Body care – ingredient lists and INCI analysis

Body care includes products used in the shower or bath and those applied afterwards. The group covers shower gels, bath products, soaps, body scrubs, body lotions and creams, body butters, body oils, anti-cellulite and firming products, deodorants and antiperspirants, intimate hygiene products and wet wipes. Some of these are rinsed off, others stay on the skin for hours.

Wash products are based on surfactants such as SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, SODIUM COCOYL ISETHIONATE or COCO-GLUCOSIDE, while bar soaps are typically listed as salts like SODIUM PALMATE or SODIUM COCOATE. Leave-on body products tend to combine GLYCERIN, UREA or other humectants with plant butters such as BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII BUTTER and oils. Antiperspirants usually rely on aluminium salts, for example ALUMINUM CHLOROHYDRATE.

Body products are often strongly scented, so the fragrance section of the label deserves attention: PARFUM may be followed by named allergens such as LIMONENE, LINALOOL or CITRONELLOL. The rules on listing these allergens differ for rinse-off and leave-on products, with a lower threshold for products that stay on the skin.