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You are probably wondering: what exactly is the INCI list? Or maybe you know exactly what it is, but you don't know how it works.

In short, the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) list is a legal requirement for all cosmetic manufacturers to clearly display the ingredients/substances that have been used in the products they sell, in descending order - the substance in the highest concentration is first, while the substance found in the lowest concentration is last.

We set out to "decode" the most important aspects of this list for you, to help you understand it better.

1. The INCI list is not the product formula

2. Concentration

Here we must know that although the substances are listed according to their concentration in the product, we cannot figure out the exact concentration. What we can know is that the first ingredient in a water-based formula, Aqua, is found in a concentration of 65-70%, and the next 3 to 5 substances represent the other majority. Often the last 7-10 ingredients listed are found in concentrations below 1%, and below this percentage the order of the names can be random.

Also, what is important to remember here is that some ingredients are effective in high concentrations, others in low concentrations (very strong active ingredients will always be found in low concentrations), some even becoming dangerous if used in high concentrations. Thus, when analyzing the list of substances, we should not judge the presence of a substance that is usually dangerous in large quantities as a sure thing that the product is not okay. Most of the time, the concentration used is the one that brings the most benefits to the final product and the consumer. In addition, if we add certain ingredients to a formula, it does not mean that after the entire production process, which translates into various phases of chemical transformation, the final product will still contain that ingredient.

Of course, we also come with a helpful example: Sodium hydroxide is an ingredient that cannot be put directly on the skin, because it is toxic. But for the manufacture of soaps it is essential. If it is processed, all those harmful things that it can cause to the skin no longer exist in the final form of the product, but we have a final product that keeps the skin clean and healthy. From here we can also discuss the fact that from the INCI list we cannot determine the manufacturing process and the steps within it (hot, cold), which makes the ingredients more or less effective in a product. Here we must also be careful of the little marketing tricks. Let's take the example of a shampoo marketed as being based on argan oil. If argan oil appears among the last ingredients listed, we can deduce that it has a concentration of less than 1%, which is far too little to have a real effect on the hair.

3. Origin of ingredients and confusion over substance names

The INCI list will not tell you the process of obtaining the ingredients or their origin. For example, an oil can be unrefined, meaning it retains all its benefits, but it can also be refined, deodorized and put through a chemical process to ensure that it does not have a specific smell or color. Refined and unrefined oils have exactly the same INCI description. You will also not know whether an ingredient on the list is naturally derived or obtained in a laboratory (such synthesized ingredients have the same chemical structure and function as naturally derived ones, but it is cheaper to produce them in a laboratory in large quantities), you will not know its acidity, the temperature of the formulation, what the extraction was done from (some molecules can be extracted from 2 different sources). At the molecular level they look the same, but the active and the vehicle also matter, and this information cannot be accessible to us.

Furthermore, different suppliers mean different quality of ingredients. Just because we see the same ingredient listed in the INCI of two different products, doesn't mean we will get the same results.

Without being a chemist, it can be quite difficult to understand exactly what the product you are holding in your hand is made of, especially since scientific terms can be quite similar or can lead you to think that they mean one thing, when in fact they mean something completely different. Let's take the word "alcohol" as an example. If you have sensitive or dry skin, you may decide to avoid products with alcohol. However, you find substances such as Cetearyl Alcohol or Cetyl Alcohol in the INCI list and you think that this is not right. Cetearyl Alcohol and Cetyl Alcohol are natural derivatives of plant origin, they are not irritating and are used as emollients, stabilizers or carriers of other ingredients, helping them to spread evenly on the skin.

In conclusion, although the INCI list cannot tell us exactly whether a product is good or not, it certainly gives us clues about many aspects and helps us decide whether the product is worth trying or not.