Verified Beauty Data

INCI Decoder / read any label

Paste an ingredient list. See what actually does something.

Skincare labels bury the few working actives in a wall of solvents, texture agents, and preservatives. Paste any product's ingredient list below — we pull out the actives we've catalogued across 44 verified dossiers, tell you what each does, and link the evidence. Nothing leaves your browser; no signup.

What the decoder recognises

These are the 44 actives currently catalogued, each with a sourced dossier behind it. Paste a label above and any of them present in the formula will be pulled out — or read them directly here. Anything not on this list is either a base ingredient doing no active work, or an active we have not written up yet.

Exfoliant / acne 6

  • Benzoyl Peroxide Benzoyl peroxide is an organic peroxide and potent bactericidal agent used as an over-the-counter (OTC) drug active ingredient for acne vulgaris.
  • Glycolic Acid (AHA) Glycolic acid is the smallest-molecule alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA; MW 76 Da), derived from sugar cane.
  • Lactic Acid Lactic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA; MW 90 Da; pKa 3.86) with a dual mechanism: it accelerates corneocyte desquamation by disrupting cohesion at
  • Mandelic Acid (AHA) Mandelic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA) derived from the hydrolysis of amygdalin found in bitter almonds.
  • Polyhydroxy Acids (PHA) Polyhydroxy acids are the gentle, sensitive-skin generation of exfoliating acids.
  • Salicylic Acid (BHA) Salicylic acid is a lipophilic (oil-soluble) beta-hydroxy acid (BHA) that works via three converging mechanisms: it is keratolytic — dissolving the de

Retinoid / firming 6

  • Adapalene Adapalene is the single most important acne ingredient you can buy without a prescription: it's a genuine, prescription-strength retinoid that went ov
  • Bakuchiol Bakuchiol is a meroterpene phenol isolated from the seeds of Psoralea corylifolia (babchi plant).
  • Copper Peptides (GHK-Cu) Copper peptides — almost always GHK-Cu (copper tripeptide-1) — are one of the more scientifically interesting 'regenerative' actives in skincare, and
  • Peptides Cosmetic peptides are short chains of amino acids — typically two to ten residues — used in skincare to signal, carry, or inhibit.
  • Retinaldehyde (Retinal) Retinaldehyde (retinal) is the vitamin A aldehyde that sits exactly one oxidative step away from retinoic acid in the skin's retinoid conversion casca
  • Retinol (Vitamin A) Retinol is the cosmetically available form of vitamin A.

Brightening 6

  • Alpha-Arbutin Alpha-arbutin is a biosynthetic glycosylated hydroquinone derivative — specifically, 4-hydroxyphenyl alpha-D-glucopyranoside — in which a glucose mole
  • Azelaic Acid Azelaic acid is a naturally occurring straight-chain C9 dicarboxylic acid (found in wheat, rye, and barley) with four distinct pharmacological mechani
  • Kojic Acid Kojic acid is a naturally occurring fungal metabolite produced during fermentation by Aspergillus and Penicillium species (notably in koji — fermented
  • Licorice Root (Glycyrrhiza Glabra) Licorice root is one of skincare's favourite 'gentle brighteners', but the honest version of the story is that 'licorice' is really two different star
  • Niacinamide (Vitamin B3) Niacinamide is the amide form of vitamin B3 (nicotinic acid).
  • Tranexamic Acid Tranexamic acid is a synthetic lysine analog originally developed as an oral antifibrinolytic drug to control bleeding.

Antioxidant 5

  • Ferulic Acid Ferulic acid is a plant-derived phenolic antioxidant that scavenges reactive oxygen species via its phenolic hydroxyl group, absorbs UV light to reduc
  • Green Tea (Camellia Sinensis) Green tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf extract is one of skincare's best-loved botanicals, and its appeal is real — it's rich in catechin polyphenols, abo
  • L-Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) L-ascorbic acid is a water-soluble antioxidant that neutralises reactive oxygen species generated by UV radiation and environmental stressors, stimula
  • Tocopherol (Vitamin E) Alpha-tocopherol is the primary lipid-soluble chain-breaking antioxidant in the human stratum corneum, delivered to the skin surface via sebum secreti
  • Vitamin C Derivatives Pure vitamin C — L-ascorbic acid — is the gold standard with the deepest evidence, but it has two real-world problems: it oxidizes quickly (turning br

Barrier / hydration 11

  • Avobenzone Avobenzone is the chemical-sunscreen answer to the question the mineral filters also solve: how do you protect against long UVA?
  • Beta-Glucan Beta-glucan is a polysaccharide — a chain of glucose units — found in the cell walls of yeast, fungi (mushrooms), and bacteria, and in cereals like oa
  • Ceramides Ceramides are a family of sphingolipids that make up roughly 40–50% of the stratum corneum lipid matrix by weight.
  • Ectoin Ectoine is one of skincare's quiet overachievers: an ingredient with a genuinely unusual amount of controlled human evidence behind a simple promise —
  • Glycerin Glycerin (glycerol) is the quiet workhorse of skincare — the gold-standard humectant that draws water into the upper layers of skin and helps hold it
  • Hyaluronic Acid Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a naturally occurring, non-sulfated glycosaminoglycan found in the extracellular matrix of connective tissue, synovial fluid,
  • Panthenol (Provitamin B5) Panthenol is provitamin B5 — the skin converts it to pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), a building block of coenzyme A, which the body needs to make the f
  • Squalane Squalane is one of skincare's best 'boring in a good way' ingredients — a lightweight oil that your skin already recognizes.
  • Titanium Dioxide Titanium dioxide is the other mineral sunscreen filter — zinc oxide's constant partner.
  • Urea (Carbamide) Urea is one of dermatology's quiet heavyweights — and the single most important thing to understand about it is that what it does depends entirely on
  • Zinc Oxide Zinc oxide is the workhorse mineral sunscreen — an inorganic UV filter that the rest of this site keeps pointing you toward every time it says 'wear d

Soothing / K-beauty 10

  • Allantoin Allantoin is the ingredient you've used a hundred times without noticing it.
  • Centella Asiatica (Cica) Centella asiatica is a tropical herb whose biological activity in skin is attributed primarily to four pentacyclic triterpene compounds: asiaticoside
  • Ferment Filtrates (Galactomyces, Bifida, Saccharomyces) Ferment filtrates are compositionally undefined mixtures produced by culturing yeast or bacteria — most commonly Galactomyces genus fungi, Bifidobacte
  • Heartleaf (Houttuynia Cordata) Heartleaf — Houttuynia cordata, a herb long used in East Asian traditional medicine and nicknamed the 'Chinese herbal antibiotic' — is the K-beauty so
  • Madecassoside Madecassoside is the headline molecule behind the whole 'cica' trend.
  • Mugwort (Artemisia) Mugwort — botanically Artemisia, a genus of around 500 species in the daisy (Asteraceae/Compositae) family — is the K-beauty 'calming' herb behind the
  • Polynucleotides / PDRN ("Salmon DNA") Polynucleotides (PN) and polydeoxyribonucleotides (PDRN) are DNA-derived biopolymers — chains of deoxyribonucleotide fragments, traditionally purified
  • Propolis (Bee Propolis) Propolis is a resinous material honeybees make by combining plant and tree resins with their own secretions and wax — a kind of structural 'bee glue'.
  • Rice (Oryza Sativa) Rice (Oryza sativa) is the foundation of a huge wave of 'glow' toners, essences and serums, and its appeal is real but easy to overstate.
  • Snail Mucin (Snail Secretion Filtrate) Snail mucin (INCI: snail secretion filtrate, SSF) is the filtered mucus secreted by land snails — most commonly Helix aspersa Müller in Korean essence

How it works

We match each ingredient you paste against the INCI and common names of the 44 actives we've written verified dossiers for. A match is exact — we won't guess — so an ingredient we don't flag is usually a base, solvent, emollient, or preservative, or an active we haven't catalogued yet. For the flagged actives, follow the link to see the concentration that actually works, the evidence, and how much you should pay: the Actives Index ranks every disclosed product by price per gram of active.