What order do ingredients go in on a cosmetic label?

Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the point they are added to the formula. Once an ingredient falls below one per cent of the formula it may be listed in any order after the ingredients present at one per cent or more. Colourants are listed last, after every other ingredient, and may be given in any order.

Which fragrance allergens have to be declared on a cosmetic label?

A fragrance allergen listed in Annex III of the Cosmetic Regulation must be named individually in the ingredient list once its concentration in the finished product exceeds 0.001 per cent in a leave-on product or 0.01 per cent in a rinse-off product. Below those thresholds it is covered by the word parfum.

How do you write a composite raw material on an INCI list?

A raw material supplied as a blend is not listed under its trade name. Each component is broken out at its own concentration in the finished product, so a blend used at five per cent that is eighty per cent glycerin contributes four per cent glycerin. Components that also appear elsewhere in the formula are added together and listed once.

Is an INCI list the same as a cosmetic safety assessment?

No. The ingredient list is a labelling requirement. Selling a cosmetic in the UK or EU also requires a Cosmetic Product Safety Report prepared by a qualified safety assessor, a Product Information File, an appointed Responsible Person, notification to the relevant portal and manufacture under good manufacturing practice.

Does the INCI name change between the EU and the USA?

Often yes. Colourants are the clearest case: the EU uses Colour Index numbers such as CI 77491 while the United States uses names such as Iron Oxides. Several other ingredients also differ, so the same formula needs its label generated separately for each market.

FREE TOOL

Your formula in,
a compliant INCI list out.

Enter your formula in percentages. This expands composite raw materials, adds up anything that appears twice, applies the 1% rule, calculates the fragrance allergens you have to declare, puts colourants last, and screens every ingredient against Annexes II to VI of the Cosmetic Regulation.

Ingredients recognised: 220
Label formats: EU/UK · USA
Prohibited substances: 1,758
Annex substances screened: 2,385

Product

Sets the label format and the allergen declaration thresholds.

PRODUCT NAME

PRODUCT TYPE

LABEL FORMAT

Your formula

Percentages by weight (% w/w)

INGREDIENT OR TRADE NAME

% W/W

NANO

0.00TOTAL %

INCI list

Your INCI list

EU / UK format · leave-on

INGREDIENTS Add your formula and the list appears here.

What this tool is, and what it isn't. It orders an ingredient list, expands composite raw materials, calculates declarable fragrance allergens from typical essential oil compositions, and screens every ingredient and CAS number against Annexes II to VI of Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as published in CosIng. Where an Annex entry carries a single plain percentage the limit is applied automatically. Where the limit depends on product type, body area or pH, the entry is reported for you to read rather than guessed at, because those conditions cannot be resolved from a formula alone. Matching is by ingredient name and CAS number, so a substance entered under a trade name or an unlisted synonym will not be found. None of this is a safety assessment. Confirm composite compositions against your supplier's specification and every Annex entry against the current consolidated text before printing a label. Selling a cosmetic in the UK or EU also requires a Cosmetic Product Safety Report, a Responsible Person, portal notification and GMP manufacture.

Need the list checked properly?

We prepare CPSRs, PIFs and label reviews for cosmetic brands across the UK, EU and USA. Tell us what you are working on and we will come back to you.