INCI: reading cosmetic ingredients

In short: INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) is the uniform, international way of writing ingredients on cosmetic packaging.

In more detail: The list is sorted by descending share, down to about 1 %. After that, the order may be arbitrary. Plants are given by Latin names, water is “Aqua”, fragrance “Parfum”.

Our context: The product scanner reads the full INCI list, highlights conspicuous substances and justifies every deduction. If the list is missing in the database, you can paste it from the packaging.

In Depth

• Order: If “Parfum” is at the very start, there is a lot of fragrance. If an active ingredient is at the end, it is only in a very small amount.
• Mandatory details: Besides INCI, packaging must state batch number, best-before date or PAO symbol, manufacturer and intended use.
• Allergenic fragrances: 26 substances (and more in future) must be named individually if present above 0.001 % (leave-on) or 0.01 % (rinse-off).
• Nano: Nanomaterials appear as “[nano]” in the list.
• Safety: Cosmetics must be assessed by a safety assessor before sale and notified in an EU portal.
• “Free from” advertising: “Without parabens” says nothing about the replacement substances. Always read the list.

See also: Parabens, Microplastics in cosmetics, Fragrances and fragrance allergens, Shelf life of cosmetics (PAO symbol)