Disteardimonium Hectorite comes from the clay mineral named hectorite. It is used to add thickness to a product.

It can also help stabilize a product by helping to disperse other ingredients.

Glycerin is already naturally found in your skin. It helps moisturize and protect your skin.

A study from 2016 found glycerin to be more effective as a humectant than AHAs and hyaluronic acid.

Isododecane is a fragrance, emollient, and solvent.

As an emollient, it helps your skin stay soft and hydrated. Emollients help trap moisture into your skin.

Magnesium Sulfate is a salt. More specifically, it is an epsom salt, or the bath salt used to help relieve muscle aches.

Despite having ‘sulfate’ in the name, it isn’t a surfactant or cleansing agent like sodium lauryl sulfate. Unlike those sulfates, magnesium sulfate doesn’t have the same cleansing or foaming properties (it's simply a type of salt).

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that has germicide, antimicrobial, and aromatic properties. Studies show that phenoxyethanol can prevent microbial growth. By itself, it has a scent that is similar to that of a rose.

It's often used in formulations along with Caprylyl Glycol to preserve the shelf life of products.

Sodium Hyaluronate is hyaluronic acid's salt form. It is commonly derived from the sodium salt of hyaluronic acid.

Like hyaluronic acid, it is great at holding water and acts as a humectant. This makes it a great skin hydrating ingredient.

This silicone is an emollient. Emollients create a thin film on the skin to prevent moisture from escaping.

It is not soluble in water and helps increase water-resistance in products.

Water. It's the most common cosmetic ingredient of all. You'll usually see it at the top of ingredient lists, meaning that it makes up the largest part of the product.

So why is it so popular? Water most often acts as a solvent - this means that it helps dissolve other ingredients into the formulation.