L'Oréal

About L'Oréal

L'Oréal is a French cosmetics group founded in 1909 by the chemist Eugène Schueller, who began by selling a hair dye to Parisian hairdressers. It is headquartered in Clichy near Paris and organises its brands by market: mass-market, professional, luxury and dermatological ("active") cosmetics. Its consumer brands include L'Oréal Paris, Garnier, Maybelline and Mixa, while CeraVe and Vichy belong to its skin care portfolio. In our database, the L'Oréal name mostly covers L'Oréal Paris products such as Elvive (Elseve) hair care and Elnett hairspray.

What the L'Oréal entries contain

Shampoos lead the 162 products filed under L'Oréal, ahead of make-up and face care – largely L'Oréal Paris items such as Elvive (Elseve) hair care and Elnett hairspray.

Silicones are a strong theme, appearing in 100 formulas (62%). Fragrance is declared in 111 (69%), and after water the most frequent ingredients are PARFUM (103), GLYCERIN (99), LINALOOL (90) and LIMONENE (86). Denatured alcohol (ALCOHOL DENAT.) shows up in 47 products (29%) and parabens in 12 (7%).

One name, several product types

Hair care, make-up and face care sit side by side here, so the totals describe a mix, not a typical product – compare an Elvive shampoo with other shampoos. The frequent LINALOOL and LIMONENE, like HEXYL CINNAMAL, are fragrance substances that must be named individually above set levels; they are worth knowing if you avoid particular ones.