yavuzyilmaz/cosmetic-ingredients huggingface dataset:
PEG-12 Dimethicone/​PPG-20 Crosspolymer
A high-molecular weight silicone elastomer gel (a rubber-like elastic material) that is usually combined with a silicone carrier fluid like Caprylyl Methicone . The blend has a viscous gel texture, gives smooth, powdery, nongreasy skin feel , and great spreadability. It's also more compatible with natural vegetable oils than other silicone elastomer gels and works as a delivery aid both for oil-loving (e.g. sunscreens) and water-loving (vitamin C, Aloe Vera, Caffeine) materials.
Caprylyl Methicone
A clear, colorless, low viscosity, volatile (does not absorb into the skin but rather evaporates from it) silicone fluid that has excellent spreadability and leaves a light, silky and smooth feel on the skin. According to manufacturer info , its big advantage is that it's compatible both with other silicones and with natural plant oils, so it's a great ingredient to formulate products with good-sounding, consumer-pleasing vegetable oils but still maintain a cosmetically elegant, non-greasy and non-tacky feel.
Sapindus Mukorossi Fruit Extract
Sapindus Mukorossi is a nice, big tree living in tropical and sub-tropical regions of Asia. Its fruit is commonly called soapberry or washnut - telltale names for its traditional use as a cleansing agent . It contains natural surfactants called saponins (10-11.5%) and forms a nice rich lather. It's great at cleansing the skin of oily secretion as well as washing the hair. Apart from being a cleansing agent, Sapindus Mukorossi also has a bunch of other pharmacological effects : It's well-known for its insecticidal properties and is traditionally used for removing lice from the scalp. As for other skin-care relevant things, it has promising tyrosinase inhibition, free radical scavenging (antioxidant), antimicrobial and anticancer activity.
Leontopodium Alpinum Callus Culture Extract
A plant stem cell extract derived from the famous mountain flower, Edelweiss. It goes by the trade name Majestem and the manufacturer claims that it has a visible lifting action on the neck and face . In their in-vivo (made on real people) tests, the sagging skin on the neck was tightened by -10.6% up to -56% in three weeks. After six weeks, the cheeks were also lifted and the crow’s feet wrinkles were smoothed out (surface -11% up to -75%). Apart from manufacturer claims, edelweiss is traditionally known for and used for its soothing properties. We found a 2012 study confirming that edelweiss cell culture extract contains the active called leontopodic acid that seems to be responsible for the plant's anti-inflammatory properties .
Ethyl Ascorbic Acid
A very stable and promising form of the skincare superstar, Vitamin C . If you do not know why Vitamin C is such a big deal in skin care, you can catch up here . In short, Vitamin C has three proven magic abilities: antioxidant, collagen booster, and skin brightener. The problem, though, is that it's very unstable, turns brown and becomes ineffective in no time (after a few month) and the cosmetics industry is trying to come up with smart derivatives that are stable and have the magic properties of pure Vitamin C. Ethyl Ascorbic Acid or EAC for short is an "etherified derivative of ascorbic acid" that consists of vitamin C and an ethyl group bound to the third carbon position. This makes Vitamin C very stable and soluble in both water and oil . However, for a Vitamin C derivative to work it's not enough just to be stable, they also have to be absorbed into the skin and be converted there to pure Vitamin C. We have good news regarding the absorption: on top of manufacturer claims, there is some data (animal study) demonstrating in can get into the skin , and it seems to be better at it than Ascorbyl Glucoside , another vitamin C derivative. Regarding conversion, we can cite only a manufacturers claim saying that EAC is metabolized in the skin into pure ascorbic acid (and the ascorbic acid content of EAC is very high - 86,4% - compared to the usual 50-60% Vitamin C content of other derivatives). As for the three magic abilities of Vitamin C, we again mostly have only the manufacturer's claims , but at least those are very promising. EAC seems to have both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect , and it's claimed to be able to boost the skin's collagen production . The strong point of EAC though is skin brightening . On top of manufacturer claims, there is also clinical in-vivo (tested on real people) data showing that 2% EAC can improve skin tone and whiten the skin. Overall , Ethyl Ascorbic Acid is a very promising but not a fully proven Vitamin C derivative. It's worth a try, especially if you are after Vitamin C's skin-brightening effects.
Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate
A liquid emollient derived from isostearic acid that gives a rich, cushiony skin-feel and unusually high levels of gloss. It also has film-forming abilities but without leaving a sticky residue and it aids long-lasting and water-resistant properties. All this makes Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate an ideal emollient for long-lasting protective emulsions, like lip balms .
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
A solid silicone resin that creates a permeable film over the skin. It makes makeup formulas more long-lasting and can enhance the water resistance of sunscreens. It leaves a non-tacky film when dried.
Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Propylmethylmethoxybenzofuran
This terribly long named thing goes by the short trade name of Sym3D where 3D is supposed to mean that it can bring volume to the lips. The manufacturer claims that it's a long lasting lip-plumping ingredient with visible results in 4 weeks. It might be able to plump up the lips and minimize lines and wrinkles on and around the lip area. It's also claimed to have potent anti-oxidative capacity.
Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate
A synthetic emollient oil that leaves a soft non-greasy, non-sticky feel on the skin, absorbs fast and can be emulsified (mixed with water) very easily.
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-52
Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-52 is a peptide molecule that belongs to the "Botox-in-a-jar" type of topical muscle relaxers (if you are new to these types of molecules, we wrote more about it at the category-creating Argireline ). Combined with Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-18 , the duo is claimed to be able to reduce expression lines by 20% on average in 28 days based on a panel test of 30 volunteers.
Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-18
The buddy of Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-52 in the topical muscle relaxer peptide duo trade named X50 MYOCEPT.  BTW, the duo works at the extremely low recommended concentration of only 0.001%.
Heptapeptide-15 Palmitate
Heptapeptide-15 Palmitate is the targeting peptide (a short chain of amino acids) that is part of the encapsulated copper peptide technology trade named X50 Antiaging. This smart guy sits at the outer part of the encapsulation shell and seeks out the all-important collagen-producing cells in the middle layer of the skin called fibroblasts. Once Heptapeptide-15 Palmitate binds to the receptors of the fibroblast, the cell internalizes the capsule, and the payload (in this case Copper Palmitoyl Heptapeptide-14) is released. Continue here to read what the payload peptide is doing once it arrives at its target, the fibroblast cell.
PPG-3 Isostearyl Methyl Ether
A super light emollient fluid that has excellent skin spreading properties and an exceptionally light skin feel. It also has extreme pH tolerance and can reduce product tackiness.
Hydroxyphenoxy Propionic Acid
A skin-brightening, spot fading active ingredient that goes by the trade name Radianskin. The in-vitro (made in the lab) test results of the manufacturer show that it can prevent melanin formation more effectively than other well-known skin-lightening agents, like ascorbyl glucoside , kojic acid, or arbutin and it has equivalent efficacy to skin-lightening gold-standard ingredient hydroquinone but without cytotoxicity. There is also a L'Oreal sponsored research showing that the combination of hydroxyphenoxy propionic acid, ellagic acid, yeast extract, and salicylic acid produced comparable skin-lightening results as the standard prescription combination of 4% hydroquinone cream and 0.025% tretinoin cream after 12 weeks.
Phenylethyl Resorcinol
A skin-lightening and antioxidant active ingredient derived from a molecule that exists naturally in Pine tree. According to the clinical results of the manufacturer , 0.5% of phenylethyl resorcinol is more effective than 1% of well-known skin-lightener kojic acid. Though the results from the manufacturer sound quite promising, a skin-lightening study from 2013 involving phenylethyl resorcinol shows quite moderate results . In the 80 participants, 12-week study, phenylethyl resorcinol was combined with three other actives (disodium glycerophosphate, L-leucine, and undecylenoyl phenylalanine) and only 57% of the participants showed at least a moderate response and 17% did not improve at all.
Ruscus Aculeatus Root Extract
The extract coming from Butcher’s Broom, a common evergreen shrub in the Mediterranean countries. It is known as a potent venous vasoconstrictor , meaning that it helps the narrowing of the blood vessels and increases the microcirculation. In cosmetic products, this mainly translates to being a good astringent, refreshing and toning ingredient, as well as being an anti-redness, soothing and anti-cellulate agent.
Pistacia Lentiscus Gum
Mustic gum is an aromatic resin coming from the bark of a tree that grows on the Greek island of Chios. It was traditionally used as a chewing gum to clean the teeth and freshen the breath thanks to its anti-microbial properties . As for modern skincare, it is the active ingredient in a skin care complex trade named PoreAway, that is claimed to tighten dilated pores and reduce shine . It works by blocking 5α reductase type I, an enzyme that has an important role in the sebum-producing process (by converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, aka DHT, that is the main sebum producing hormone in the skin). Do not expect miracles though: according to the in-vivo test conducted by the manufacturer, 2% PoreAway refined pores only by 8% after 14 days and 15% after 28 days. We are not sure if this is a change that you can really feel and see on your skin, or if it's just a "statistically significant change" that can be measured in the lab.
Methyl Methacrylate/​PEG/​PPG-4/​3 Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Little spherical shaped particles that are modified to become water-loving so that they can be easily used in water-based formulas. They enhance the product texture and have light-diffusion, aka soft-focus effect properties.
Isoamyl Laurate
A naturally derived (Ecocert approved) colorless to yellowish oily liquid that's touted as a natural silicone alternative . It's claimed to have great sensorial properties: light but caring, velvety, silky and non-sticky . It's also great at dissolving UV-filters in sunscreens or dispersing pigments in makeup products. You can also bump into Isoamyl Laurate in hair care products as a hair conditioner that makes combing easier without build up.
C12-14 Pareth-12
An emulsifier (helps oily and watery things to mix) that usually comes to the formula as the buddy of the oil-dispersible silicone powder Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer .  The two together create a pre-emulsified, water-loving version of the elastomeric silicone powder which gives products a nice silky feel and has sebum absorption capabilities.
Perfluoroperhydrophenanthrene
A fluorocarbon that contains only fluorine and carbon. It's usually mixed with other fluorocarbons and goes by the trade name Fiflow. You can read more about what it might do on the skin at its fluorocarbon buddy, Perfluorodecalin .
Perfluorohexane
A fluorocarbon that's like a hydrocarbon but instead of hydrogen and carbon, it only contains fluorine and carbon. It's usually mixed with other fluorocarbons and goes by the trade name Fiflow. You can read more about what it might do on the skin at its fluorocarbon buddy, Perfluorodecalin .
Perfluorodecalin
Perfluorodecalin is a fluorocarbon , a molecule that contains nothing else but carbon and fluorine. It's usually mixed with other fluorocarbons and goes by the trade name Fiflow. Fiflows are interesting materials: they are very stable (inert), heavy liquids that are neither water nor oil soluble but they create a third phase in emulsions. They can carry gasses , notably Oxygen, Nitrogen and Carbon Dioxide into the formula. The manufacturer claims that Fiflow blends can have all kinds of good effects on the skin: they can have wound healing, muscle relaxation, and dermal filling effect and they might also improve skin renewal and skin elasticity.
PEG-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate
A clear pale yellow liquid that works as a highly effective but mild surfactant . According to the manufacturer ,  Peg-20 Glyceryl Triisostearate can create microemulsion facial cleansers (microemulsions are a mixture of water, oil, and surfactants) that are crystal clear, gentle to the skin and can easily be rinsed off leaving no oily residue . If you like oil cleansers but do not like to remove them with a washcloth, look out for this ingredient to find the perfect emulsifiable, water-rinsable oil cleanser.
Pongamia Glabra Seed Oil
Karanja Oil comes from a medium-sized, evergreen tree called Pongamia Pinnata that is found throughout Southeast Asia. All parts of the tree have several traditional medicinal uses and the oil specifically has insecticidal and antiseptic properties. It's traditionally used to treat skin infections such as eczema or psoriasis. According to the manufacturer's information , used at a 3-5% concentration, Karanja Oil can serve as a natural preservative in cosmetic products. It has excellent bacterial and fungal control and can even add additional antioxidant benefits to the skin.
Ethylhexyl Stearate
A clear, almost colorless (or slightly yellowish) oily liquid (an ester to be precise) that's used as a medium spreading emollient . It gives skin a nice and smooth after-feel and it's very good at reducing oiliness or greasiness coming from other heavier oils in the formula.
Kaolin
Kaolin is a type of clay or to be precise, a naturally occurring hydrous aluminum silicate. When you hear clay, you probably think of a muddy greenish-black mess, but that one is bentonite , and this one is a fine, white powder. It is so white that it's also often used, in small amounts, as a helper ingredient to give opacity and whiteness to the cosmetic formulas. As a clay, it's absorbent and can suck up excess sebum and gunk from your skin, but less so than the more aggressive bentonite . As it's less absorbent, it's also less drying and gentler on the skin, so it's ideal for dry and sensitive skin types.
Sorbitan Trioleate
A very oil-loving emulsifier that can help oil and water to mix, especially if it is mixed with a water-loving emulsifier. Chemically speaking, it is related to Sorbitan Oleate , but instead of attaching one Oleic Acid to the sorbitan molecule, three Oleic Acids are attached making the whole molecule even more oil-loving (oleic part) and less water-loving (sorbitan part).
Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate
A cleansing agen t that's claimed to be so gentle on the skin that it hardly impacts the skin barrier. It also gives a rich, creamy foam, it's based on vegetable fatty acids and is readily biodegradable. It's an especially important and popular ingredient in "syndet bars" (or soapless soaps). Dr. Leslie Baumann says in her great Cosmetic Dermatology book that thanks to the unique molecular characteristic of Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, it "has defined a new dimension in the mildness of cleansing bars ".
Disodium Cocoamphodipropionate
A mild cleansing agent with amphoteric structure meaning that its head contains both a positively and a negatively charged part (surfactants are most commonly anionic meaning their head has a negative charge).  It is chemically very similar to more commonly used Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate , though it is not quite as mild as that one. Paired with an anionic surfactant, it still helps to reduce irritation potential and improve foaming .
Citrus Nobilis Peel Oil
The essential oil coming from the peel of the mandarin orange or tangor. In general, the main component of citrus peel oils is limonene (77-86% for mandarin peel), a super common fragrant ingredient that makes everything smell nice (but counts as a frequent skin sensitizer).  Apart from smelling nice (and thus being a popular natural fragrance alternative), Mandarin Orange Oil also has significant antioxidant properties that's comparable to synthetic antioxidant BHT or oil-soluble antioxidant big shot vitamin E . On the con side, the fragrant components of citrus peels might irritate sensitive skin and citrus peels also contain the problematic compound called furanocoumarin that makes them (mildly) phototoxic . Orange mandarin peel contains less from it than some other citruses (like bergamot or lime), but still, be careful with it especially if it's in a product for daytime use.
Sodium Lauroyl Glutamate
A mild amino acid based surfactant with great foaming properties. Can be used also for sensitive or baby skin.
Isoamyl Cocoate
A natural emollient ester derived from sugar beets and coconut oil. It's a very light liquid that absorbs quickly into the skin and has a non-oily skin feel . The manufacturer says it's produced in an innovative, eco-friendly way that saves about 60% on energy consumption and CO2 emission compared to traditional manufacturing methods.
Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate
A cleansing agent that's popular in "syndet bars" (soapless soaps) for its good foaming properties . It can also improve the mildness of famously aggressive, irritating surfactant, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS).
Colloidal Oatmeal
The finely ground version of whole oat kernels that has well-established skin soothing, skin-protecting and antioxidant abilities. We have a shiny description of oat extract in skincare here .  It is a real goodie ingredient for dry, irritated, inflamed or eczema-prone skin.
C20-40 Pareth-10
A petrochemical derived ingredient that works as an emulsifier for heavy or difficult to disperse ingredients like waxes, pigments, and silicones. It also makes hydroalcoholic formulas thicker and more moisturizing.
Olive Oil PEG-7 Esters
An olive oil-derived, water-soluble, but "oily" liquid that works both as an emollient (makes skin nice and smooth) and as a co-emulsifier . It's claimed to offer a distinctive skin smoothness and long-term moisturizing effects while also being great at solubilizing fragrances into water-based products or being a co-emulsifier in oil-in-water emulsions.
Polymethylsilsesquioxane
A spherical texturizing powder that's used as a texture enhancer and soft focus agent . It's claimed to give silicone type softness to the formula and also works as a (temporary) wrinkle filler.
PEG-6
A  clear viscous polymer (a molecule from repeated subunits) liquid that works as a solvent and humectant . According to manufacturer info , it's recommended for all kinds of washing products (like hand dishwashing detergents or fine-fabric washing powders) and is ideal as a viscosity regulator, detergent booster, and solubilizer.
C14-22 Alcohols
A 100% vegetable origin emulsifier that usually comes to the formula with its buddy called C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside . The duo is trade-named Montanov L and works as an effective oil in water emulsifier. It creates ultra-soft, light texture , has excellent dermo-compatibility and is readily biodegradable. Chemically speaking, it is a mixture of fatty alcohols with 14 to 22 carbon atoms in their fatty chains.
Cetyl Dimethicone
A helpful emollient ingredient that gives products a light, smooth-skin feeling . You’ll find it mostly in products containing SPF, as, according to several manufacturers , it can increase the water resistance and spreadability of UV filters. With better spreadability, less filters are needed to provide the same SPF, making the formula lighter and nicer to use and with improved water resistance, your protection will last that bit longer in the pool.
Potassium Cetyl Phosphate
A white to beige powder that is described as the golden standard emulsifier for emulsions (oil+water mixtures) that are difficult to stabilize. It is especially popular in sunscreens as it can boost SPF protection and increase the water-resistance of the formula.
Petrolatum
The famous Vaseline or Petroleum Jelly. Just like mineral oil , it is also a by-product of refining crude oil, aka petroleum, and it is also a mixture of hydrocarbons but with bigger (C18-90+) carbon chain length. The unique thing about petrolatum is that it is the most effective occlusive agent known today . While the occlusivity of mineral oil is in the same league as the occlusivity of plant oils, petrolatum is in a league of its own. It sits on top of the skin and hinders so-called transepidermal water loss (TEWL) like nothing else . This comes in handy healing cracked lips or severely dry skin patches, though overdoing it (i.e. reducing TEWL by more than 40%) is not good as it can create a nice moist place for fungi and bacteria to grow. As for petrolatum and safety, we can write here pretty much the exact same thing as we have written at mineral oil . There is no evidence whatsoever that cosmetic, USP grade petrolatum is carcinogenic. It also does not absorb into the skin but sits on top of it and that in itself greatly minimises health risks. It also has a long history of safe use, as it was first used as a skincare product more than 100 years ago, in 1872 to be precise. It is also non-comedogenic , though its pure form is very heavy and greasy so combination and oily skin types might want to avoid it anyway. Overall , it is the gold-standard occlusive agent known today and a tub of Vaseline comes in handy in any household to heal cracked lips or other severely dry skin patches.
Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
A cleansing agent that's described by multiple manufacturers as a very mild, non-irritating surfactant but with great foam properties . It's recommended for gentle cleansers suitable for sensitive or baby skin.
Sucrose Palmitate
A sugar ester (sucrose + palmitic acid) that works as a natural emulsifier (helps oil and water to mix). According to the manufacturer , it has a great skin-feel, improves smoothness, emolliency and even hydrates the skin. Combined with another sugar ester, sucrose stearate , it can improve high temperature stability of Sucragel based oily gel cleansers.
Sucrose Stearate
A sugar ester (sucrose + stearic acid) that works as a natural emulsifier (helps water and oil to mix). It's popular in oily gel cleansers as it improves the high-temperature stability of the formula.
Ethylhexyl Hydroxystearate
A heavy-duty emollient ester that comes in the form of a pale yellow semi-solid paste. It mainly stays on the surface of the skin and gives skin protection and occlusivity .
C12-20 Alkyl Glucoside
A 100% vegetable origin emulsifier that usually comes to the formula with its buddy called C14-22 Alcohols . The duo is called Montanov L and two together help to create ultra-soft light formulas.