Q: When is Lavender Oil not Lavender Oil? A: When it is using its INCI name!
Have you ever read the labels detailing the ingredients in your beauty products? If you have, you may have wondered what all the strange sounding words are? Over the coming months, I will share with you some of the things I've learnt on my journey to create No Secrets.
But where are the gorgeous ingredients she asked?
The first time I shared a labelled bottle of our ‘One’ shower cream with a friend, she was really surprised about the list of ingredients. She was expecting a list that read shea butter and coconut oil and included enticing – yet familiar words – like bergamot and juniper oil. But where were they? I assured her that indeed they were there, but hidden within the legally required ‘INCI’ list of ingredients.
What is the INCI list you ask? INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients and is a system used for the naming of ingredients in beauty products. INCI names can differ greatly from the common names for items and are based on scientific names and other Latin and English words. The concept is similar to the system for the naming of plants where e.g. a Bluebell becomes Hyacinrhoides non-scripta.
Confusing nasty chemicals and natural beauties
Therefore, under the INCI system, lavender oil becomes Lavandula angustifolia Herb Oil and extra virgin olive oil becomes Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil. Short simple, recognisable names become longer and more complex.
Rules bring uniformity, but can be confusing to us beauty lovers who like the romance of a Cocoa Seed Butter as opposed to Theobroma cacao (Cocoa) seed butter. Most annoyingly, it makes it difficult to distinguish between the nasty chemicals and the good ingredients, sporting chemical like names.
Our mission: clean beauty with No Secrets
The good news is, it is our mission at No Secrets to explain what each ingredient is in simpler English and why it is in our products.
Furthermore, we are committed to ‘clean’ beauty and do not use parabens, phenoxyethanol, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate and phthalates, among other nasties, which often feature in prestigious and high street brands.
All our products are proudly made in England, 100% vegan and 100% gorgeous.
Welcome to our world of No Secrets.
Lorna x