Decode a label

Label

Read the ingredients in a minute

Paste the ingredient list from the pack or the product description and see why each substance is there. The dictionary holds 421 common ingredients; the rest are recognised by name. This is not a “harmful or good” rating, but an understanding of what the product is made of.

Example:

The ingredient list is decoded in your browser and sent nowhere.

The AbsoBeauty dictionary: main ingredient roles from the European Commission’s CosIng database (© European Union, CC BY 4.0; retold in our own words), flags from EU regulations as of 2 November 2026. CosIng is a reference database with no legal force; the dictionary is not a full list of functions and not a safety assessment of any particular product.

Roles and colours

Each role has its own colour, so a list reads at a glance. One ingredient can have several roles.

solventhumectantemollientfilm that seals in waterskin conditioningcleansing surfactantfoaming agentemulsifierthickenerfilm formeropacifierpreservativeantioxidantbinds metalspH adjustersoothingexfolianthair conditioningantistaticnail careoral careanti-dandruffcoolingUV filterfragrancedeodorantantiperspirantcolouranthair dyeoxidising agentabsorbs oilabrasive

How to read a label

Six things you find on the pack of almost any product.

INCI, a common language

Ingredients are written in the international INCI nomenclature: Latin names for plants and English names for chemicals. Since 1973 the names have been assigned by an international committee hosted by the manufacturers’ association. So the list is the same in any country, and “Aqua” is simply water. An INCI name does not mean the substance is approved.

Order by share

In the EU, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the time they are added; those under 1% may come in any order after the rest. Colourants may be listed at the end.

Parfum, one word

Fragrance is written as one word, though dozens of substances stand behind it. In the EU, the most common allergens among them are listed separately in the ingredients.

Period after opening

An open jar with “12M” means 12 months after opening. An hourglass or a date tells you until when the product is good in an unopened pack.

Shades and [+/-]

In make-up, “May contain” or “[+/-]” is followed by the colourants for every shade in the range: your shade has only some of them.

Country marks

In Russia and the EAEU: the EAC mark and information in Russian; perfume since 2020 and cosmetics since 2025 carry a Chestny ZNAK code (Russia’s mandatory product marking). In Vietnam, cosmetics are notified to the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) before sale.

Words on the pack

What popular claims mean, and what they do not.

Hypoallergenic

There is no binding standard: in the US a court struck down the 1975 rule, and each company decides what it means. In a study of 174 best-selling moisturizers, 83% of the “hypoallergenic” ones contained at least one known allergen.

Fragrance-free

In the same study 45% of “fragrance-free” moisturizers contained a substance that cross-reacts with fragrances, or a plant extract. Check the list: Parfum and EU allergens show up on the Label page.

Natural

Neither the FDA nor the EU defines it. Where a substance comes from does not decide how safe it is: essential oils and extracts are frequent allergens.

Paraben-free

Under the European Commission’s technical document on claims (2017) this should not be written: it denigrates permitted preservatives. The EU scientific committee considers the permitted parabens safe at the set concentrations.

Preservative-free

It only means the list has no substance from the regulation’s list of preservatives. Sometimes alcohol or fragrance substances do that job, and then the claim misleads (European Commission document, 2017).

Dermatologically tested

In the EU this means a test on people under a dermatologist’s supervision. How many people and what was tested is usually not on the pack. In the best-seller study, moisturizers marked “dermatologist recommended” cost more than the rest.

Chemical-free

Everything is chemistry, water included. Such a claim fails the EU’s general criteria for truthful claims and says nothing about the formula.

Clinically proven

Look for what exactly was proven, on how many people, for how long and compared with what. Without these numbers it is just words.

Sources (9)