Exfoliating Body Lotion

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

The smallest and most penetrating alpha hydroxy acid, used to loosen the bonds between dead skin cells for smoother texture and tone. It is a genuine irritant at higher concentrations or low pH, can increase sun sensitivity, and the EU restricts free acid content and requires sunscreen-use wording on labeling.

A small humectant and solvent molecule that helps other ingredients dissolve and helps skin hold water. It is one of the most studied cosmetic ingredients and is considered safe at the concentrations used in personal care products.

A blend of cetyl and stearyl fatty alcohols used to thicken lotions and soften skin. It is chemically unrelated to drying alcohols like ethanol, and the CIR expert panel has found fatty alcohols safe as used in cosmetics.

A time-tested occlusive that seals in moisture and helps damaged skin heal, widely used in dermatology for wound care. Cosmetic-grade petrolatum must meet purity standards that remove the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in crude sources, and it is considered one of the most effective and well-studied barrier ingredients available.

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

Used like sodium hydroxide to adjust pH in cosmetics at very low levels. At finished-product pH, it is neutralized and well tolerated.

A PEG-based emulsifier that blends oils and water in formulas. It is a workhorse ingredient in stable emulsions and is approved for cosmetic use. Well tolerated.

A soothing, skin-conditioning compound (also found in comfrey root) commonly added to calm and hydrate irritated or sensitive skin. It has a long history of safe use with very low irritation potential.

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.