yavuzyilmaz/cosmetic-ingredients huggingface dataset:
Solum Fullonum
Fuller's Earth describes types of clay that have absorbing and bleaching properties . The name comes from traditional textile workers cleaning or "fulling" wool with this clay. It consists mainly of the clay mineral called palygorskite (that's different both from kaolin or bentonite ) or some type of bentonite (mainly calcium montmorillonite). In cosmetic products, Fuller's Earth is used as an absorbent that can suck up excess oil from the skin . It's excellent absorbent properties also mean that too much of it can dry out the skin, so just like with bentonite , use it for good measure and moisturize after it.
Peat
A black, soil-like, nutrient-rich thing that has a complex composition with a bunch of potential therapeutic effects. It has long been used in physiotherapy, rheumatology and sports medicine. As for skincare, peat has promising antimicrobial activity (thanks to its main components humic and fulvic acid ), it's also a mild astringent, anti-inflammatory and even shows some UVB-protective effects. Thanks to these properties, peat has some promise as an adjacent treatment in inflammatory-related skin diseases like atopic dermatitis, psoriasis or rosacea.
Hexyldecanol
A yellowish oily liquid that works as a medium spreading emollient and is suitable for a wide pH range.
Glyceryl Oleate
The attachment of glycerin and oleic acid that works mainly as a co-emulsifier and stabilizer to create stable water-oil mixes, aka emulsions. It is also popular in cleansing products as it helps to thicken them up and has some refatting and skin-smoothing effect.
Centaurea Cyanus Flower Water
Flower distillate coming from the beautiful blue flowers, commonly known as cornflower .  The flowers are traditionally used in European phytotherapy to treat smaller eye inflammations and contain polysaccharides (mainly galacturonic acid, arabinose, glucose, rhamnose, and galactose) with anti-inflammatory and soothing properties .
Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract
The plant extract coming from the leaves of English plantain or narrowleaf plantain that's native to Europe and Asia. The plant has plenty of traditional medicinal uses. Regarding the leaf and the skin, it's used to promote maturation of abscess and to speed up the recovery of incisions, pimples or wounds. Modern studies do confirm that the plant, and specifically the leaves are loaded with active compounds that give the extract anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antioxidant magic properties . An in-vitro (made on chicken membrane, not on real people) study in Phytotherapy Research found that Plantain Leaf Extract in large concentrations has a comparable soothing effect to anti-inflammatory big shot, hydrocortisone . Another study in the Journal of Herbal Medicine examined the antioxidant properties of the plant and found that the leaf extract has potent antioxidant activity (thanks to its flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids content) that's comparable or superior to multiple herbs and Chinese medicinal plants. All in all, definitely a goodie plant extract that's good to spot on the ingredient list.
Benzophenone-4
A water-soluble, chemical sunscreen agent that is a secondary UVB absorber with some activity in the short UVA range as well. Being a secondary UV absorber means that its protection is weak and it has to be combined with other sunscreen filters for proper sun protection. More often than not, Benzophenone-4 is not used as a sunscreen agent but as a photoprotectant to extend product shelf life, or as a color-protectant for products in clear packages. A Contact Dermatitis article from 2007 names BP-4 as an emerging allergen, as it was the most frequently positive chemical UV filter and third most frequently positive ingredient overall among the 35 substances patch tested in the study (13 positives of 1693 people tested).
Dipropylene Glycol Dibenzoate
An oily liquid that makes your skin nice and smooth (aka emollient ). It is also claimed to have some humectant and moisturizing properties without a greasy after-feel. But its real superpower is being an outstanding solvent for hard to solubilize sunscreen agents (that is most of the chemical sunscreen filters) making it an excellent emollient choice in high SPF products.
Polymethyl Methacrylate
A so-called polymer microsphere , i.e. little spherical shaped particles from repeated subunits. Similar to other microsphere powders, it can scatter the light to give products a soft focus or blurring effect. It also works as a texture enhancer giving formulas an exceptional smoothness and a velvet touch.
PPG-15 Stearyl Ether Benzoate
An emollient liquid that usually comes to the formula combined with C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate and Dipropylene Glycol Dibenzoate as the trio works in synergy to solubilize hard to dissolve sunscreen agents while providing a nice, non-greasy skin feel .
Dibutyl Adipate
A clear, colorless, odorless oily liquid that makes the formula easily spreadable and also makes the skin nice and smooth (emollient). It's especially helpful in sunscreens as it can help to solubilize UV filters .
Diisopropyl Sebacate
A clear, colorless, practically odorless, light liquid that works as a handy helper ingredient in sunscreen formulas . It helps to create high-SPF formulas with reduced concentrations of UV-filter s and it also helps to create cosmetically elegant formulas (and that's no easy feat when it comes to sunscreens). It absorbs rapidly, makes the product easily spreadable and reduces greasiness coming from the oil-soluble sunscreen agents.
Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid
A chemical sunscreen agent that gives strong protection in the UVB (280-320nm) range with its peak protection at 306 nm. Its special property is that unlike most sunscreen agents, it is not oil but water soluble, so it is ideal to create light , oily skin compatible formulas .  It is also fairly photostable and can be used to protect other less stable UV filters (like famous UVA blocker, avobenzone ) in the formula. It is approved worldwide and can be used up to 4% in the US and up to 8% in the EU.
Ethylhexyl Triazone
Ethylhexyl Triazone is a new generation, chemical sunscreen (not available in the US due to impossible FDA regulations) that gives the highest photo-stable absorption of all available UVB filters today. It protects in the UVB range (280-320nm) with a peak protection of 314nm. It is an oil soluble, odorless, colorless powder that works well in fragrance-free formulas. It can be used up to 5% worldwide except for the US and Canada.
Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate
Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate is a new generation, chemical sunscreen agent (not available in the US due to impossible FDA regulations) that's designed for high UVA protection and high photostability . It gives sun protection in the whole UVA range (320-400 nm) with peak protection at 354nm. It can be used up to 10% worldwide except for the US and Canada.
Lauryl Glucoside
A 100% vegetable origin, biodegradable, mild cleansing agent that gives moderate to high amount of foam. It's happy to work together with other surfactants (in general, that helps to create milder formulas).
Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides
A white, solid, vegetable-derived fat (meaning it has the same triglyceride structure as oils but is solid at room temperature) that contains coconut-derived, C12-C18 chain length, saturated (no double bonds) fatty acids. It is odorless, has a neutral taste and it is pretty hard at room temperature. It is used as a consistency regulator both for creams and makeup products.
Cetyl PEG/​PPG-10/​1 Dimethicone
A silicone emulsifier that helps water and silicone oils to mix nicely together.
Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer
Porous spherical microbeads (tiny little balls) that can give an elegant silky texture to the products. They are also used to scatter light to reduce the look of fine lines on the skin, as well as to absorb excess oil and give a matt finish.
Ethylhexyl Salicylate
A colorless to light yellowish oily liquid that works as a UVB (280-320nm) sunscreen filter with a peak absorbance at 306 nm. It's not a strong filter in itself, it's always used in combination with other sunscreen agents to further enhance the SPF and to solubilize other solid UV filters . It has a good safety profile and is allowed to be used at a max concentration of 5% both in the US and in Europe (10% is allowed in Japan).
Trisodium EDTA
A common helper ingredient that works as a so-called chelating agent.  It helps products to remain nice and stable for a longer time by neutralizing the metal ions in the formula (that usually get into there from water) that would otherwise cause some not so nice changes.
Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba Gum
A plant-derived (coming from the seeds of Cyamopsis Tetragonoloba, aka Guar) big, branched sugar molecule that is used as a gelling agent .
Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane
The famous Avobenzone. It is a special snowflake as it is the only globally available chemical sunscreen agent that provides proper UVA protection (in the US, new generation sunscreen agents are not approved because of impossible FDA regulations). It is the global gold standard of UVA protection and is the most used UVA sunscreen in the world. It gives very good protection across the whole UVA range (310-400 nm that is both UVA1 and UVA2) with a peak protection at 360 nm. The problem with it, though, is that it is not photostable and degrades in the sunlight. Wikipedia says that avobenzone loses 36% of its UV-absorption capacity after just one hour of sunlight (yep, this is one of the reasons why sunscreens have to be reapplied after a few hours). The cosmetic's industry is trying to solve the problem by combining avobenzone with other UV filters that enhance its stability (like octocrylene, Tinosorb S or Ensulizole ) or by encapsulating it and while both solutions help, neither is perfect. Interestingly, the combination of avobenzone with mineral sunscreens (that is titanium dioxide and zinc oxide ) is not a good idea . In the US, it is flat out prohibited as avobenzone becomes unstable when combined with mineral sunscreens. As for safety, avobenzone has a pretty good safety profile. It counts as non-irritating, and unlike some other chemical sunscreens, it shows no estrogenic effect. The maximum concentration of avobenzone permitted is 5% in the EU and 3% in the US.
Polyglyceryl-2 Sesquicaprylate
A clear pale yellow viscous liquid that can help to mix oil and water together . It's recommended for oil-based facial cleansers that are also effective under wet conditions.
Isostearyl Neopentanoate
A mild, emollient liquid that can improve product spreadability and gives a silky and non-oily feel to the cosmetic products.
Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide
A skin protecting ingredient obtained by enzymatic synthesis from natural sugars (sucrose and maltose). It's claimed to be a bio-selective substrate that protects and stimulates the beneficial microbial skin flora without doing the same with pathogens and undesirable flora. It also stimulates the antimicrobial peptide release by keratinocytes (skin cells).
Polyglyceryl-10 Dioleate
A pale yellow to pale brown paste that can help to mix oil and water together . Combined with fellow emulsifier called polyglyceryl-2 sesquicaprylate , the two together are specifically recommended for oil-based facial cleansers that can be used also with wet hands on wet face (unlike most makeup remover oils that have to be used with dry hands on dry face).
Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate
An amino acid-based emulsifier that helps water and oil to mix and stay that way. It is considered as natural, environmentally friendly, and hypoallergenic.
Inulin
A naturally occurring fructose polysaccharide found in the roots and rhizomes of several plants, for example, chicory. It is used in skincare for its prebiotic activity , meaning that it reduces the growth of bad bacteria in favor of friendly microorganisms naturally present on the skin.
Cucumis Sativus Seed Oil
When it comes to cucumber and skin care, cucumber fruit extract is the one that steals the show for its soothing and moisturizing properties. But cucumber also has seeds and these seeds contain oil that has nice fatty acids and emollient properties, similar to many other plant oils. Cucumber oil is a high linoleic acid (60-69%) oil that also has a fair amount of oleic acid (9-20%). It also contains antioxidant vitamin E, phytosterols and some trace minerals such as potassium . It is a very light oil that is absorbed easily into the skin. It is described as an excellent oil for moisturization formulations .
Benzophenone-3
A chemical sunscreen agent that absorbs UVB and short UVA rays (280-350nm) with its peak protection at 288 nm. Unlike many other chemical sunscreens, it is highly stable but its UV absorbing abilities are weak so it always has to be combined with other sunscreen agents for proper protection. More often than not, it's used as a photostabilizer rather than a proper sunscreen agent as it can protect formulas nicely from UV damage. Regarding safety, BP-3 is somewhat controversial . First, its molecules are small (228 Da) and very lipophilic (oil loving) and these properties result in very good absorption . The problem is that you want sunscreens on the top of your skin and not in your bloodstream, so for BP-3 this is a problem. In fact, it absorbs so well that 4 hours after application of a sunscreen product with BP-3, it can be detected in urine . Another concern of BP-3 is that it shows some estrogenic activity , though it's probably not relevant when applied topically to the skin. Estrogenic activity was confirmed only in-vitro (in test tubes) and when taken orally by lab animals, and not when used topically as you would normally. In fact, a 2004 follow-up study to examine the estrogenic effect of sunscreens when used topically on the whole body found that "the endogenous levels of reproductive hormones were unaffected" (even though BP-3 could be detected both in plasma and urine, so its absorption is no doubt too good). If that was not enough, Wikipedia claims that BP-3 is nowadays the most common allergen found in sunscreens, and the always-trustworthy smartskincare writes that "[benzophenones] have been shown in some studies to promote the generation of potentially harmful free radicals". On the up side , sunscreens are pretty well regulated in several parts of the world, and BP-3 is considered " safe as used " and is an allowed sunscreen agent everywhere. It can be used in concentrations of up to 10% in the EU and up to 6% in the US. Overall , BP-3 is probably our least favorite sunscreen agent and we prefer sunscreens without it. However, if you find a formula that you love and contains BP-3, we do not think that you should throw it away. A sunscreen with BP-3 is definitely better than no sunscreen.
Chondrus Crispus
It is a type of algae extract coming from the algae commonly called Irish moss or red seaweed. It is rich in carrageenan , a natural polymer (big molecules from repeated subunits) that acts as a gelling, thickening and stabilizing agent .
Ethyl Hexanediol
A colorless, slightly viscous liquid that, similar to other glycols, is used as a solvent in cosmetic products. Its recommended concentration is less than 5%.
Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate
A very mild cleansing agent with a dense and luxurious foam and an elegant after feel. It also has excellent water solubility and thus good rinsability.
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Peel Oil
The essential oi l coming from the rind of the orange (the sweet one). In general, the main component of citrus peel oils is limonene (83-97% for sweet orange peel), a super common fragrant ingredient that makes everything smell nice (but counts as a frequent skin sensitizer). Other than that, citrus peel also contains the problematic compound called furanocoumarin that makes them mildly phototoxic . Orange peel contains less of it than some other citruses (like bergamot or lime), but still, be careful with it especially if it is in a product for daytime use.
Snail Secretion Filtrate
If you are into the K-Beauty trend, you must have bumped into snail slime like a thousand times. Korean brands love the ingredient and tout it for its miraculous repair and hydration properties . It's claimed to be able to repair everything from dry patches, acne breakouts to signs of aging and we are happy to say that it might be just true. So snail slime is the yucky stuff that snails (in cosmetics the secretion of Cornu Aspersum , the garden snail is used) produce when they are in stress (it's not the same as the one they secret to be able to move nicely and smoothly). As the cosmetic chemists at the Beauty Brains blog write , "chemically speaking, snail slime is a complex mixture of proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, glycoprotein enzymes, hyaluronic acid, copper peptides, antimicrobial peptides and trace elements including copper, zinc, and iron."   English translation equals it's loaded with a bunch of good-for-the-skin stuff. As for scientific proof that snail slime does something for the skin, we did find a couple of studies to go by. A Spanish radiation oncologist, Rafael Abad Iglesias MD discovered for the first time that snail mucin can be used to treat radiation dermatitis (skin irritation caused by radiotherapy, a form of cancer treatment). He did a clinical study with 100 patients and reported a "statistically significant clinical improvement in erythema, itching and burning pain" in the group treated with snail slime. A 2007 study examined the molecular basis for the great regeneration properties of the ingredient. It found that snail slime (SS) indeed does a bunch of positive things that could be the reason for its great repair abilities. First, it has serious antioxidant properties thanks to two great antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase and glutathione s-transferase . Second, SS induces fibroblast proliferation , that's particularly important during wound healing. Third SS was also found to downregulate MMP , an evil enzyme that's out there to destroy skin-firming collagen. These properties add up to give SS not only wound healing and regenerative properties but also serious anti-aging potential. Regarding anti-aging, a 2013 study in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology examined the effect of SS on photoaged skin. The 14-week, double-blind, 25 participant study found that "there was a significant degree of improvement in fines lines ", though the participants did not report a significant difference in the quality of their skin. All in all , we think that snail slime definitely deserves the skin goodie status it already enjoys in the K-beauty space. If you have no problem with somewhat strange, yucky things or animal derived ingredients in your products, it's worth a try.
Betaine Salicylate
The combination of famous exfoliant, salicylic acid and gentle moisturizer, betaine . It counts as a mild exfoliant and natural moisturizer, skin smoothing agent. You usually find this guy in K-Beauty products, as due to regulations, pure salicylic acid can be used only in tiny amounts in South-Korean formulations. A generally accepted ballpark number is that betaine salicylate is twice as gentle as salicylic acid, i.e. a 4% betaine salicylate product is similar to a 2% salicylic acid one.
Talc
Talc is the major component of most powder makeup products (think face powder, eyeshadows, and blushers) that usually contain it up to 70%. Its two winning properties that make it very suitable for this role is its outstanding spreadability for a smooth application and its low covering power, aka translucency to avoid clown-like effects. Chemically speaking, it is a clay mineral (hydrated magnesium silicate) that is mined in several countries. The drawback of mined minerals is potential impurities and the version used in cosmetics has to be white (not gray like cheaper grades), free from asbestos, sterilized and have thin plates for a maximum slip.
Sodium Cocoamphoacetate
A clear,  yellowish liquid that works as a cleansing agent . It has so-called 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). Its structure makes Sodium Cocoamphoacetate very mild with great foaming properties . It's popular in baby products.
Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate
A vegetable-derived liquid that's described as "very substantive to skin" by the manufacturer . It gives cushion and spreadability to the formulas and functions as a pigment dispersing agent . It's great to be used in lipsticks or to create inorganic sunscreen (aka titanium dioxide / zinc oxide ) dispersions.
Triethylhexanoin
Triethylhexanoin is a colorless to pale yellow liquid ester that makes the skin nice and smooth, aka emollient . It has a pleasant non-sticky, non-greasy feel to it, gives formulas smooth application properties and also helps moisture retention.
Butyloctyl Salicylate
A nice, multi-functional helper ingredient that's especially useful in sunscreens . It can solubilize some commonly used UV-filters like Oxybenzone or Avobenzone and it can also help to increase the SPF rating of sunscreens . It's also cosmetically elegant , has excellent spreadability and a pleasant, moisturizing skin feel. Oh, and according to Wikipedia , it even helps to stabilize famously unstable UVA-filter, Avobenzone .
Styrene/​Acrylates Copolymer
A film-forming polymer (big molecule from repeated subunits) to create water-resistant sunscreen formulas. It also improves the SPF value of sunscreen formulas (approx. 11-18% boost in SPF per 1% Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer).
Alumina
A multi-functional helper ingredient that's used mainly as a pigment carrier .  The pigment can be an inorganic sunscreen (such as titanium dioxide ) or a colorant that is blended with alumina platelets and then often coated with some kind of silicone (such as triethoxycaprylylsilane ). This special treatment enables pigments to be evenly dispersed in the formula and to be spread out easily and evenly upon application. It is super useful both for mineral sunscreens as well as for makeup products. Other than that, alumina can also be used as an absorbent (sometimes combined with the mattifying powder called polymethylsilsesquioxane ), a viscosity controlling or an opacifying (reduces the transparency of the formula) agent.
PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone
A silicone emulsifier that helps water to mix nicely with silicone oils (aka water-in-silicone emulsifier).
Hamamelis Virginiana Water
The distillate created from different parts of the hazelnut-bush-like magic tree, commonly called Witch Hazel . Hamamelis Virginiana Water is a bit of a sloppy ingredient name as the leaves, the twigs and the bark can be used to create extracts or distillates and the different parts contain different amounts of biologically active components. But what you are getting is probably a nice water with astringent, soothing, antioxidant and antibacterial magic properties. We went into great detail about Witch Hazel in cosmetics here , detailing the main biologically active components and how they are different in different parts of the plant. Click here and read more >>
Menthyl Lactate
A menthol-derived cooling agent that is claimed to give a long-lasting cooling effect (similar to menthol itself) while also being moisturizing and less irritating than menthol thanks to the lactic acid part. It's recommended to be used at 0.5-1%.
Triethoxycaprylylsilane
A clear, light yellow liquid that is used to coat pigments (such as inorganic sunscreen agents or colorants) in cosmetic products.  The coating helps to stabilize pigments in the formulas and also helps them to spread easily and evenly on the skin.