What is an INCI and how it helps build trust

Ecommerce

Sep 17

Today's conscious consumers are often looking at skincare product ingredients to make purchase decisions, especially if they are a first time buyer. Ingredient lists give them the information and confidence they need to commit to a purchase. It also provides a certain transparency that builds trust.

Even though consumers pay more attention to what’s in their products,the scientific Latin and English terms on the back of your product can still be confusing. Sometimes even brands themselves don't know how to properly label their ingredients. By properly labeling and educating your clients, you can build a more loyal base.

This is a chance for skincare brands to build trust with a simple tool – their ingredient list, which is referred to as INCI. In this article, we’ll break down what INCI is, why it matters for your business, and how to use it to build a modern, trustworthy brand.

Table of Contents

What is INCI and why does it matter?

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. It's a standardized system developed to identify cosmetic ingredients using a single, globally recognized name. Think of it as a universal language for cosmetic formulas.

For a long time cosmetic companies could use any name they wanted for an ingredient, leading to confusion and a lack of transparency. The INCI system was created in 1973 to fix that, providing a consistent term for every ingredient, regardless of where the product is made or sold.

For consumers, this standardization is a game-changer. It means they can read a product label and easily identify ingredients they may be allergic to, or those they want to avoid for personal reasons. This clarity empowers them to make informed choices.

For you as an entrepreneur, INCI is a critical tool for navigating regulatory compliance and ensuring your products are safe and transparent on a global scale.

Decoding the INCI list

When you're building a skincare brand, there are so many things to consider. Proper labeling is definitely not something you’re thinking about at first. But when the time comes to work on your labels and design, knowing how to make a proper INCI list can seem daunting. How to even find the right scientific and Latin names to use, is there a dictionary? Is there a structure you need to follow or rules? Yes and yes.

How to structure your INCI

The most fundamental rule is that ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration by weight. This means the ingredients that appear at the beginning of the list are the most abundant in the product, while those at the end are present in smaller amounts. This gives you an immediate sense of an ingredient's potency.

There are also ingredients with an asterisk. One asterisk means the ingredient is of organic origin. When there are two asterisks, it means that it is a compound that is naturally produced in the process of making an essential oil. So it is a derivative.

Then there are differences by region. For example, in the US Over-The-Counter (OTC) products that are regulated by The FDA (Food & Drug Administration) and in specific the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The requirements for OTC products are that the active ingredients, the ones that have been scientifically tested and proven to address specific skin concerns, need to be stated first. Not only that but you need to indicate their exact percentages, then come all other ingredients.

In the European Union it is regulated by the EU’s Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. Canada and ASEAN countries also have their own rules, but all require using INCI names to provide accurate ingredient listings.

The “1% line”

So, the ingredients are listed from the highest proportion to lowest. There is one BUT though. The list changes after the so-called “1% line”. When ingredients are less than this concentration, they can be listed in any order the manufacturer chooses.

How to find where ingredients are below 1% on the list? There are a few common indicators. You need to look for a thickening agent like Xantham Gum or a preservative Phenoxyethanol. There is a legal limit in the EU that Phenoxyethanol can never be above 1% concentration, and Xantham Gum very rarely is above 1% as it would make the product very sticky and hard to absorb.

How to name your ingredients for an INCI list

There are more than 16 000 ingredients with an assigned name to use in the INCI list with new ingredients registered every year. The complete INCI naming list can be found in CD-ROM, book format or as website access provided by the Personal Care Products Council. The Council also oversees and maintains the INCI names list. You do need to register to access it though.

If you would like to search INCI name for free, you can also try the EU inventory of cosmetic ingredients – CosIng. There are several web resources that can help as well, like incidecoder where you can search by the INCI name or common name, and incibeauty website and app, but there you can search only by INCI name.

The names themselves are standardized, using Latin for natural ingredients (like plant extracts) and chemical nomenclature in English for synthetic ones (like emulsifiers, thickening agents, etc.). This international uniformity ensures that "Aqua" is always water and "Tocopherol" is always vitamin E, no matter which brand you're looking at. Sometimes you can find a Latin name accompanied by an English word to indicate the type of ingredient (like juice, extract, etc.).

There are instances when the common name is the same or similar to the INCI name. Let's look at a couple of the ingredients' common names and what they should be called in the INCI list.

INCI Table
    
                Common name
                INCI
            
                Water
                Aqua
            
                Glycerine
                Glycerin
            
                Vitamin B3
                Niacinamide
            
                Pro-Vitamin B5
                Phantenol
            
                Carbamide
                Urea
            
                Vitamin C
                Ascorbic Acid
            
                Aloe Vera
                Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract

INCI list example

So now that we know how to read an INCI list, let’s analyze one. A good example is Selfnamed’s Softening Beard Oil.

INCI Table
    
                INCI name
                Common name
                What it does in skincare
            
                Cannabis Sativa (Hemp) Seed Oil
                Hemp oil
                Emollient (an ingredient that makes your skin soft, smooth and lovely)
            
                Decyl Cocoate
                No specific common name
                Emollient (an ingredient that makes your skin soft, smooth and lovely)
            
                Undecane
                Hendecane
                Emollient (an ingredient that makes your skin soft, smooth and lovely)
            
                Tridecane
                No specific common name
                Emollient (an ingredient that makes your skin soft, smooth and lovely)
            
                Cannabidiol
                Cannabidiol
                Antioxidant (an ingredient that helps the skin reduce the unwanted effects of free radicals, supporting skin protection and overall resilience)
            
                Tocopherol
                Vitamin E
                Antioxidant (an ingredient that helps the skin reduce the unwanted effects of free radicals, supporting skin protection and overall resilience)
            
                Parfum
                No specific common name
                Gives scent
            
                Limonene
                No specific common name
                Perfuming ingredient
            
                Linalool
                No specific common name
                Perfuming ingredient
            
                Citral
                No specific common name
                Perfuming ingredient

This information comes from incidecoder.com. As you can see, the softening beard oil truly does what it says – there are a lot of softening ingredients. Hemp oil here is an active ingredient, this is something incidecoder.com doesn't state. Compared to emollients below, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil is the one doing most of the work in this formula.

All INCI names are correct. All asterisks indicate the organic and natural ingredients. Perfuming ingredients can be natural or synthetic. Natural ones usually come from plants like lavender, basil, citrus fruits, lemongrass and others.

How to use INCI to build trust

For an entrepreneur, the INCI list is an amazing trust-building tool. A transparent and accurate ingredient list is a sign of a brand that stands for quality and integrity. This is where you must be vigilant. Consumers can spot a sketchy or incorrect ingredient list if they know what to look for. So I suggest avoiding these common mistakes if you want to build a trustworthy brand:

Using common names instead of precise INCI names (e.g., "Vitamin E" instead of "Tocopherol" or "Tocopheryl Acetate").
Including marketing-driven phrases mixed into the ingredient list (e.g., "Organic herbal infusion").
Using an incomplete list that only features "nice-sounding" ingredients while omitting basic components like preservatives or emulsifiers.

A transparent brand needs to show a customer exactly what they're getting. For this reason, the ingredient list must be visible to the buyer at the point of sale. For an e-commerce brand, this means it should be clearly displayed on the product page. This shows customers that you have nothing to hide and that you prioritize their access to information.

For products where it’s difficult to fit the full list on the packaging (like a small bottle) the rules allow you to include the information on a leaflet, tag, or card that comes with the product. In those cases, you must include a reference to the accompanying information, often with the symbol of an open book.

For private label cosmetics brands this is a key area where a trusted partner is invaluable. You can be confident in building your brand when you know that a trustworthy white label manufacturer has INCI lists that are fully compliant, ensuring your brand is built on a foundation of transparency from day one.

To show your care for your customers, educate them on what is an INCI, how to read INCI lists, and where to find information. Use your marketing to amplify your transparency efforts.

INCI as a foundation for your brand

INCI is, of course, a technical requirement that helps with regulatory compliance, but it’s also more than that. It's a universal language that ensures transparency, and educates your consumers. Understanding how to read and interpret it gives you a crucial advantage in a market that values authenticity and honesty.

To build a loyal customer base you need to build a trustworthy brand. By building your brand on a foundation of clear, accurate INCI lists, that goes hand in hand with educating your customers about the ingredients in your products, you’re just that! Now that you know how to read and interpret the INCI of your products, you know how to better market them.

Frequently Asked Questions

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredient. It's a standardized, global system for naming ingredients on product labels. By using correct INCI, you ensure transparency and build customer trust, as your clients can easily understand exactly what's in your products. It also helps your brand navigate regulatory compliance globally.
A trustworthy INCI list will be complete, accurate, and use standardized names for all ingredients. Be vigilant for sketchy ingredient lists that use common names (like "Vitamin E" instead of "Tocopherol"), include marketing phrases, or omit key components like preservatives. A transparent and compliant INCI list is a sign of a high-quality brand.
No, an INCI name is a naming convention, not a regulatory approval. While a standardized list helps track ingredients, it is the manufacturer's responsibility to ensure that a product is safe and compliant with all relevant laws in the regions where it's sold.
On an INCI list, ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration by weight. The "1% line" is the point where this rule changes. Ingredients below a 1% concentration can be listed in any order. This is a useful detail to know when a list contains ingredients that are not in a particularly large concentration. For example, a preservative like Phenoxyethanol, which is often listed after the 1% line, is legally limited to a maximum concentration of 1%, so its position on the list is a useful indicator.
The complete INCI naming list can be found in CD-ROM, book format or as website access provided by the Personal Care Products Council. The Council. You do need to register to access it though.
You can search INCI name for free using the EU inventory of cosmetic ingredients – CosIng, or other web resources like incidecoder where you can search by the INCI name or common name, and incibeauty website and app, but there you can search only by INCI name.