Every skincare product sold in the EU, US, and most other markets is required to list its ingredients using the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) system. That long block of text on the back of your moisturiser? It is actually a precise, standardised recipe — and learning to read it gives you more power than any marketing campaign ever will.
What is an INCI list?
An INCI list is the full ingredient declaration for a cosmetic product. Ingredients are listed using their official INCI names — which is why “water” shows up as Aqua and vitamin E appears as Tocopherol. The naming system was developed so ingredient lists are consistent across countries and brands.
Order matters: concentration rules
The single most important thing to know: ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration. The first ingredient makes up the largest portion of the product, and so on down the list. For ingredients present at less than 1%, the brand can list them in any order.
This means that if a product advertises hyaluronic acid on the front label but it appears near the bottom of a 40-ingredient list, there is very little of it in the formula. Position tells you what a product is actually made of — not what the brand wants you to focus on.
What to look for
- Humectants (glycerin, hyaluronic acid, panthenol) — these draw moisture into the skin. The higher they appear, the more hydrating the product is likely to be.
- Emollients (squalane, jojoba oil, dimethicone) — these soften and smooth. Great for dry or rough skin.
- Actives (niacinamide, retinol, salicylic acid) — the ingredients that target specific concerns. Check their position to gauge how much is actually in there.
- Occlusives (petrolatum, beeswax, lanolin) — these create a barrier to lock moisture in. Essential for very dry skin.
Red flags (context-dependent)
We do not believe in universal “bad ingredients” — context matters. But here are things worth noting for certain skin types:
- Fragrance (Parfum) high on the list — if you have sensitive or reactive skin, fragrance in the top half of the INCI list is worth paying attention to.
- Denatured alcohol (Alcohol Denat.) near the top — can be drying for some skin types, especially dry or mature skin.
- Very short INCI lists — could indicate an incomplete declaration. Transparency matters.
Put it into practice
Every product on Gracie shows a full, parsed ingredient breakdown. We categorise each ingredient, show its INCI position, and flag anything that might be relevant for your skin type. Head to our ingredient explorer to search by name, or check out our scoring methodology to see how we turn INCI data into scores.
Once you start reading INCI lists, you will never look at skincare marketing the same way again. The ingredients do not lie.