Taking advantage of the time we spend at home, it might be a good time to finally learn how to interpret the label of your favorite cosmetic product.
– The format in which ingredients are listed is called INCI, which stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients.
– In the case of plant extracts, they are described by their Latin name, such as rosehip oil "Rosa Canina Fruit Oil". If it is a glycerine or aqueous extract, it will also be listed in Latin and will refer to the part of the plant from which it is extracted, such as Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract in the case of cucumber, or Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) Flower Extract for mallow distillates.
– Synthetic ingredients are found with their chemical name, for example, petroleum jelly appears on the label as Paraffinum liquidum. However, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate between synthetic and natural ingredients, but there is a group commonly used in conventional cosmetics that have undergone a process with ethylene oxide. Therefore, anything that starts with PEG, PPG, or ends in '-eth' is not natural.
– The position of the ingredients is also important when we talk about how to interpret the label of your favorite cosmetic product, as they appear according to the quantities that make up the formula, from largest to smallest, until reaching 1%, where the law does not require following an order below these doses. The truth is that the last ingredients should not be ignored, and their position does not mean that the manufacturer has wanted to save on active ingredients. Functional substances such as allantoin or coenzyme Q10 (Ubiquinone) are active at low doses.
– If the first ingredient is water, how much water is there in total? This is a very common question. In a day or night cream, it can represent between 65-70% of the total content of the formula, so as a manufacturer, it is important to have a good water purification system. Some natural brands choose to replace all water with distilled waters. On paper, the concept is good, but the reality is that most distilled waters are wash waters, before processing the plants; their active substance content is not very significant, and they tend to carry a high degree of impurities. Within the natural world, there is also a tendency to avoid water and use only oil-based products. In this case, 3 problems can arise: oils alone do not moisturize sufficiently (water is needed to "feed" the skin's hydro-lipid film), they tend to become rancid, in the medium term, some have the drawback of solubility between them, and some components of the formula end up precipitating at the bottom of the bottle.
– The phrase "May contain....". We usually see it especially in makeup. Many of the minerals used in this category of products during their extraction may carry traces of other minerals or metals. It is translated as a "May contain...." warning, very common in the food sector as well.
– Lot number: On the box or bottle/jar. Product traceability is important in case it causes any problems once on the market, and the consumer can find out when the product was manufactured by asking the manufacturer.
– Expiration date, if the product expires in 30 months or less. Otherwise, we see a jar with an open lid and a number with an M behind it. This is the PAO, the period assigned by the manufacturer guaranteeing the intact properties of the product after opening, under normal conditions of use. The number indicates the number of months, 3M, 6M, 12M (3 months, 6 months, 12 months respectively). The product, once opened, should be used within those months.
– Other warnings include recycling symbols, packaging material, usage warnings (time, precautions in the case of depilatories, for example, or hair dyes), if it contains alcohol or other flammable ingredients present in hairsprays, nail polishes, etc.
– Logos: From "cruelty-free", which does not have much meaning (see NP), to vegan cosmetics, and the various certificates accrediting their naturalness or the origin of the ingredients (organic farming). On the positive side, they help the consumer with their choice. On the not-so-positive side, they are a real headache for manufacturers to choose from, besides having a high annual cost.