Ingredients Explanation

[ststultz]

I really like the Norwegian Formula hand cream by Neutrogena. It works really well and absorbs completely. I want to understand what each ingredient in the cream contributes to the overall properties of the cream, with an eye toward possibly incorporating some of them in a lip balm that actually softens lips and doesn’t just coat them.

Thanks for everyone’s expertise!


Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Dilauryl Thiodipropionate, Sodium Sulfate

 

[Meena]

Have you googled each of these ingredients to see what you could learn about them? There is also at least one list of cosmetic ingredients on the net, that would contain several of these. Kind of a lot to ask people to type this all out for you, maybe eh?

ETA: Hope this didn't sound toooo crabby, but that's a lot of ingredients and there's a ton of info on the net available to anyone.

 

[ststultz]

Sorry. Didn’t mean to make anyone do work I could do. Just thought some experiential descriptions would be better than trying to sort through all the scientific and seller oriented descriptions.

 

[Meena]

Sorry. Didn’t mean to make anyone do work I could do. Just thought some experiential descriptions would be better than trying to sort through all the scientific and seller oriented descriptions.

I'm not experienced with chemicals. You'll find people here who have used Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol (maybe?), and Stearic Acid, but not sure about the rest. We'll have to see if anyone else responds.

 

[Hendejm]

The FDA has a website that details the ingredients that you are referencing. It’s written for the lay person. Keep in mind the ingredients you are talk about are specific ingredients that fall under catagories...for example parabens - lots of different kinds. Alcohol - lots of different. They may be similar but different. Make sense?

https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ProductsIngredients/default.htm

 

[Meena]

I googled the one with the longest name, after checking EWG's skin deep database which gives it a rating of 1=Fair, and the FDA, which lists it as a food ingredient. This is what I found:
DILAURYL THIODIPROPIONATE || Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database ...

https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/.../DILAURYL_THIODIPROPIONATE/About DILAURYL THIODIPROPIONATE: Dilauryl Thiodipropionate is a diester of lauryl alcohol and 3, 3'-thiodipropionic acid. Function(s): Antioxidant.
Dilauryl Thiodipropionate | Cosmetics Info

https://cosmeticsinfo.org/ingredient/dilauryl-thiodipropionate
Thiodipropionic Acid is a dicarboxylic acid that contains a sulfur group. It is used as an antioxidant in cosmetic and food products. Dilauryl Thiodipropionate ...

END Internet Paste.
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A safe antioxidant to replace this would be ROE - rosemary oleoresin extract.

You could continue on with your list this way. Look for a simple explanation -- I didn't even open any links because 2 said it's used as antioxidant, so - next. You might come across an ingredient that you need to open the links for. Just look for a more layman's looking one. Let us know if you need help.

 

[IrishLass]

Hello, ststultz!

-Water, of course, lends hydration to a lotion formula
-Glycerin is a humectant, which means it attracts moisture to the skin
-Cetearyl Alcohol is a fatty alcohol that serves a couple of different purposes.....it acts as an emulsifier, a thickener, and also lends an emollient feel to the skin.
-Stearic Acid acts as a thickener in lotions and also lends an emollient feel
-Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate is a salt of a fatty alcohol- basically a surfactant which is probably acting as a co-emulsifier in the formulation (at least that's my best guess as an amateur lotion-maker- others more knowledgeable than me will have to confirm that)
-Methylparaben & Propylparaben are preservatives
-Dilauryl Thiodipropionate is an antioxidant
-Sodium Sulfate is a salt that increases the thickness of the water portion of lotions


Hope that helps!
IrishLass

 

[ststultz]

Thank you all for your replies. They are very helpful.