List of cosmetic ingredients

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ingredients of cosmetic products are listed following International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Incredients (INCI). These INCI names often differ greatly from systematic chemical nomenclature or from more common trivial names.

The below tables are sorted as follows:

INCI name

chemical meaning - structure, name or description [1]

purpose - role(s) in a cosmetic formulation[2][3][4][5]

Contents 1 A 2 B 3 H 4 I 5 P 6 S 7 T 8 Notes and references

[edit] A

alcohol denat.	denatured alcohol, ethanol made unsuitable for drinking	solvent, carrier, astringent
alkyl benzoate C12 - C15	benzoic acid ester, PhCOO(CH2)11-14CH3	?
allantoin	N-(2,5-dioxo-4-imidazolidinyl)urea	stops bleeding of cuts from shaving
alpha-isomethyl ionone	3-methyl-4-(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-enyl)but-3-en-2-one	?
aluminium chlorohydrate	basic aluminium chloride Al2(OH)5Cl or Al2(OH)xCl6-x (0<x<6)	antitranspirant
aqua	water	solvent
ascorbyl palmitate	[2-(4,5-dihydroxy-3-oxo-2-furyl)-2-hydroxy-ethyl] hexadecanoate	?

[edit] B

butane	butane C4H10	propellant (pressurized dispenser)
butyrospermum parkii	shea butter, vegetable fat made from nuts of african shea tree	moisturizer

[edit] H

hydroxyethyl-cellulose	Cellulose fibre from wood pulp with –OCH2CH2OH groups added	gives body
hydroxypropyl-cellulose	Cellulose fibre from wood pulp with –OCH2CH(OH)CH3 groups added	gives body

[edit] I

isobutane	Isobutane (CH3)2CHCH3	propellant (pressurized dispenser)
isopentane	Isopentane (CH3)2CHCH2CH3	propellant (pressurized dispenser)

[edit] P

propane

Propane CH3CH2CH3

propellant (pressurized dispenser)

[edit] S

sodium hydroxide

Sodium hydroxide NaOH

base

[edit] T

triethanolamine

N(CH2CH2OH)3

base, emulsifier

[edit] Notes and references

1. ^ several databases yield the chemical meaning, e.g.:
   • chemexper supplier portal / search engine accepting INCI nomenclature
   • European INCI Search Engine
2. ^ J. Clayden, N. Greeves, S. Warren: Organic Chemistry, ISBN: 0-1985-0346-6, 2001
3. ^ Linda D. Rhein, Martin M. Rieger: Surfactants in Cosmetics, Revised and expanded, ISBN 0-8247-9805-8, 1997
4. ^ Natalia Michalun, Varinia Michalun: Milady's Skin Care and Cosmetics Ingredients Dictionary, ISBN 1-5625-3660-5, 2000
5. ^ Ben Selinger, Chemistry in the Marketplace, ISBN 1-8650-8255-4, 1998