How to Read a Cosmetic INCI List

In brief

The INCI list can help identify an allergen you need to avoid. Its order gives only partial clues about the quantities used, and tracing palm-derived ingredients may require an answer from the manufacturer.

Castor oil appears on a cosmetic label as Ricinus Communis Seed Oil. Ricinus Communis names the plant and Seed Oil identifies the material used. The wording comes from INCI, the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, which gives manufacturers standard ingredient names. Many other entries are English. A CI code refers to a colourant; [nano] after a name indicates a nanomaterial under EU rules.

Ingredient order

On cosmetics sold in the EU, ingredients are listed by weight when added to the batch, starting with the largest amounts. Below 1%, they may go in any order after those above 1%. There are further ordering exceptions for colourants.

An ingredient present at 0.2% can therefore appear before one at 0.8%. No line on the label marks the beginning of this group. The first few names help describe the base of a product, though the order cannot give you its precise recipe.

Citric Acid may sit near the end because only a small a...