Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Antioxidant
Prevents moisture loss and restores suppleness to skin. Also strengthens skin’s barrier and provides antioxidant support.

Rating: Good
Categories: Film-Forming-Agent, Polymer, Absorbent
Has multiple uses in cosmetics as a film-forming agent, emulsion stabilizer, thickener, and absorbent. It can absorb 100–1000 times its mass in water.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts, Emollient
Also known as shea butter, this a plant lipid used as an emollient in cosmetics. It also provides antioxidant benefits.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
Formerly known as ceramides 4 and 5. A hydrating ingredient that occurs naturally in skin which also helps boost skin and barrier health.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
Provides barrier strengthening properties and helps skin retain moisture for a more hydrated, supple appearance.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
This type of ceramide helps improve the look and feel of skin thanks to its water retention properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
This ceramide helps restore skin’s hydration, texture, and suppleness.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
This type of ceramide helps strengthen skin’s barrier against external stimuli.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant, Antioxidant
The more bio-available, salt form of hyaluronic acid. I’s considered an excellent moisturizer, helping skin retain water so it looks and feels smoother.

Rating: Best
Categories: Plant-Extracts
Known for wrinkle-smoothing and skin-soothing benefits. Adenosine is also naturally present in skin, allowing for ideal biocompatibility.

Rating: Best
Categories: Peptides
Anti-aging peptide proven to visibly impact wrinkles, firmness, and rough texture for smoother, younger-looking skin.

Rating: Good
Categories: Emollient, Emulsifier, Cleansing-Agent
This moisturizing ingredient is found naturally in the human body but is usually plant- or synthetically derived in cosmetics. It has been deemed safe as used in cosmetics and is also used as a food additive.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative, Plant-Extracts
Conditions skin and hair and is a moisturizing ingredient in many skin care products. Because of its antibacterial action, it also is an effective cosmetics preservative.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Humectant
Hydroxyacetophenone is a versatile humectant and preservative booster that also has skin-soothing properties.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
Amino acid-derived cleansing agent with emulsifying properties that contribute to softer, smoother skin. May be synthetic or animal-derived.

Rating: Good
Categories: Solvent, Texture-Enhancer
Solvent that is well-known for producing smooth spreadability and more pleasing textures in skin care formulas. Also used to enhance the efficacy of cosmetic preservative phenoxyethanol so it works better in lower amounts.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant
One of four forms of vitamin E. It can be naturally or synthetically derived. Regardless of its origin, tocopherol has potent oil-soluble antioxidant properties and can help defend skin from pollution and environmental stressors.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
This naturally derived ingredient is produced from the fermentation of simple sugars, and acts as a thickening agent, texture enhancer, and emulsion stabilizer in cosmetics.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative, Humectant
Skin-softening agent with hydration boosting properties. Also plays an important preservative role to help keep cosmetic formulas stable.

Rating: Good
Categories: Chelating-Agent
Synthetic salt form of the antioxidant phytic acid. Acts as a stabilizer and chelating agent to keep metals such as iron and copper from binding to water in the formula.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant
This excellent hydrating ingredient is part of skin’s natural moisturizing factor (NMF). As such, it is a cornerstone of many moisturizers thanks to its ability to help skin both attract and retain moisture, resulting a more supple, youthful appearance.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant, Exfoliant, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Long-proven humectant that in amounts of 10% or greater also offers keratolytic (exfoliating) benefits to improve dry, scaly, and thickened skin.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Emulsifier, Suspending-Dispersing-Agent
Plays many different roles including dispersing agent, skin-conditioning emollient, and emulsifying agent. Enhances the penetration of other ingredients for greater efficacy.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant
Humectant plant sugar that boosts skin’s hydration and offers antioxidant properties to help preserve youthfulness.

Rating: Good
Categories: Film-Forming-Agent, Humectant
Synthetic quaternary compound whose role in cosmetics is humectant and film-forming agent, where it helps ingredients adhere better to skin.

Rating: Good
Categories: Solvent, Texture-Enhancer, Preservative
Solvent used in skin care to help form consistent solutions. Can also assist in preserving and enhancing product texture.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
Plays a key role in maintaining skin's health, softness, and hydration.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient
Formerly called ceramide 2, this ceramide helps improve skin’s barrier strength.

Rating: Good
Categories: Preservative
Safe preservative known to be well-tolerated by skin; offers wide spectrum protection against unwanted microbials in a formula.