Active Ingredients In Skin Care
Active ingredients in skin care are regulated in the U.S. They are considered drugs. They must be approved by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration), which involves going through a rigorous drug approval process.
By definition, active ingredients affect the structure and function of skin.
This is different from a performance ingredient, which causes changes in the appearance of skin. Ingredients like antioxidants, peptides, and growth factors are performance ingredients.
Performance ingredients are not regulated and do not go through the rigorous drug approval process that active ingredients do. Performance ingredients are sometimes erroneously called active ingredients. But they are not the same.
By U.S. law, active ingredients must be called out on the ingredient list. The standard convention is to list the active ingredients at the beginning of the ingredient list. Typically, they are labeled “Active Ingredients:” followed by a label “Inactive Ingredients:”
All other ingredients in the product are listed in descending order of concentration, from the highest to lowest amount. But this applies only if ingredients are greater than 1% concentration. For ingredients that are less than 1% in concentration, the manufacturer may list them in any order.
Common Active Ingredients
Common Performance Ingredients
- Antioxidants
- Peptides
- MMP Inhibitors
- Anti-Glycation Agents (AGE Inhibitors)
- Growth Factors
- Stem Cell Extracts