Quick answer: Ingredients are listed from most to least, so the first five lines tell you what you're mostly buying. "Aqua" means water, and anything with water in it needs a preservative. "Parfum" can cover many ingredients in one word. Shorter lists aren't automatically better, but they are easier to understand, and that matters when you're choosing for your whole family.
If you've spent any time on social media lately, you'll have seen someone holding a bottle up to the camera and reading the back of it in a worried voice. I understand why. When you have small children, or one on the way, you want to know what you're putting on them.
Before I ran spas I trained in chemical engineering and then qualified as a Chartered Accountant, so I've always been a bit of a geek about data, and I still read the back of every bottle I pick up. So here's the guide I'd give a friend: no scare stories, no brand names, just how to read a label calmly and decide for yourself.
Start at the top: the order tells you a lot
In the UK, cosmetic ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. Whatever there's most of comes first.
There's one useful quirk: anything present at under 1% can be listed in any order at the end. So the first five or six ingredients are roughly what you're paying for. The long tail after that is mostly small amounts of helpers.
Try this: pick up the cream nearest to you and read the first three ingredients. That's the product. Everything else is supporting cast.
Why the names look like Latin (because they are)
Labels use a system called INCI: International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. It means a bottle reads the same in Edinburgh, Lisbon and Lyon.
Plants are written by their botanical name:
- Cocos Nucifera Oil = coconut oil
- Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil = jojoba oil
- Calophyllum Inophyllum Seed Oil = tamanu oil
- Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract = calendula (pot marigold)
- Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil = argan oil
So a long Latin name isn't a warning sign. Often it's just a plant being formal. If you can look it up and picture it growing, you know what it is.
"Aqua": the word that explains half the label
Aqua is water. It's the first ingredient in most creams, lotions, gels and mists, often by a long way.
Water itself is harmless, of course. But it changes everything else on the label, because wherever there's water, bacteria and mould can grow. A jar you dip your fingers into, kept in a warm bathroom for months, is a cosy home for them.
So any product made with water needs two kinds of helper:
- A preservative, to keep it safe to use until the last scoop. That's sensible and responsible: you don't want a cream without one if it contains water.
- An emulsifier, to stop the oil and water separating, like a vinaigrette that's been left to stand.
That's where a lot of the longer names on a label come from. It's not a conspiracy. It's simply what it takes to keep water and oil together, safely, for a year.
What happens when there's no water
This is the part I find quietly satisfying as an engineer.
A product made only from oils contains no water, so there's nothing for bacteria to grow in. No water, no need for a preservative. No emulsifier either, because there's nothing to keep apart.
That's why a pure plant-oil product can have an ingredient list you can read in one breath. Our Organic Virgin Coconut Oil has one ingredient. Our cold-pressed rosehip has one. Our blends, like Clean & Glow Cleansing Oil and Hydrate & Renew Face Oil, are a handful of plant oils plus a little essential oil. That's the whole list.
One honest caveat: oils keep well, but not forever. Over time they can oxidise and smell a bit "off", like old cooking oil. Look for the little open-jar symbol on the label (for example "12M") and use it within that time.
"Parfum": one word, many ingredients
Parfum (or fragrance) is allowed to cover a blend of ingredients under a single word, because fragrance recipes are treated as trade secrets.
That doesn't make it bad. It just means you can't see what's in it. If your little one's skin is easily upset, it's a reasonable word to notice.
You may also see names like linalool, limonene, geraniol or citral at the end of a list. These are naturally present in essential oils and in fragrances. UK law requires certain ones to be named individually once they're above a small threshold, so people who know they react to them can avoid them. Seeing them means the label is doing its job. It isn't a red flag in itself.
Essential oils, pregnancy and children
Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts: lavender, neroli, frankincense and so on. In skincare, how much matters as much as which one.
In aromatherapy, a dilution under about 1.5% is widely used as the gentle level suitable in pregnancy. Some oils are commonly avoided in pregnancy whatever the strength: clary sage, rosemary, sweet basil, peppermint and a few others.
The label won't tell you the percentage, but the order gives you a clue. If an essential oil appears near the top, there's a fair amount of it. If it sits near the end, it's a small amount.
At PURE, every blend keeps its essential oils under 1.5%. That's why we're comfortable saying most of the range is suitable in pregnancy and for children. The exceptions: a handful of products with peppermint, eucalyptus or another oil from that list (our Soothe and Revive massage oils, Refresh & Revive Facial Spritz, Ice & Glow Gel and Himalayan Bath Salts), so we tell you to save them for later, and our neat essential oils, which aren't diluted at all, so they sit outside the family range. For babies, we recommend plain coconut oil: one ingredient and no essential oils at all. You can see the whole family shelf here.
Words on the front vs words on the back
The front of a bottle is marketing. The back is the law.
Words like "natural", "clean", "gentle" or "dermatologist-approved" can mean a lot or very little. The ingredient list on the back is the only part that has to be complete and in a set format. So when the front and back seem to tell different stories, believe the back.
That's the reason our promise is simply: what's in the bottle is on the bottle. Nothing else.
A 30-second label check for busy parents
When you're standing in a shop with a toddler pulling at your sleeve, here's all you need:
- Read the first five ingredients. That's what you're buying.
- Look for Aqua. If it's there, expect a preservative and an emulsifier, and that's fine.
- Spot Parfum. Fine for many people; worth noticing for skin that reacts to everything.
- Find the essential oils. Near the end of the list means a small amount.
- Check the open-jar symbol. Use it within that time.
You don't need a chemistry degree. You just need to know where to look.
Where to start if you want fewer ingredients
If you'd like a shorter shelf, start with one swap rather than seven. Many families start with a cleansing oil, because it takes off sun cream, make-up and the day in one go, for everyone. Or start with coconut oil, the jar that does the most jobs in our house.
If you want the full routine, PURE in 3 is coconut oil, face scrub and rosehip. Three products, three minutes. Done. Or browse all our 3-step routines.
Your questions
Is a shorter ingredient list always safer? Not automatically. Plenty of long lists are perfectly safe. A shorter list is easier to understand, which helps when you're choosing for a family.
Are preservatives bad? No. In anything that contains water, a preservative is what keeps it safe to use. Oil-only products simply don't need one.
What does "aqua" mean on a skincare label? Water. It's usually the first ingredient in creams, lotions and gels.
Which essential oils are commonly avoided in pregnancy? Clary sage, rosemary, sweet basil, sage, peppermint (especially early on), fennel, juniper, cinnamon, clove and jasmine are among those common guidance suggests skipping. If you're unsure, ask your midwife and take the bottle with you.
Can babies use plant oils? For babies, keep it simple: one-ingredient coconut oil, with no essential oils.
Becky Lumsden is the founder of PURE Spa and PURE Skincare. She's a chemical engineer and Chartered Accountant, and has been running spas since 2002.
