Understanding INCI Names: A Beginner's Guide for Canadian Makers

If you are making and selling cosmetics in Canada, INCI names are not optional. They go on your label, into your Cosmetic Notification Form (CNF), and into every supplier conversation you have about ingredient documentation. Getting them right from the start saves significant rework later.

What INCI is

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. It is a standardized naming system maintained by the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) that gives every cosmetic ingredient a single, internationally recognized name. The same ingredient has the same INCI name whether you are formulating in Canada, the UK, Australia, or Japan.

This matters because cosmetic labels are internationally regulated documents. When a consumer in Quebec picks up a product made in British Columbia, the ingredient list uses the same names as a product they would see in France or Germany — because the names come from the same international standard.

For Canadian makers, INCI names are required:

• On your cosmetic label (ingredient list in descending order of concentration)
• In your Cosmetic Notification Form (CNF) ingredient section
• In your formula documentation when suppliers or retail partners ask for it

Using common names, trade names, or made-up names instead of INCI names is one of the most frequent compliance errors — and one of the most avoidable.

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How INCI names are structured by ingredient type

INCI naming conventions are not random. Once you understand the patterns, you can predict what many ingredient names will look like.

Botanical and plant-derived ingredients

Plant-derived ingredients use the Latin binomial (genus and species) of the plant, followed by the plant part and the extraction type.

Format: Genus Species (Common Name) Plant-Part Type

Examples:

• Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter — shea butter
• Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil — coconut oil
• Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Oil — lavender essential oil
• Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil — sweet almond oil
• Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil — jojoba oil
• Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract — green tea extract
• Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice — aloe vera gel

The common name in brackets is not always present — it depends on the ingredient. The Latin binomial is always present for botanicals.

Note that "almond oil" and "sweet almond oil" are different things. Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis is sweet almond. Prunus Amygdalus Amara is bitter almond. The INCI name carries this distinction in a way the common name often does not.

Chemical and synthetic ingredients

Simple chemical compounds use their standard English chemical name:

• Aqua — water (always Aqua in INCI, not "Water" or "Eau")
• Glycerin — glycerol, vegetable glycerin
• Sodium Hydroxide — lye (used in cold process soap and pH adjustment)
• Citric Acid — citric acid for pH adjustment or in bath bombs
• Sodium Bicarbonate — baking soda
• Phenoxyethanol — a commonly used preservative
• Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate — a mild surfactant

For complex chemical compounds, INCI uses IUPAC-derived chemical names that can be long and unfamiliar — for example, Ethylhexylglycerin or Caprylhydroxamic Acid. These are typically part of preservative blends and you will see them on supplier spec sheets.

Saponified soap ingredients

This is one of the most important INCI distinctions for soap makers. When you make cold process soap, the lye reacts with the oils and converts them into fatty acid salts. The oils no longer exist in their original form — they have become soap.

The INCI names for cold process soap are the sodium salts of the fatty acids, not the original oil names:

| Oil used | INCI name in finished soap | |---|---| | Olive oil | Sodium Olivate | | Coconut oil | Sodium Cocoate | | Palm oil | Sodium Palmate | | Castor oil | Sodium Ricinoleate | | Shea butter | Sodium Shea Butterate | | Lard | Sodium Lardate | | Tallow | Sodium Tallowate |

Water is listed as Aqua. The glycerin produced during saponification is listed as Glycerin. The lye (Sodium Hydroxide) is consumed in the reaction and does not appear in the finished soap ingredient list.

Many soap makers list their ingredients using oil names — "Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Palm Oil" — which is not INCI-compliant. The label and CNF must use the saponified names.

Colorants — the CI system

Colorants in cosmetics use the Color Index (CI) system, not chemical names or colour names. A CI number identifies a specific colorant regardless of supplier or trade name.

Common examples:

• CI 77891 — Titanium Dioxide (white)
• CI 77491 — Iron Oxide (red/brown)
• CI 77492 — Iron Oxide (yellow)
• CI 77499 — Iron Oxide (black)
• CI 77007 — Ultramarine Blue
• CI 77742 — Manganese Violet
• CI 77000 — Aluminium

Your supplier's mica may be listed as "Champagne Shimmer" or "Rose Gold Pearl" — those are trade names, not INCI names. The mica's INCI name will be something like: Mica, CI 77891, CI 77491 — listing the base mica and each colorant in the blend.

Request INCI names for every colorant you purchase. A supplier who cannot provide them is not providing adequate documentation for cosmetic use.

Fragrance — Parfum and the allergen disclosure rule

Fragrance oils and blends are listed as Parfum (not "Fragrance" — Parfum is the INCI term). Essential oil blends used purely for scent are also sometimes listed as Parfum, though individual essential oils used for function (for example, tea tree oil used as an antimicrobial) should be listed by their botanical INCI name.

Important change as of April 2026: Specific fragrance allergens must now be listed individually by INCI name when present above the disclosure threshold — 0.001% in leave-on products, 0.01% in rinse-off products. The threshold applies to the finished product concentration, not the fragrance oil concentration.

This means a label that previously just said "Parfum" now needs to list individual allergens:

...Parfum, Linalool, Limonene, Geraniol

The allergen list expanded to 81 substances for new products after August 1, 2026. Any product containing essential oils or fragrance blends needs a full allergen review before the label can be finalized.

Blended ingredients

Many cosmetic ingredients are sold as blends — multi-component emulsifiers, proprietary preservative systems, conditioning complexes. The INCI for a blend is not the supplier's trade name. It is the full list of each component by INCI name.

For example, a common emulsifier sold as "Emulsifying Wax NF" has the INCI: Cetearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 60. A preservative sold as "Optiphen" has the INCI: Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol.

Your label and CNF list the components, not the blend name. Request a full INCI disclosure from your supplier for any blended ingredient before purchasing.

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How to find the right INCI name

From your supplier

The first place to look is your supplier's spec sheet or product page. A reputable cosmetic ingredient supplier lists the INCI name for every ingredient they sell. If it is not on the product page, it should be on the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) or Certificate of Analysis (COA).

If a supplier cannot provide an INCI name, that is important information. You need the INCI name to label your product and file your CNF — an ingredient without one creates a compliance problem before you even start formulating.

From the ingredient database

The FormulaNorth ingredient database lists INCI names, CAS numbers, Hotlist status, and function information for commonly used cosmetic ingredients. Search by common name to find the INCI.

From the PCPC INCI dictionary

The Personal Care Products Council publishes the authoritative INCI dictionary. It is a paid resource, but many ingredient databases use it as their source. For unusual ingredients, the PCPC dictionary is the definitive reference.

Cross-checking with COSING

The EU's COSING database (Cosmetic Ingredient database) is free and covers most INCI names. While it reflects EU regulation, the INCI names are internationally standardized — if an ingredient is in COSING, its INCI name is the same in Canada.

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Common INCI mistakes and how to avoid them

Using trade names instead of INCI names

"Optiphen" is a trade name. "SCI" is a shorthand. "Emulsimulse" is a brand name. None of these are INCI names and none belong on a Canadian cosmetic label. Always find the INCI equivalent from the supplier spec sheet.

Using the wrong botanical Latin name

Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis is sweet almond oil. Prunus Amygdalus Amara is bitter almond. Persea Gratissima and Persea Americana are both used for avocado — they refer to slightly different varieties. Cross-check the exact Latin binomial against your supplier's documentation, not just a general botanical reference.

Listing oil names in soap instead of saponified names

The most common soap labelling error. Olive oil on your label or CNF should be Sodium Olivate in a cold process bar. See the table above.

Writing "Fragrance" instead of "Parfum"

"Fragrance" is the English common name. "Parfum" is the INCI term. The ingredient list on a Canadian cosmetic label uses INCI — use Parfum.

Ignoring the ordering rule

Ingredients above 1% must be listed in descending order of concentration. Ingredients at 1% or below can be listed in any order after the higher-concentration ingredients. Colorants can be grouped at the end regardless of concentration. Listing alphabetically or in the order you added them to the formula is not INCI-compliant ordering.

Not updating after switching suppliers

If you switch suppliers for an ingredient and the new supplier uses a slightly different INCI name for what appears to be the same material — ask questions. The INCI name should not change for the same substance. If it has changed, either the previous name was wrong or the materials are genuinely different.

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INCI names and your CNF

The CNF ingredient section requires INCI names and concentrations for every ingredient. Health Canada uses INCI names for their internal database and for any safety follow-up. Filing with incorrect or inconsistent INCI names creates a record that is difficult to reconcile if there is ever a follow-up.

The best approach is to resolve INCI names at formulation time — when you are deciding what goes into a product — rather than when you are filling out the CNF. Ingredient documentation issues discovered during CNF preparation are what push launch timelines.

The INCI Name Lookup tool and ingredient database can help confirm names during formulation. Cross-reference against your supplier's COA before finalizing the CNF.

INCI names are case-sensitive in their standard form — the first word is capitalized, subsequent words are generally lowercase unless they are proper Latin binomials, in which case the genus is capitalized and the species is lowercase. Labels in practice vary in capitalization, but the underlying INCI reference uses the standard form.