Oil-Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin

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

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

An ester of palmitic acid and ethylhexanol, commonly used as an emollient and skin-conditioning agent. It is well studied and well tolerated in cosmetics.

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

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 fatty alcohol used to soften skin and stabilize creams. Despite the name, it does not dry the skin.

A common emulsifier and texture-softener made from glycerin and stearic acid. CIR review of this class found no evidence of reproductive, carcinogenic, sensitizing, or phototoxic effects in the studies examined.

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 lightweight, volatile silicone that gives serums and primers their silky slip and quick-evaporating finish. Human safety data are reassuring; the EU restriction on this ingredient in rinse-off products is about environmental persistence in waterways, not skin safety.

Carbomer is a synthetic polymer used purely to thicken and stabilize gels and lotions, with negligible skin penetration due to its large molecular size. Safety reviews have found low toxicity and minimal irritation potential even in leave-on use.

Tetrasodium EDTA is a chelating agent that binds trace metal ions to keep formulas stable and help preservatives work better. It has circulated online as a supposed "toxic" additive, but decades of safety review support its use at cosmetic concentrations.

A strong alkali used in tiny amounts to adjust the pH of cosmetics to safe, skin-friendly levels. At the pH found in finished products, sodium hydroxide is neutralized and well tolerated.

A formaldehyde-releasing preservative that slowly gives off small amounts of formaldehyde to keep bacteria and mold from growing in the bottle. CIR set a maximum use level of 0.5%, at which released formaldehyde stays under generally accepted skin-safety thresholds, but people with a formaldehyde or fragrance-mix contact allergy sometimes react to it and may want to avoid the ingredient regardless of the low dose.

A preservative that keeps products free of mold and bacteria. Reviewed repeatedly and considered safe at the low levels used.

A member of the paraben family used to prevent microbial growth in cosmetics. Like methylparaben, it has been reviewed extensively and found safe at the concentrations used in leave-on and rinse-off products.