Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant
Stable, water-soluble form of vitamin C that brightens dull skin and fades discolorations.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Absorbent, Occlusive-Opacifying-Agent
This mineral ingredient functions as an absorbent and thickening agent in cosmetics and can help enhance the absorption of other ingredients as well.

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: Emollient, Emulsifier, Texture-Enhancer
Versatile complex polymer that has emollient, emulsifying, texture-enhancing and dispersing properties.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer, Polymer
This synthetic ingredient is used to enhance the texture of skin care and hair care products and has been ruled safe as used in cosmetics.

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: Best
Categories: Antioxidant
This ingredient, which occurs naturally in skin, has potent antioxidant benefits and serves as a skin-restoring, dullness brightening ingredient in topical products.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant
Potent, mushroom-derived antioxidant that boosts skin’s environmental defenses and ability to look younger in multiple ways.

Rating: Good
Categories: Suspending-Dispersing-Agent, Texture-Enhancer, Polymer
A synthetic polymer whose versatility gives it many aesthetically pleasing uses in cosmetics while helping create and maintain stable, effective formulas.

Rating: Good
Categories: Texture-Enhancer, Emollient, Emulsifier
This moisturizing ingredient can be either naturally or synthetically derived. It’s one of the longest-known fatty alcohols.

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
Amino acid derivative that has mild antioxidant properties and helps to strengthen and condition skin and hair.

Rating: Good
Categories: Emollient
Lightweight emollient that aids skin hydration. Also assists with solubility and texture.

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: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer, Chelating-Agent, Antioxidant, Preservative
This workhorse ingredient helps control the pH of skin care products, making it valuable in exfoliants, cleansers, and toners. It also has antioxidant, chelating and preservative properties, and is used in both food and medical applications.

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

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: Good
Categories: Humectant
Mannitol is a plant-derived or lab-made sugar that works in skin care to bind moisture and condition.

Rating: Best
Categories: Emollient, Texture-Enhancer, Plant-Extracts
Emollient and skin-replenishing ingredient derived from coconut oil and glycerin. Contains fatty acids that help skin resist moisture loss.

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: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
Emulsifier and mild cleansing agents that also improves penetration of key ingredients without irritating skin.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
A very mild cleansing agent that also helps stabilize skin care formulas and keep oil- and water-based ingredients from separating.

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

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Pure vitamin C, the primary antioxidant in skin. Works as an antioxidant, dullness brightener, wrinkle-reducer, and helps fade discolorations.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Prebiotic-Probiotic-Postbiotic
This sugar derived from plants hydrates and adds a pleasant, sweet flavor to products such as cleansers and lip balms.

Rating: Good
Categories: Plant-Extracts, Antioxidant, Fragrance-Synthetic-And-Natural
A naturally derived ingredient well known for its antioxidant and skin soothing benefits. Its flavor component, which is considered non-sensitizing, is also used as an additive in food and lip products.

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