529
J. Cosmet. Sci., 75.5, 529–531 (September/October 2024)
Address all correspondence to Joanne Nikitakis, nikitakisj@personalcarecouncil.org.
INCI Nomenclature — International Harmony
JOANNE NIKITAKIS
Personal Care Product Council, Washington D.C., USA
Accepted for publication July 15, 2024.
Synopsis
Cosmetic scientists are challenged by the growing demand to develop formulations sourced from sustainable
raw materials. While there are many viewpoints on what constitutes a sustainable ingredient, developing a
universal definition for “sustainable” begins with ingredient identification. Fortunately for the stakeholders
involved in qualifying sustainability for the cosmetic market, the names for cosmetic ingredients are
standardized. These names have evolved over the course of five decades to become the globally accepted
naming system known as INCI.
The INCI naming system was created out of necessity. During the consumer movement in
the 1970s, when the ingredient labeling regulations for cosmetics were being promulgated
in the United States, there was no compendia of names for cosmetic raw materials. IUPAC
names were too complex, and brand names and bench terms were commonplace but could
not be used for labeling. At the time, discussions about ingredient identification were
ongoing between the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the national trade
association, CTFA (the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association—now PCPC, the
Personal Care Products Council), and led to the formation of a scientific committee charged
with the task of creating uniform terminology to meet the forthcoming ingredient labeling
regulations. The committee was made up of chemists from the cosmetic industry, with
representation by FDA, the US Adopted Names Council, and the Food Chemicals Codex.
The diverse expertise enabled the committee to leverage existing science-based principles
and standardized names from the food and drug sectors, while participation by the FDA
fostered acceptance of the naming system to meet the regulatory requirement. This early
framework proved to be essential to the success and future growth of the nomenclature
system.
As ingredient labeling requirements emerged in other countries, PCPC (then CTFA)
realized the importance of having identical ingredient names around the world. To address
specific interests in other regions, the scope of the nomenclature program was broadened.1
The committee (now called the International Nomenclature Committee, or INC) was
expanded to include active representation from authorities and sister trade associations in
the EU, Japan, and Canada which provided the foundation for international harmonization.

530 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE
Over time, global acceptance of the standardized INCI naming system evolved and was
pivotal to:
• Product safety: consistent identification of a substance is essential to ingredient safety
and the assessment of risk to human health and the environment.
• Regulatory considerations: harmonization ensures that substances are identified
consistently across borders which streamlines the registration and tracking of substances.
• Innovation: accurate, consistent substance identification is important to research and
new material evaluation for product development.
• Trade: a harmonized naming system facilitates trade and reduces potential barriers that
could arise from different naming approaches between regions.
There is no question that the international harmonization of INCI nomenclature was essential
to the global cosmetics industry, but moving toward a single system was challenging. The
effort called for engagement and support for collaboration—it required recognition of the
scientific basis for INCI names by all stakeholders, a mutual understanding for differences
in naming approaches, the interest in convergence on terms, and a sustained focus to make
the system workable for all. In recent years, sharing datasets of INCI names and technical
synonyms with global authorities has facilitated reference to INCI nomenclature in cosmetic
regulatory procedures, especially in the EU, Canada, Japan, and China. The cross-indexing
of INCI names with safety, regulatory and technical information in other databases, and
the publication of INCI names in technical references and trade journals has strengthened
the recognition of INCI terms in diverse sectors and furthered the harmonization process.
While communication is an important component of harmonization, there are still
opportunities for a greater understanding about the INCI process. Two of the most common
misunderstandings are the notions of ingredient safety and approval. The assignment
of an INCI name (which occurs at the request of an ingredient supplier) does not mean
that the ingredient has been reviewed for its safety. Safety data is not required as part of
the INCI nomenclature process. Independent scientific reviews for ingredient safety are
conducted by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR, https://www.cir-safety.org) and other
scientific bodies and authorities. The finished product manufacturer has the responsibility
of assessing and documenting safety prior to marketing the final product. In a similar way,
the designation of an INCI name does not mean that the ingredient has been approved for
use in a specific global region or for a specific purpose. Companies are expected to consider
intended use and comply with the regulations in the jurisdiction where the product is
marketed. Another common misunderstanding is about equivalence. While the INC can
assign the same INCI name to different trade name ingredients, it does not necessarily
mean that they are interchangeable in a particular formulation. Polymer ingredients serve
as a good example here where some trade names may have the same INCI name but
impart different rheological properties. Finally, it cannot be assumed that a trade name
associated with an INCI name in technical literature was truly assigned that name by the
INC through the INCI process. In these instances, a supplier could mistakenly attribute
an incorrect INCI designation. Finished product manufacturers should carefully evaluate
material composition and confirm the INCI name information as part of the ingredient
selection process.
The challenge of INCI name changes and acceptance of the newer terms deserves a brief
mention. In recent years, new processes for ingredient development have given rise to new
INCI names and new INCI naming principles. When this happens, older names based on