An ingredient list names everything in a product using standard INCI names. Ingredients above 1% are listed from the largest amount to the smallest; anything at 1% or below can come in any order after them. So the list shows you rough rank, not exact amounts, and it says nothing about how well an ingredient works. This guide from Enrichment Skincare explains how to read the back of any skincare product, and what the order can and cannot tell you.
What INCI names are
INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. It is the shared naming system for cosmetic ingredient lists, so the same ingredient carries the same name on every label, whatever the brand or the language on the box. Products sold in the UK and EU use it, so what you read here applies to most of what you will find on a shelf.
That is why a label says Aqua for water, and Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter for shea butter. Plant ingredients usually carry their Latin name, often with a plain English name in brackets, and a few carry the name of the substance they are. It looks unfamiliar at first, but it means you can look up any ingredient in seconds, and compare two products on equal terms.
What the order tells you, and what it does not
The rule is simple. Ingredients above 1% are listed in descending order of weight, from the largest to the smallest. Ingredients at 1% or less can be listed in any order after those.
Read from the left, the first few names make up most of the formula. Somewhere along the list the 1% line falls, but nothing on the label shows you where. After that point the order carries no information about amount, so an ingredient near the end may be present at almost the same level as one several places earlier.
Many people use Parfum as a rough marker, because fragrance is usually used in small amounts. Take that as a rule of thumb and not a rule. It helps you guess which side of the 1% line an ingredient sits on. It does not tell you the amount.
A practical way to use all this is to read the list in two halves. The first few names describe the base of the product: what it is mostly made of, and so how it will feel. The later names tell you what else has been added, such as preservatives, fragrance and the ingredients a brand highlights on the front.
What position cannot tell you
A position on the list tells you about amount, not about whether an ingredient is worth having. Some ingredients need only a little to do their job, such as preservatives and antioxidants like tocopherol. Others, such as a base oil or butter, are used in larger amounts because they make up much of the texture.
Whether a given amount is enough depends on the ingredient and on what it is there to do, and a percentage from the brand tells you more than a position ever can. It is worth reading the whole list, not just the first five names, and asking what each ingredient is there to do.
Filler is not an ingredient
The word filler suggests something added for bulk that does nothing. In a well made formula, every ingredient has a job in how the product looks, feels, holds together or keeps. Here are the four you will see most often near the top of a list:
- Water. Listed as Aqua. Water is the solvent that carries the other ingredients, which is why it is so often first in a lotion, serum or toner.
- Glycerin. A humectant, which means an ingredient that attracts moisture. It helps a texture feel comfortable on skin, and it appears in a great many products.
- Emulsifiers. Names such as Cetearyl Alcohol or Glyceryl Stearate. They hold oil and water together, so a cream stays smooth and even instead of separating.
- Preservatives. Names such as Sodium Benzoate. They keep a product usable once you open it.
None of these is padding. If a list has a lot of them, that usually says something about the texture of the product, and nothing about its worth.
What is worth checking
A few things on the back of a pack are worth a moment of your time.
Whether the ingredient on the front is on the list. If a product is named after an ingredient, look for it, and note roughly where it sits. Position gives you a rough idea of how much is in the product, as the section above explains. It does not tell you whether the ingredient will do anything for your skin.
Where fragrance sits, and what follows it. Parfum or Aroma stands for the whole fragrance blend, and the individual raw materials are not listed one by one. The exception is a set list of fragrance allergens, which have to be named separately once they pass a small threshold. Linalool and Limonene are two you will often see. If you already know that particular fragrance ingredients do not suit you, those are the names to look for after Parfum.
Colourants. These appear at the end of the list, shown as CI numbers. More on that below.
The rest is a matter of preference, and that is fine. We list every ingredient in full on every product page, and you can read more about how we think about formulas on our about page.
Questions people ask
What does Parfum mean on a label?
Parfum, or Aroma, is the standard term for a fragrance blend. The blend's individual components are not listed one by one, except for the set list of fragrance allergens mentioned earlier, such as Linalool or Limonene.
Why is water first?
Because lists run in descending order of weight, and water is the base of most lotions, serums, toners and washes. It carries the other ingredients, so it usually makes up the largest share. Products such as oils, balms and sticks contain little or no water, so their lists start somewhere else.
What are the CI numbers?
CI stands for Colour Index, a numbering system for colourants. Colourants can be listed in any order after the other ingredients. So a tinted product ends its list with numbers such as CI 77891, and they can appear in any order.
Does natural mean anything on a label?
Not on its own. There is no legal definition of natural for a skincare label, so it is a description a brand has chosen, and it does not mean a product is gentle or safe by default. Certifications such as Ecocert COSMOS set out real rules for what qualifies, and they are worth looking for. More than eight in ten Enrichment products carry Ecocert COSMOS Natural or COSMOS Organic certification, shown on each product page. So read natural as a claim, look for a certification behind it, and then read the list.
Is a longer ingredient list better or worse?
Neither. Length tells you about the formula, not about its quality. A cream with a rich texture, a stable emulsion and a preservative system will list more ingredients than a simple toner, and both can be well made. It is more useful to read what is on the list than to count the names.
If you would rather begin with your skin than with a label, the skincare quiz will narrow it down in a couple of minutes.
Sources
This guide is general information about how ingredient lists work. It is not advice about any individual's skin.
The short version
What ingredient order tells you, what it cannot, and why water, glycerin and emulsifiers are not filler. A plain guide to the back of any skincare product.
