Cosmetic Ingredient Names

Cosmetic ingredient names are quite confusing.  They are often called by different chemical names. This makes deciphering ingredients quite challenging.

In the beauty industry, several different naming systems are used for describing cosmetic ingredients:

INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients)

Names used for listing ingredients on the cosmetic product label. An international system used in the U.S., European Union, Japan, and many other countries to standardize the naming of chemical ingredients.

These names tend to be long, with a string of multiple chemical names and numbers.

Example: 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor

USAN (United States Adopted Names)

Simplified chemical names that are non-proprietary.

These names are short. One word.

Example: Ecamsule

Trade Name

A proprietary name of an ingredient (or combination of ingredients) produced by a chemical ingredient manufacturer.

These names are also short. Typical 1-2 words. You might see a trademark symbol at the end of the name.

Example: Mexoryl SX

Botanical Names

Botanicals are listed by their Latin names. Most commonly, two words: the Genus followed by Species.

Example: Aloe barbendisis