How to read an INCI ingredient list
What the order of ingredients means, how colorants and fragrance are listed, and what the list cannot tell you.
Updated: 30 October 2026 · Reviewed by: Kamil Pyziak
The order of ingredients
In the EU, ingredients are listed in descending order of weight at the time they are added to the product. Ingredients present at 1% or less may be listed in any order after those above 1%.
Colorants, fragrance and nanomaterials
Colorants may be listed in any order after the other ingredients, usually by their Colour Index number, for example CI 77891. Perfume compositions appear as “parfum”, and certain fragrance allergens must be named separately above set thresholds. Ingredients present as nanomaterials are followed by “[nano]”.
What the list cannot tell you
An INCI list does not reveal exact concentrations, so the presence of an ingredient says nothing about how much of it is in the product or whether the formula as a whole is effective.