An opinionated, alphabetical, guide to ingredients used in skin care

Below, I describe the properties of some natural chemicals that are used in skin care. If you would like to know about a chemical that is not in this list, let me know, and I will add it in subsequent “editions”.

Natural chemicals are those present in nature, in plants and/or animals. The actual ingredient you find in a formulation may be obtained by chemical synthesis, fermentation, or biotechnology; what matters to your body is the chemical structure, not the “origin”. Chemical structure is not just the number of atoms and how they are linked to each other, but also how they are organized in space.

I included some references to the chemicals or extracts in scientific journals. Always try to read critically and analyze the quality of the methodology before accepting the authors’ conclusions. Science is a human activity and is subject to human frailties.