INCI: what it is and how to read cosmetic ingredients

By , founder of Eligenda Roma.

INCI is the international naming system for cosmetic ingredients, short for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. These are the names you see in the list headed ‘Ingredients’. It helps you identify what a product contains, even when its commercial name differs between countries.

To get started, you can use our free INCI analyser: paste in the list from the packaging and look up the role of each ingredient. The list helps you understand the formula, but does not provide the complete recipe: on its own, it cannot establish a product’s safety or effectiveness.

This also applies when choosing a formula from our range, such as the Global Action Cream: compare the ingredients, stated purpose and directions, rather than focusing only on the best-known active ingredient.

A woman applying cream to her cheek.
In this guide

What INCI means and why it is useful

A common name can be ambiguous. A standard name helps consumers, professionals and authorities identify an ingredient. The Personal Care Products Council, which publishes the INCI dictionary, also makes an essential distinction: assigning a name to a substance does not approve every use or certify its safety.

This information is useful when choosing a cosmetic product. You can check for a substance you know you are allergic to, compare two products or understand the role of an unfamiliar name. You can also distinguish an oil from an extract of the same plant, which are not necessarily interchangeable.

You can use it to make more informed choices without being a cosmetic formulator. Assessing the complete product still requires further information.

Where to find the ingredient list

Look on the container or outer packaging for the word Ingredients. On small products, some information may appear on an enclosed leaflet or attachment, indicated by a symbol. The Italian Ministry of Health explains the information required on cosmetic labels.

When comparing a list found online with a product you own, use that specific product’s packaging as your reference. A formula may have been updated, or a retailer’s page may show an earlier version. If the two lists differ, ask the brand which one applies to your product, quoting the batch number.

A clear photograph is useful for reading the label again. If you copy the text with your phone, check that no lines are missing: it is easy to lose part of the list on a curved bottle.

How to read INCI: order and the 1% threshold

Ingredients in descending order

In the European Union, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the time they are added. Ingredients present at concentrations below 1% may appear in any order after those above that threshold. These rules are set out in Article 19 of the Cosmetics Regulation.

The order gives an indication of relative amounts without specifying percentages. If Aqua is first, you know that water is a major component of the formula; you do not know whether it represents 50%, 70% or another amount.

Why the first five ingredients do not tell the whole story

The first entries can help you understand the product’s base, but are not enough to assess it. Emollients, humectants and emulsifiers have different jobs. An ingredient used at a low concentration can still be important to the formula.

This applies, for example, to many preservatives and some cosmetic peptides. Appearing near the end does not prove they are useless; appearing near the beginning does not prove they are better for your skin.

Where does the section below 1% begin?

The label does not mark the boundary. Fragrance and preservatives are not universal dividing lines that let you calculate everything listed afterwards. You may know the regulatory limit for a substance, but that does not reveal the exact percentage of every other ingredient.

Exact quantities require information from the manufacturer that the label alone does not provide.

A pipette with drops of clear liquid.

Why some names are in Latin and others in English

Many botanical ingredients carry the plant’s Latin name, followed by details of the part used and its preparation. For example, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil identifies sweet almond oil; terms such as Leaf, Root, Extract and Water add different information.

Names such as Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate and Tocopherol follow other conventions. The language of a name does not, on its own, reveal whether a raw material is obtained through synthesis, extraction or fermentation. The distinction ‘Latin means natural, English means synthetic’ is therefore unreliable. The PCPC’s INCI conventions explain the naming criteria.

Colourants, numbers and the word ‘nano’

The abbreviation CI, followed by a number, refers to the Colour Index used for many colourants. In colour cosmetics, ‘+/-’ or ‘may contain’ can introduce colourants used across the different shades in a range.

‘Nano’ in brackets after an ingredient indicates a nanomaterial form that must be declared under the applicable rules. These details help identify ingredients. Assessing their safety requires consideration of the product and its conditions of use.

The main roles of ingredients

Alongside familiar active ingredients, a cream contains components that help preserve it, adjust its texture and make it easy to apply.

Function Example names Their role in the formula
Solvent or base Aqua Forms the water phase and carries other components
Humectant Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate Contributes to hydration
Emollient Plant oils, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Improves softness and glide
Emulsifier Glyceryl Stearate Helps keep different phases together
Texture modifier Carbomer, Xanthan Gum Adjusts viscosity and structure
Preservative Phenoxyethanol and other authorised preservatives Helps protect against microbial contamination
Fragrance ingredient Parfum Adds fragrance
pH adjuster Citric Acid Helps adjust the formula’s pH

One substance can perform several functions, so the roles in the table are not exclusive. Emulsifiers, preservatives and stabilisers help a product work properly, even when they are not the ingredients highlighted on the packaging.

Clear drops on a light surface.

Silicones, parabens, petroleum-derived ingredients and other debated substances

Silicones

Names such as Dimethicone identify ingredients that can contribute to glide, softness and how a formula behaves on the skin. Different silicone substances are not all equivalent. You may prefer products without them, but the presence of silicones does not in itself indicate a poor formula.

Parabens and other preservatives

‘Parabens’ is the name of a family. Each substance in that family has conditions of use that must be checked individually.

Other preservatives also have specific conditions of use. The European Scientific Committee’s opinion on phenoxyethanol, for example, assesses its use as a preservative at up to 1%. Assessment of the complete product remains separate; an individual reaction is possible even with an authorised ingredient.

Petrolatum and paraffins

Petrolatum, Paraffinum Liquidum and similar names identify ingredients with emollient or surface-protective functions. They help limit water loss, a useful role even though their origin differs from that of plant extracts.

The choice between these ingredients, oils and butters depends on the desired characteristics of the formula. Preferring some does not make the alternatives harmful.

PEG, SLS and SLES

These abbreviations refer to groups and substances with different characteristics. PEGs include substances with different functions; Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate are distinct cleansing surfactants. When assessing a cleanser, the combination of components, rinsing and tolerability of the complete product all matter.

‘Lathers a lot’ and ‘does not lather’ are not, on their own, tests of gentleness. If a cleanser causes discomfort, consider the complete formula and how you use it before attributing the reaction to one ingredient.

Alcohols: they are not all the same

Alcohol Denat., Benzyl Alcohol and Cetearyl Alcohol are different substances. The last is a fatty alcohol used for texture and emollience, among other purposes: it should not be confused with ethanol. Reading only the word alcohol can therefore lead to the wrong conclusion.

Fragrance and allergens: changes to labels

The word Parfum can indicate a fragrance mixture. Some fragrance allergens must be declared individually when they exceed the specified thresholds: 0.001% in leave-on products and 0.01% in rinse-off products.

EU Regulation 2023/1545 expanded the requirements, adding a further 56 allergens and updating other entries. From 31 July 2026, products that do not meet the new requirements can no longer be placed on the EU market; those placed on the market earlier may continue to be made available until 31 July 2028, subject to the specified conditions. The European Commission’s page on allergen labelling explains this.

Seeing more names does not necessarily mean that a formula has become worse or more hazardous: this information is particularly useful for people who are already sensitised. If you have a diagnosed allergy, follow your dermatologist’s advice and check the actual packaging, even for a product you have used before.

PAO, expiry dates and packaging symbols

The ingredient list is one part of the label. Also read the shelf-life information, precautions and directions.

  • Open jar, for example 12M: indicates the period after opening. It does not mean twelve months from the purchase date.
  • Date of minimum durability: applies to products for which it is required. Products with a shelf life of more than thirty months fall under the period-after-opening rules, except where that concept is not relevant.
  • Hand and booklet: points to information provided on an enclosed attachment.
  • Asterisk: must be read alongside the manufacturer’s explanation. It may indicate an organic origin, for example, but has no universal meaning without the accompanying text.

Writing down the opening date can be more useful than memorising every chemical name. Article 19 of the Cosmetics Regulation remains the legal reference for mandatory information.

INCI analysers and apps: how to use them well

Eligenda’s analyser

Our tool lets you paste in an ingredient list or a link to a product page. Ingredient functions and available references come from CosIng. Before using the results, check that the recognised list is complete and matches the packaging.

The tool makes ingredient names easier to understand. It does not reconstruct concentrations, diagnose allergies or certify a product’s effectiveness on your skin.

CosIng and tools that assign scores

CosIng is the European Commission’s information database. The Commission specifies that an entry in the inventory does not constitute authorisation for use: conditions and limits come from the Regulation and its annexes. Official information on CosIng.

Other tools use their own criteria. BioDizionario, now a VEGANOK project, also includes ethical criteria in its assessments; EcoBioControl is the project associated with Fabrizio Zago. They should not be described as the same service.

Yuka explains that its cosmetic score does not assess effectiveness or take account of ingredient concentrations in an individual product. INCI Beauty also assesses ingredients according to its own criteria.

These resources can help you learn more about an ingredient; their scores do not replace a formula’s safety assessment. If they give different judgements, compare their criteria, sources and the version of the ingredient list used.

A practical example: what a cream’s ingredient list can tell you

Consider this invented list for educational purposes, which is not the INCI list of Eligenda’s cream:

Aqua, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum, Citric Acid.

Aqua and Glycerin suggest a water-based component with a humectant. Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Alcohol and shea butter contribute to emollience and texture. Glyceryl Stearate and Xanthan Gum help build the formula’s structure.

Sodium Hyaluronate is an ingredient used for hydration. Tocopherol is the name for vitamin E. Phenoxyethanol acts as a preservative; Parfum indicates fragrance and Citric Acid can help adjust pH.

This list cannot tell us the exact percentages, final pH, stability, sensory feel or effect on the skin. An active ingredient’s position before fragrance is not enough to confirm a product’s promises: the list identifies ingredient functions, while performance requires other evidence.

A small amount of white cream on a light background.

How to assess a ‘good INCI list’

A ‘good INCI list’ needs to be assessed against your needs. For someone with a known allergy, avoiding the substance involved is a practical necessity. For someone else, the priority may be a comfortable texture or an ethical consideration. These needs are not the same as a universal judgement on a formula.

Before buying, check four things:

  • The product’s purpose meets your needs.
  • The instructions are clear.
  • The list does not contain substances you know you do not tolerate.
  • The claims are supported by product information that distinguishes studies on individual ingredients from tests on the finished formula.

At Eligenda, we combine ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, peptides and emollients in formulas intended for different steps in a routine. Choosing not to use certain ingredient families does not imply that cosmetics containing them are unsafe. ‘Dermatologically tested’ also has a specific meaning, distinct from a guarantee that everyone will tolerate a product.

Frequently asked questions about INCI

How do you read an INCI list in three steps?

Identify the product’s purpose, recognise the main ingredient families and check for any substances you personally need to avoid. Remember that the order provides limited information and does not replace percentages and data about the formula.

Is a shorter INCI list better?

Not automatically. The number of ingredients does not demonstrate quality or tolerability. A formula may need several components for texture, stability and preservation.

Is a natural ingredient safer?

Origin alone cannot establish that. The substance, amount, method of use and individual response matter. A botanical ingredient can also be involved in a reaction.

Which ingredients should you avoid?

The list differs from person to person. Start with allergies or reactions already identified with a professional. An ingredient in a cosmetic that complies with the rules is not automatically suitable for every individual.

Can INCI tell you whether a product works?

It helps you understand part of the composition. Effectiveness requires information about the formula and evidence for the stated result. An active ingredient’s position is not a measure of the final benefit.

Can I rely on the app alone?

Use it to learn more, checking that the product and list are correct. A score does not necessarily account for concentrations or your skin history, and does not replace a diagnosis or safety assessment.

Sources and further reading