Another great thing about panthenol is that it has anti-inflammatory and skin protecting abilities. Read reviews, see the full ingredient list and find out if the notable ingredients are good or bad for your skin concern! It's one of the most commonly used thickeners and emulsion stabilizers. We do a Best of INCIDecoder email once a month with the most interesting products and ingredients we bump into. Research also shows that it might be useful for wound healing as it promotes fibroblast (nice type of cells in our skin that produce skin-firming collagen) proliferation. Pretty much the current IT-preservative. Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. An essential amino acid that is used in the treatment of vitiligo. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. Eating it is anti-diabetic, anti-cancer and even lowers the blood cholesterol. Used alone, it can make the formula sticky and it is a good team player so it is usually combined with other thickeners and so-called rheology modifiers (helper ingredients that adjust the flow and thus the feel of the formula). If the product is too runny, a little xanthan gum will make it more gel-like. One of the many types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. A type of sugar that has water-binding properties and helps to keep your skin hydrated. One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). It is wound healing, anti-inflammatory and can help with barrier repair. A form of vitamin E that works as an antioxidant. Like this, the products can stay more stable over time. Arginine usually has a positive charge (cationic) that makes it substantive to skin and hair (those are more negatively charged surfaces) and an excellent film former. It can bind huge amounts of water and it's pretty much the current IT-moisturizer. The good ones contain 50-90% catechins (and often make the product brown and give it a distinctive smell), Green tea is proven to be a great antioxidant, UV protectant, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic and antimicrobial, Because of these awesome properties green tea is a great choice for anti-aging and also for skin diseases including rosacea, acne and atopic dermatitis, It might even help with skin’s own collagen production and improve skin firmness and elasticity, It might be even useful for the hair helping with hair thickness and hair growth. As the name suggests, this mask is features a cocktail of moisturizing ingredients like sodium hyaluronate, rose water, and aloe leaf water, which are designed to improve skin hydration and elasticity. An essential amino acid that the body cannot produce itself but has to take from the diet. Btw, Xanthan gum is all natural, a chain of sugar molecules (polysaccharide) produced from individual sugar molecules (glucose and sucrose) via fermentation. To understand a bit more what Hydrolyzed Collagen is, you have to know that proteins are large chains of amino acids connected with so-called peptide bonds. What seems to be a true difference, though, is that the salt form is more stable, easier to formulate and cheaper so it pops up more often on the ingredient lists. According to famous dermatologist, Leslie Baumann while tocopheryl acetate is more stable and has a longer shelf life, it’s also more poorly absorbed by the skin and may not have the same awesome photoprotective effects as pure Vit E. Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. fragrance, preservatives or chemical sunscreens) in the product. The plant extract is also a traditional oriental herbal medicine that is known for its analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent effects. Click here and read more >>. pH of 6. Research on smearing it on our face is also promising and shows so far a couple of things: Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. It’s safe and gentle, but even more importantly, it’s not a feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben. A traditional Chinese herbal medicine loaded with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory flavonoids such as baicalin, baicalein, and wogonin. Super common little helper ingredient that helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time. The topical application (meaning when you put it on your face) of 0.5% glabridin was shown to inhibit UVB caused pigmentation of guinea pigs. In general, flower waters (also called hydrosols) are diluted versions of essential oils coming from the same plant. We don't have description for this ingredient yet. Betain's special thing is being an osmolyte, a molecule that helps to control cell-water balance. In spite of this, if you search for "hyaluronic acid vs sodium hyaluronate" you will find on multiple places that sodium hyaluronate is smaller and can penetrate the skin better. The complication is that glutamic acid has two distinct forms, L-glutamic acid and D-glutamic acid, that are the mirror images of each other (think of it like your left and right hand). It's a nice, basic oil that is often used due. It's not only soothing but it'. Its main active is rosmarinic acid, a potent antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory. On the flip side, Zanthoxylum Piperitum contains fragrant components (Limonene and Citrone), that might irritate sensitive skin. A great skin soother and moisturizer, and it even shows promising anti-aging benefits. If HA does not tell you anything we have a super detailed, geeky explanation about it here. It does so by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. You might know licorice as a sweet treat from your childhood, but it's actually a legume that grows around the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, central and southern Russia. 20 is a weak emulsifier, rather called solubilizer used commonly in toners while 60 and 80 are more common in serums and creams. Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. Modern research confirms that it's loaded with skin-goodies: it's the richest green plant source of omega-3 fatty acids (α-linolenic acid), contains NMFs (polysaccharides and amino acids), vitamins (β-carotene), minerals, and antioxidants (yellow betaxanthins and reddish betacyanins). It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). It’s in the cell walls of yeast, some mushrooms, seaweeds, and cereals. It's also particularly good at treating dry brittle nails (source). A real oldie but a goodie. :) You are almost done: please check your mailbox to confirm your email! It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). 95 - $19.90 $ 19 . Thanks to the positive charge, it also creates a complex with AHAs (AHAs like to lose a hydrogen ion and be negatively charged, so the positive and the negative ions attract each other) that causes a "time-release AHA effect" and reduces the irritation associated with AHAs. Compared to the pure form it's more stable, has longer shelf life, but it's also more poorly absorbed by the skin. Hydrolyzed Collagen is also often used in cleansers as it can make harsh surfactants milder and in hair conditioners as it improves the flexibility and manageability of hair. *Final Sale. A derivative of Urea, that works as a strong moisturizer and humectant meaning that it helps the skin to cling onto water and thus to make it hydrated and elastic. Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. Contains some antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds, as well as some fragrant components. It tightens loosen pores, regulates sebum as well as provide abundance moisture. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. Mediheal N.M.F Aquaring Hydro Nude Gel Mask. It does have some very nice properties indeed, though famous dermatologist Leslie Baumann warns us in her book that most of the evidence is anecdotal and the plant might be a bit overhyped. It contains some antioxidant and antimicrobial compounds, as well as some fragrant components. Combined with Usnea Barbata and Pulsatilla Koreana, these three extracts are claimed to form a natural preservative system that also has anti-inflammatory effects and might help with skin conditions such as blemishes, atopic dermatitis, and dandruff. This mask has a rightul spot in my top 5 most loved sheet masks of all times or simply in "Kati's hall of fame". Typically used at 1% or less in most formulations. Recently science has taken an interest in Gotu Kola as well and it turns out it really has many active compounds with several benefits. If you wanna know more about collagen in cosmetics, we have a shiny explanation about soluble collagen here >>. Similar to other plant oils, it is loaded with skin-nourishing fatty acids (oleic acid - 55-86% and linoleic acid 7-35%) and contains several other skin goodies such as antioxidant vitamin E and vitamin B versions.