “Oryza Sativa (Rice) Extract”. Love In Blue This Time Ceramide and Copper Peptide Serum states 2% ceramide complex and 2% Ethyl Ascorbic Acid (3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid); in the list you can see “Ethyl Ascorbic Acid” and, as the ceramide in the complex, “Ceramide NP”. This step confirms that the ingredient is in the formula; no conclusion about concentration or effect can be drawn from the order.
- Separate out the auxiliary ingredients. “Pentylene Glycol” (1,2-pentanediol), “Glycerin” and “1,2-Hexanediol” are commonly used as solvents in topical formulas; these solvents were also tested in a laboratory study on the delivery of Ethyl Ascorbic Acid to the skin.
- Find the preservatives. The Love In Blue This Time list contains “Phenoxyethanol”; the Rice You Up list contains “Sodium Benzoate” and “Potassium Sorbate”.
- Recognise the forms at the end of the list. Eight of the last nine items in both lists are forms of hyaluronic acid, and they are written in the same order in both products.
How does 8D hyaluronic acid appear in an INCI list?
8D hyaluronic acid does not appear on the label as a single name; each form that makes up the raw material is listed as a separate item under its own INCI name. The term “8D” and the trade name of the raw material do not appear in the ingredient list; instead, you will see names such as “Sodium Hyaluronate”, “Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid” or “Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer”. The names distinguish the types of form; they do not show how much of each form is present. We explain what 8D means and why the forms are distinguished in our article what is hyaluronic acid.
Why does the percentage on the pack not always match the INCI order?
Because the two describe different things: the percentage on the pack is a formula statement, while the INCI order is a ranking by quantity; one cannot be used to judge the other. The concentration on the pack sometimes refers not to the pure substance but to a complex or a solution, in other words to the raw material; the INCI list, on the other hand, does not list the raw material but the substances in it, each under its own name. The 2% ceramide complex in Love In Blue This Time is an example: the percentage refers to the whole complex, while in the list the ceramide appears as “Ceramide NP” in ninth place.
An ingredient whose concentration is not stated on the pack can also be high up in the list; a concentration statement tells you which ingredient is being highlighted, not where it sits in the list. For the concept of a raw-material solution and what a concentration expresses, see what active concentration means.
What does an INCI list not show?
- Concentration: it does not show the percentage of each ingredient; it only gives their order by quantity.
- Efficacy: the presence of an ingredient in the list, or its position near the top, does not show how the product will perform on your skin. What the term “dermocosmetics” on a pack describes is a separate question: what are dermocosmetics.
- Origin: it does not always show whether an ingredient is of plant, synthetic or animal origin; that is why you cannot always tell from the list whether a product is vegan. For what vegan and cruelty-free claims are based on: vegan cosmetics and animal-derived ingredient claims.
- Period of use: how many months a product can be used after opening is not given in the ingredient list but by the open jar symbol (PAO) on the pack. We explain how to read the symbol and the expiry date in the article PAO and how long opened cosmetics last.
When should you see a doctor?
See a doctor if your skin reacts after you apply a product and you cannot tell which of the names in the list caused it. According to the AAD, some ingredients, such as preservatives, can trigger an allergic reaction on the skin; to find the responsible ingredient, a doctor may use patch testing. If an ingredient allergy has been identified, note down that ingredient's INCI name and look for it in the lists of new products. If you see on a label an allergen you have reacted to before or that your doctor has pointed out, consult your doctor before trying the product. For people who react to fragrance, the AAD points to the “fragrance free” label; products labelled “unscented” or as containing plant-based ingredients can still contain fragrance-related ingredients.
Frequently asked questions
Why are INCI names not translated into Turkish or other languages?
The list is not translated because it is written under shared international names; if it were translated, the same ingredient would appear under a different name in every language. In s'hevec product descriptions, the key and supporting ingredients are also given by their common names; you can also look up any name in the list in the CosIng database.
What does it mean if the same ingredient is in a different position in two products?
The order is only meaningful within that product's own formula. Glycerin is third in Rice You Up and eleventh in Love In Blue This Time; this difference is not enough to compare the amount of glycerin in the two products.
Does an ingredient with “acid” in its name mean the product is a peel?
No. Not every ingredient with “acid” in its name is exfoliating: Hyaluronic Acid is there for hydration, and the Tranexamic Acid in Rice You Up is a supporting ingredient aimed at the look of uneven tone. The Gluconolactone in Rice You Up is also a supporting ingredient without a stated concentration; the product is not an exfoliating product.
Does a short ingredient list mean a better product?
No. The length of a list is not a measure of quality; a long list may include several forms of the same ingredient or auxiliary ingredients such as preservatives and solvents. What matters is why each ingredient is in the formula.
Are the ingredients at the end of the list useless?
Ingredients at the end of the list are generally present in small amounts; because ingredients below 1% can be listed in any order among themselves, the order at the end does not give a precise comparison of amounts. A small amount does not mean no function. Some ingredients, such as preservatives, are formulated to be used in small amounts anyway.
Sources
- European Union. Cosmetic Products Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009.
- European Commission. CosIng – cosmetic ingredient database.
- Iliopoulos F et al. 3-O-ethyl-l-ascorbic acid: Characterisation and investigation of single solvent systems for delivery to the skin. Int J Pharm X. 2019.
- American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). How to test skin care products.
This content is for information only and does not replace medical advice. s'hevec products are cosmetic products and are not intended for medical treatment. It was prepared by the s'hevec Team on the basis of the s'hevec product data library and the sources listed above.
