Ingredients with a documented concern, from official datasets and our reviewed database.
Sensitive skin: Best avoidedPregnancy: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Best avoidedEczema-prone: Best avoided
- Allergy risk:Fragrance is the single most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy.
- Irritation:Frequent trigger of stinging and redness on reactive skin.
Caredermis curated dermatological review
An umbrella term that can hide dozens of undisclosed scent chemicals. Fragrance is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis from cosmetics, and dermatologists routinely advise fragrance-free products for eczema, babies and sensitive skin.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionDry skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Irritation:Drying when high on the ingredient list; negligible in trace amounts.
Plain ethanol — position on the label matters: near the top it is drying; near the bottom it is a harmless solvent trace.
cooling agent · fragrance
Sensitive skin: High cautionBabies & kids: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Irritation:Sensory irritant; the cooling feeling signals nerve stimulation, not soothing.
The cooling molecule from mint. Refreshing on healthy skin but a genuine irritant for reactive, broken or infant skin.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Allergy risk:EU-declarable allergen; oxidized linalool is a common patch-test positive.
A floral scent molecule found in lavender and many essential oils. It oxidizes on air exposure into strongly sensitizing compounds, which is why it must be declared on EU labels.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: High caution
- Allergy risk:EU-declarable allergen; oxidation products are potent sensitizers.
The citrus-peel scent molecule. Like linalool, it becomes allergenic mainly after oxidizing in opened products.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionEczema-prone: Use with caution
- Allergy risk:EU-declarable fragrance allergen.
A rose-type scent component on the EU's mandatory-declaration allergen list.
Sensitive skin: Use with cautionBabies & kids: Use with cautionEczema-prone: Use with caution
- Irritation:Milder than glycolic; still increases photosensitivity.
A gentler AHA that exfoliates and hydrates simultaneously; the usual pick for drier or more reactive skin starting acids.
exfoliant (mild) · soothing agent
Babies & kids: Use with caution
- Irritation:Contains salicin, a far gentler relative of salicylic acid.
Willow bark provides a very mild, natural BHA-like effect; too gentle to replicate salicylic acid's risks — or, in fairness, its full results.
- Cancer concern:IARC 2B by inhalation only — relevant to loose powders and sprays, not creams.
A mineral UV filter and pigment that is one of the safest sunscreen choices in cream form; the inhalation-based cancer classification only matters for powder and spray formats.
