Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Clearing Serum

The base most products are built on. It carries the other ingredients and has no safety concern.

A silicone that gives a smooth, soft feel and helps hold water in the skin. Inert and well studied.

A lightweight hydrocarbon that gives formulas a smooth, silky feel. Used in color cosmetics and sunscreens. Well tolerated and inert.

A lightweight humectant and solvent similar in role to propylene glycol, used to carry actives and give lotions a lighter feel. CIR has reviewed it and considers it safe as used in cosmetics.

A silicone polymer used in hair and skin care products for conditioning and shine. It is inert and well tolerated, with no identified safety concerns at cosmetic concentrations.

A form of vitamin B3 used to support a more even-looking tone and a comfortable barrier. Well tolerated at cosmetic levels.

A gentle, stable vitamin C derivative that the skin converts to active vitamin C, popular for brightening with less irritation than pure ascorbic acid. It is well tolerated and graded low concern in published assessments.

A humectant that draws water into the skin. One of the best-studied, best-tolerated ingredients in personal care.

A humectant that holds water at the skin surface for a more hydrated look. No safety concern.

A stable, saturated version of squalene, a lipid the skin already produces, now usually sourced from olives or sugarcane instead of shark liver. It is very well tolerated across skin types and helps reinforce the skin barrier.

A waxy sterol found naturally in skin and used in cosmetics as an emollient and emulsifier. It supports the skin barrier and is well tolerated across skin types.

A soothing plant extract traditionally used in skincare, valued for its potential anti-inflammatory properties. Published assessments note it is generally well tolerated in cosmetic formulations, though people with sensitivities to botanicals may want to patch test.

A water or bran extract of rice containing ferulic acid, small peptides and starches. It is a traditional East Asian skincare staple with some supporting antioxidant and mild-brightening data, but most of that evidence comes from cell or animal studies rather than large human trials, so the "brightening" claims on finished products go further than the direct evidence.

Green tea extract is a well-studied topical antioxidant with a long history of use in serums and moisturizers, generally well tolerated at cosmetic concentrations. Panel safety reviews of Camellia sinensis-derived ingredients have not identified meaningful topical hazard.

A beta hydroxy acid used to smooth texture and clear pores. Safe at cosmetic levels; can be mildly irritating if overused.

This branched hydrocarbon is one of the isoparaffins the CIR Expert Panel reviewed and found safe as used in cosmetics, including as an emollient in leave-on face creams. It is generally considered non-comedogenic and used mainly to give a lightweight, non-greasy skin feel.

Caprylyl glycol is a plant-derived humectant that also has mild antimicrobial properties, so it is commonly paired with other preservatives to allow lower overall preservative levels. Available data do not point to meaningful irritation or sensitization concerns at typical use levels.

A phospholipid emulsifier from soy or sunflower that binds water and oil and helps other ingredients absorb. It is a natural component of skin membranes, well tolerated, and reviewed as safe as used; a soy-derived grade is not a meaningful concern for a soy food allergy because the protein is largely absent.

An olive-oil-derived emulsifier, almost always paired with cetearyl olivate, that holds water and oil together and leaves a light skin-like finish. It is well tolerated and graded low concern in published assessments.

A widely used emulsifier and solubilizer that has been in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for decades. The CIR has assessed it as safe with no known concerns at typical cosmetic concentrations. As with any surfactant, some people with very sensitive skin may experience mild irritation.

A naturally occurring fatty acid (also made in the body and found in many foods) used to thicken lotions and help stabilize cleansing bars. It is one of the most well-studied emollient ingredients and is not a meaningful irritant at cosmetic use levels.

This small glycol is used to thin out formulas and help preservatives work better, similar in role to propylene glycol and butylene glycol already in wide use. Industry and EU safety reviewers have set purity and concentration conditions for its use rather than restricting it outright, and no consumer-relevant hazard has been established at typical cosmetic levels.

A buffering agent used in tiny amounts to set a product's pH, most often alongside gel-forming polymers. It is graded low concern in published assessments at the levels used.

Used in tiny amounts to set a product to skin-friendly pH. No concern at those levels.

A synthetic polymer used to thicken and stabilize water-based formulas like gels and serums. It provides texture and suspension of particles without interfering with skin feel. Well established in cosmetics.

A more stable, esterified form of vitamin E used as an antioxidant and skin-conditioning ingredient. It is a different substance from the vitamin E acetate implicated in vaping-related lung injury, which involved inhaling the oil, not applying it topically to skin.

Another stable phosphate ester of vitamin C, chosen by formulators for its water solubility and gentleness compared to pure ascorbic acid. Available safety data and long history of use in leave-on products show a low rate of irritation.

A small-dose synthetic antioxidant that prevents oils and fragrance in a formula from oxidizing. Not shown to pose a toxicological risk at the levels used in cosmetics.

A chelating agent that binds trace metal ions to keep formulas stable and preservatives working properly. It is not a functional skincare "active" and only a very small amount is used, with minimal skin penetration expected.

A widely used preservative, safe at the legal limit of 1% or less. Often the "paraben-free" replacement.