INCI Name Lookup for Canadian Cosmetic Makers

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. It is a globally standardized naming system maintained by the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC) and used on cosmetic ingredient lists worldwide. INCI names are typically in Latin or anglicized scientific form and stay consistent regardless of which country a product is sold in or what marketing name a supplier uses for the ingredient.

Common names and INCI names are often very different. "Coconut oil" becomes "Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil", "vitamin E" becomes "Tocopherol", and "shea butter" becomes "Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter". Some ingredients that a maker thinks of as one thing — like "fragrance" — may require multiple individual INCI entries under the new allergen disclosure rules.

The INCI system exists so that any reviewer, consumer, or regulator can identify the exact substance in a formula regardless of the brand name or common name being used. For Canadian cosmetic makers, using the correct INCI name is not optional — it is required on both the label and the Cosmetic Notification Form.

Under the Cosmetics Regulations, the ingredient list on a Canadian cosmetic label must use INCI names, listed in descending order of concentration. Health Canada also expects INCI names on the Cosmetic Notification Form (CNF). An ingredient listed under its common name, trade name, or an incorrect INCI variant can cause a notification to be flagged or rejected.

Beyond regulatory compliance, INCI naming affects every downstream step of getting a product to market. Label artwork needs INCI names before it can go to print. CNF preparation needs INCI names before the form can be filled out accurately. Supplier verification often depends on matching the INCI name on the ingredient's Certificate of Analysis to what is on the label.

The most reliable sources for INCI names are the PCPC's CosIng database (maintained by the European Commission), your supplier's Certificate of Analysis or product spec sheet, and ingredient databases like FormulaNorth's that map common names to their INCI equivalents.

FormulaNorth's ingredient database lets you search by common name or INCI name and see related details — function category, hotlist status, and Canadian supplier availability — in one place. If an ingredient is not in the database, ask your supplier for the official INCI designation on their documentation. Never use a trade name or brand name as a substitute for the INCI name on a label or CNF.

For blended ingredients — fragrance oils, botanical extracts sold as proprietary blends, or multi-component emulsifiers — each component needs its own INCI name rather than one entry for the blend. Suppliers of these ingredients should provide a full INCI breakdown. If they cannot, that is worth knowing before you commit to the ingredient.

The most common mistake is treating a supplier's trade name as the INCI name. Trade names like "Olivem 1000" or "BTMS-50" are marketing names — each has a corresponding INCI name (Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate and Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Cetyl Alcohol respectively) that must appear on the label instead.

Another frequent issue is using the wrong variant of an INCI name. Some ingredients have very similar names that refer to different substances — for example, Glycerin and Glyceryl Stearate are different ingredients with different functions. Small differences in spelling or word order matter.

As of April 12, 2026, Canadian cosmetics must individually disclose 24 specific fragrance allergens by INCI name when they are present above disclosure thresholds — 0.001% in leave-on products, 0.01% in rinse-off products. The list expands to 81 allergens for new products sold after August 1, 2026.

This means fragrance components that were previously lumped under the single INCI entry "Fragrance" or "Parfum" now require individual INCI names on the label and in the CNF if they exceed the threshold. If you use any essential oils or fragrance blends in your products, you need a full allergen breakdown from your supplier and the correct INCI names for any allergens that are above the limit.

The Cosmetic Notification Form requires you to list each ingredient by INCI name along with its concentration in the formula. Health Canada reviewers use the INCI names to cross-reference against the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist and to confirm that restricted ingredients are within their permitted concentration limits.

If your INCI names on the CNF do not match your label, the notification may be queried. Getting the names right before you fill in the form — not after — is the faster path. Building your ingredient list with INCI names from the start of the formulation process means the same data feeds your label, your costing, and your CNF without having to translate back and forth.