How to read skincare labels: ingredient lists, claims and dates

Start at the back. An ingredient list runs from the biggest amount to the smallest, so the top of the list tells you what the product mostly is. Then look for three more things: an Active Ingredients box if there is one, the fragrance line, and the date. Everything on the front is the brand’s pitch, and some of those words have no legal meaning at all.

How to read a skincare ingredient list

In the US, the FDA’s rule is descending order of predominance: whatever there’s most of goes first. Two exceptions make the bottom of the list less tidy. Anything at 1% or less can be listed in any order after the rest, and color additives can go at the very end whatever their amount. So the last ingredient on the list isn’t necessarily the smallest. It’s just somewhere in the 1%-or-less section, which labels don’t mark.

Order tells you how much is in there, and it can’t tell you how well it works. Some ingredients do their job at well under 1%, and the first few lines are often water and the stuff that gives a cream its texture. What order can tell you is whether the hero ingredient on the front is near the top or tucked in among the preservatives.

If a product is also a drug in the US, like a sunscreen, an acne treatment or a moisturizer with SPF, its drug ingredients come first under “Active Ingredients”, with everything else after as “Inactive Ingredients” (the actives episode explains why). Don’t let “inactive” put you off: it only means “not the drug part”, and the moisturizing ingredients and preservatives live there.

In the EU, every ingredient uses its INCI name, the international standard name, and the list still runs from the largest amount to the smallest. That’s why European bottles say “aqua” for water and “parfum” for fragrance.

Fragrance-free vs unscented: which should you pick?

Fragrance-free, if your skin reacts easily. The FDA warns that even some products labeled “unscented” may contain fragrance ingredients, added to cover the smell of other ingredients without giving the product a noticeable scent. A whole fragrance blend can also appear on a US list as one word, “fragrance”.

Essential oils are the sneaky part. There’s no regulatory definition for them, and the law treats ingredients from plants the same as any other. So a product can skip the word “fragrance” and still be scented with lavender or citrus oil. If you’re sensitive, scan for the oil names as well as the word.

What do hypoallergenic, non-comedogenic and dermatologist tested mean?

Less than they sound. The FDA says there are no federal standards or definitions for “hypoallergenic”, that the term means whatever a particular company wants it to mean, and that companies don’t have to show the FDA any proof. It’s fine as a hint that the brand aimed for fewer reactions. It isn’t a promise you won’t have one.

“Non-comedogenic” means a product is meant not to clog pores, and it’s still a sensible thing to look for if you break out. Just don’t treat one ingredient as a verdict. Pore-clogging ratings started with tests on raw ingredients in animals, and a small 2006 study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology found that finished products made with “comedogenic” ingredients weren’t necessarily comedogenic. An app that flags one oil in a long list is judging the ingredient, not your product.

“Dermatologist tested” tells you a dermatologist was involved in a test. It doesn’t say what the test was, how many people took part or what happened. “Natural” and “clean” are marketing words: the FDA says there’s no formal FDA or USDA definition for “natural” and that an ingredient’s source doesn’t decide how safe it is. Poison ivy is completely natural.

What does 12M mean on skincare? Expiry dates and the open jar

That little open jar with “12M” is the period after opening: how many months a product stays good once you’ve opened it. In the EU it’s required on products that last more than 30 months unopened, which is why you see it on so many jars and tubes. Shorter-lived products carry a best-before date instead. 12M means use it within a year of opening, and 6M within six months.

US rules are looser. The FDA says no law requires cosmetics to have an expiration date, so many don’t. Products that count as drugs are different: sunscreens and acne treatments must carry an expiration date and are tested for stability, so take that date seriously.

For everything else, write the opening date on the bottom with a marker, and toss anything that’s changed color or smell, whatever the label says. Mascara is the shortest-lived: manufacturers usually say two to four months, because the wand carries germs back into the tube every time. Jar symbol and printed date both on there? Go by whichever comes first.

Sunscreen labels have their own code on top of all this: SPF for burning UVB, and a different UVA mark depending on where it’s sold. The SPF 30 or 50 page decodes those.

Once you know what a product really is, add it to your Shelf as that type (an exfoliating toner, a niacinamide serum) and Nubia puts it in the right place in your routine.