The first main difference is that while TiO2 gives a nice broad spectrum protection, Zinc Oxide has an even nicerand even broader spectrum protection. In powder makeup products (think blushers, highlighters), it enhances the skin feel and improves the color pay-off. Other than that, alumina can also beused as an absorbent (sometimes combined with the mattifying powder called polymethylsilsesquioxane), a viscosity controlling or an opacifying (reduces the transparency of the formula) agent. It's simple. In itself, it can create water-in-oil emulsions (when water droplets are dispersedin oil), but it is used mostly next to water-loving emulsifiers to create nice and smooth oil-in-water creams. In itself, it can create water-in-oil emulsions (when water droplets are dispersedin oil), but it is used mostly next to water-loving emulsifiers to create nice and smooth oil-in-water creams. It also helps wound healing and skin regeneration in general. A silicone emulsifier that helps water and silicone oils to mix nicely together. Its not something new: it was introduced around 1950 and today it can be used up to 1% worldwide. Cosmetic companies use it mainly for its anti-inflammatory properties. A white powdery thing that can mattify the skin and thicken up cosmetic products. It also has strong de-tackifying and anti-caking properties. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning its the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product. A very common type offeared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reasonparaben. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. The pigment can be an inorganic sunscreen(such as titanium dioxide) or a colorant that is blended withalumina platelets and then often coated with some kind of silicone (such as triethoxycaprylylsilane). As you might guess from the pro part, its a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid). Its also used as a helper ingredient to thicken up productsorsuspendinsoluble particles. Titanium dioxide as a colorant. Its safe and gentle, and can be used up to 1% worldwide. BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. Its a great pick for creating a nice feeling product. It can exfoliate skin both on the surface and in the pores and it's a potent anti-inflammatory agent. A multi-functionalhelper ingredient that's used mainly as a pigment carrier. You probably drink it regularly as a nice, calming cup of tea and it's also a regular on skincare ingredient lists. Please try again later! Boron Nitride is a graphite-like,crystalline material that has light-diffusing and texture improving properties. A clear, light yellow liquid that is used to coat pigments (such as inorganic sunscreen agents or colorants) in cosmetic products. A bit of a sloppy ingredient name as it covers not one butthree pigments: red, yellow and black iron oxide. This one is the so-called esterified version. A helper ingredient that helps to neutralize the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes. It'salso highly stableand non-irritating. :)), A very common type offeared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reasonparaben. All in all, if you've found a Zinc Oxide sunscreen that you are happy to use every single day, that's fantastic and we suggest you stick with it. The extract coming from the leaves and/or blossoms of Meadowsweet, a native to Europe plant that likes to grow in damp places such asmeadows or the banks of streams. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin. It's also often used to treat skin irritationssuch as diaper rash. We do a Best of INCIDecoder email once a month with the most interesting products and ingredients we bump into. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. Contactless delivery is available with our "Leave at my door" option. It can be found in nature - in green tea - but the version used in cosmetics is synthetic. All in all definitely a goodie. A silicone emulsifier that helps to create water in silicone emulsions. If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. If physical sunscreensdon't tell you anything, go ahead and read about the basics here. Its a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. Like this, the products can stay more stable over time. Normal (well kind of - it's purified and deionized) water. is drying. Butylene glycol, or lets just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel. It can also function as a wetting and dispersing agent helping insoluble particles such as color pigments or inorganic sunscreens (zinc/titanium dioxide) to disperse nice and even in liquids. A mainly oil loving molecule that helps water and oil to mix nicely, aka emulsifier. It contains the terpenoids chamazulene and bisabolol both of which show great anti-inflammatory action in animal studies. Itleaves a disturbing whitish tint on the skin, although, according toa2000research paper by Dr. Pinnell, it's slightlyless white than TiO2. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient to make sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. If you experience any of the following issues, you're eligible for a refund or credit: damaged/missing items, poor item replacements, late arrival or unprofessional service. It's main "skincare thing" is that it contains salicylic acid derivatives that give the extract anti-inflammatory properties. Bearing a close relationship to the famous Dimethicone, Methicone is the slightly trimmed down version missing the methyl (-CH3) groups on one side of the silicone chain. Depending on your hair type, it can bea bit difficult to wash out and might cause some build-up (btw, this is not true to all silicones, only the non-volatile types). Methicone does this byabsorbing traces of waterfrom the surface of pigmentsthat is very useful for mineral sunscreens and makeup products. A physical/inorganic sunscreen with the broadest spectrum (UVB and UVA II, less good at UVA I) protection available today. Normal, everyday table salt. The most common type offeared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason parabens. :) You are almost done: please check your mailbox to confirm your email! Its two winning properties that make it very suitable for this role is its outstanding spreadability for a smooth application and its low covering power, aka translucency to avoid clown-like effects. An inorganic (as in no carbon in its molecule) pigment that can range in shade from blue (most common) to violet, pink or even green. The famous aloe vera. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient tomake sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. A clear, colorless, very easily spreadable and very volatile (evaporates from the skin easily) silicone fluid. Its often used together with ethylhexylglycerin as it nicely improves the preservative activity of phenoxyethanol. Thanks. Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. 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. If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. It's a physical (or inorganic) sunscreenthat has a lot in common with fellow inorganic sunscreen Titanium Dioxide(TiO2) but a couple of things make it superior even toTiO2. A white powdery thing that's the major component of glass and sand. It helps to soften scars and increase their elasticity. Combined with polyacrylate-13 and polysorbate 20, it forms a very effective tickener-emulsifier trio. We wrote more about nanoparticles and the concerns around them here, but the gist is that if nanoparticles were absorbed into the skin that would be a reason for legitimate health concerns. If you are into chemistry (if not, we understand, just skip this paragraph), the reason is that electrolytes (you know, the Na+ and Cl- ions) screen the electrostatic repulsion between the head groups of ionic surfactants and thus support the formation of long shaped micelles (instead of spherical ones) that entangle like spaghetti, and viola, a gel is formed. It makes makeup formulas more long-lastingand can enhance the water resistance of sunscreens. It protects against UVB, UVA II, and UVA I almost uniformly, and is considered to be the broadestrange sunscreen available today. stays on the skin)dimethicone as the two together forma water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel. And last but not least, when salt is right at the first spot of the ingredient list (and is not dissolved), the product is usually a body scrub where salt is thephysical exfoliating agent. It is quite the multi-tasker as it can blur imperfections, add an exceptional creamy feel to products and act as a mattifying agent. Its mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water. (Well, in fact using a sunscreen is always a good idea. It is not permitted in lip products in the US. Porous spherical microbeads (tiny little balls) that can give an elegant silky texture to the products. A clear, light yellow liquid that is used to coat pigments (such as inorganic sunscreen agents or colorants) in cosmetic products. It gives products an elegant, silky texture and better slip. A very common silicone that gives both skin and hair a silky smooth feel. An often used glycol that works as a solvent, humectant, penetration enhancer and also gives a good slip to the products. The duo is claimed to provide excellent slip, fluidity and overall skin feel and gives soft focus andwrinkle correction to the formula. Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) It also has good stability and also works as a skin protectant, anti-irritant. As for skincare, it makes the skin silky smooth, creates a subtle gloss and forms a protective barrier (aka occlusive). This seems to be true even if the skin is damaged, for example, sunburnt. Usually the main solvent in cosmetic products. A study shows that it can reduce the irritation caused by less-nice other ingredients (e.g. Its safe and gentle, but even more importantly, its not a feared-by-everyone-mostly-without-scientific-reason paraben. Its an ingredient whose safety hasnt been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). It leaves a non-greasy, dry-smooth feel on the skin. But Methicone's main thing in practice is not being an emollientbutasilicone fluid for hydrophobization treatment of powders, i.e. A solid silicone resin that creates a permeable film over the skin. 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). Here's a breakdown of Instacart delivery cost: When an item you want is out-of-stock at the store, your shopper will follow your replacement preferences. They are also used toscatter light to reduce the look of fine lines on the skin, as well as to absorb excess oil and give a matt finish. However, too much of it causes the phenomenon called "salting out", and the surfactant solution goes runny again. The coating helps to stabilize pigments in the formulas and also helps them to spread easily and evenly on the skin. We don't have description for this ingredient yet. Most of what we wrote about Titanium Dioxideis also true for Zinc Oxide so we will focus here on the differences. The study was not done with real people on real skin but still - using a good sunscreen next to MP containing productsis a good idea. BGs main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Good old water, aka H2O. So much sothat Zinc Oxide also counts as a skin protectant and anti-irritant. Chemically speaking, this molecule is "halfway" between Sorbitan Oleate and Sorbitan Trioleate, meaning that it is also an attachment of sorbitan (a dehydrated sorbitol (sugar) molecule) with the unsaturated fatty acid Oleic Acid, but in a ratio of 2:3 hence the "Sesqui" part in the molecule's name. It can alsoscatter light to blurfine lineswhile letting enough light through so that the skin still looks natural. Using the Instacart app or website, select a store of your choice near you that offers pickup, select Pickup, and then select your preferred pickup location from which you'd like to place your order. It's a cheap, effective and well-tolerated ingredient tomake sure the cosmetic formula does not go wrong too soon. Its stickiness also helps lip products to stay on longer. 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. It also hastannins that make Spiraea Ulmaria Extract astringent, as well asspiraeosidethat has anti-cellulitic properties. You can track your order's progress and communicate with your shopper every step of the way using the Instacart app or website. Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier. It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility. The triois invaluable for "skin-colored" makeup products (think your foundation and pressed powder) as blendingthese three shades carefully can produce almost any shade of natural-looking flesh tones. It can be used in many types of formulations as it has great thermal stability (can be heated up to 85C) and works on a wide range of pH levels (ph 3-10). As for hair care, it is a non-volatile silicone meaning that it stays on the hair rather than evaporates from it andsmoothes the hairlike no other thing. In lipsticks, it gives acreamy feel and a bettercolor on the lips. Learn more about instructions for specific items or replacements here. Chamomile extract - has great anti-inflammatory and some antioxidant properties. What research does confirm about Aloe is that its a great moisturizer and has several anti-inflammatory (among others contains salicylates, polysaccharides, magnesium lactate and C-glucosyl chromone) as well as some antibacterial components. They are also used toscatter light to reduce the look of fine lines on the skin, as well as to absorb excess oil and give a matt finish.