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: Peptides
This peptide blends four amino acids with a fatty acid to enhance penetration, where it goes to work quieting factors in skin that trigger irritation and damage to skin’s supportive elements.

Rating: Best
Categories: Peptides
Synthetic peptide proven to strengthen skin’s underlying supportive elements and visibly reduce signs of sun damage such as wrinkles and rough texture.

Rating: Best
Categories: Humectant, Emollient, Antioxidant
A type of fat found naturally in skin, these ingredients have value in skin care for their ability to both attract water and deliver it to areas that need increased hydration. They also have antioxidant properties.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Humectant
Antioxidant known to help visibly fade discolorations and soothe skin. It also helps skin naturally produce its own hyaluronic acid content.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
A component of green tea that’s well known for its potent antioxidant abilities for skin, as well as its properties as a soothing ingredient.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
Peptide that offers skin-soothing + antioxidant properties. Studies show promise for improving signs of aging, including wrinkles.

Rating: Best
Categories: Antioxidant, Plant-Extracts
This soy-derived isoflavone has potent skin-soothing and antioxidant benefits that are particularly good at targeting signs of aging associated with estrogen decline.

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: 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: Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer, Chelating-Agent
Ingredient used in skin care products to adjust a formula's pH. In the right concentration/formula, it can also exfoliate skin.

Rating: Good
Categories: Cleansing-Agent, Emulsifier
Used in cosmetics primarily as a mild cleansing agent, this coconut-derived ingredient is considered extremely stable and safe.

Rating: Good
Categories: Humectant, Texture-Enhancer
Humectant (hydration booster), texture/penetration enhancer, and formulary solvent. May also help decrease rough surface skin and stabilize the formula.

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: Texture-Enhancer, Polymer, Ph-Adjuster-Stabilizer
Often used to create gel-textured formulas or to influence the product’s thickness. Research also shows carbomers can enhance the penetration effectiveness of key actives.

Rating: Good
Categories: Chelating-Agent
This ingredient is one of the salt forms of EDTA, which is short for ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid. EDTA helps stabilize cosmetics formulas, preventing ingredients from binding to trace elements (often minerals) found in water.

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