What does a cosmetic ingredient list tell you?

A cosmetic ingredient list identifies ingredients using naming rules. In Canada, those rules include INCI, short for International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients, a system for naming cosmetic ingredients. An ingredient name tells you what is listed, not how much is there, so the list is not a recipe wearing smaller print.1

Can you calculate percentages from the order?

No. Order and percentage are different pieces of information. Canadian cosmetic labelling rules address descending order of predominance, with separate provisions for ingredients at concentrations of 1% or less and for colouring agents. Do not treat every position as a precise concentration ranking or assume that a particular position means a particular percentage. The list also has specific rules for fragrance and flavour.1

Does the amount printed on the bottle help?

The net quantity states how much product the package contains, not the percentage of each ingredient. US cosmetic labels must provide the net quantity of contents, and Canadian cosmetic labels require a net quantity declaration too. The amount in the bottle and the amount of an ingredient are different questions, however enthusiastically the bottle answers the first.12

How do you check an ingredient's percentage?

  1. 1Read the ingredient list for names, rather than assigning percentages to positions.
  2. 2Look for an explicit percentage attached to the ingredient you want to check; a net quantity is not that figure.
  3. 3If you need a concentration that is not stated, use the product's contact information to ask about that ingredient. Canadian cosmetic labels require contact information for consumer questions.
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Are food ingredient lists different?

Food and cosmetic labels have different requirements. For prepacked food in the EU, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. Percentages must be declared for certain ingredients: those appearing in the product name, emphasised through words or pictures, or essential to characterise the food and distinguish it from other foods. There are exceptions to those quantity requirements. Even where a food label gives a percentage for a highlighted ingredient, that does not give you the percentages of everything else.3

Where this answer comes from

  1. 1Industry Guide for the labelling of cosmeticscanada.ca
  2. 2Cosmetics Labeling Guidefda.gov
  3. 3Food labelling - general EU ruleseuropa.eu