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By CATEGORYIngredient Directories
| In the USA and internationally there a various directories systematically naming and listing ingredients, botanicals and chemicals used for the manufacture of cosmetics and personal care products. The most common and also most comprehensive lists are maintained by the following organizations: |
| INCI |
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The official dictionary for cosmetic ingredients is the INCI system (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) which has been established in the early 1970’s by the Personal Care Products Council (former CTFA, Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association). Many countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan and the members of the European Union, require manufacturers of cosmetic ingredients to submit all new ingredients for registration in the INCI system. If you intend to sell your cosmetic products, for legal labeling requirements, you need to use the official INCI name of the ingredients on the label. Currently, the inventory of INCI-registered ingredients comprises more than 17,000 names and the list is continuously growing. The complete INCI list can be obtained in CD-ROM, book format or as website access through provided by the Personal Care Products Council. We have compiled a list of more than 6'000 ingredients in a downloadable document allowing you to look up the correct INCI name for any ingredient in your cosmetic product. |
INCI list |
| INN Name |
| This abbreviation refers to the International non-proprietary name recommended by the WHO (World Health Organization). It is listed where applicable. |
| Ph. Eur. Name |
| This abbreviation refers to the name in the European pharmacopoeia. It is listed where applicable. |
| CAS Number |
| This abbreviation refers to the code number developed by the Chemical Abstracts Service. CAS is a division of the American Chemical Society and is the world’s authority for chemical information. CAS is the only organization in the world whose objective is to find, collect and organize all publicly disclosed chemical substance information. The CAS number is a worldwide code enabling identification of chemical substances. |
| EINECS/ELINCS Number |
| This refers to the numerical code provided either under the European inventory of existing commercial chemical substances (EINECS) for existing chemicals or under the European List of Notified Chemical Substances (ELINCS) for new chemicals. It is listed where applicable. |
| Chemical/IUPAC Name |
| This field covers the chemical name and the IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) name. It covers EINECS names, which make use of the IUPAC nomenclature, or CAS names, which clearly offer a suitable identification of the ingredient. Both items have been combined to avoid duplication. |
