Name: Everyday Shea Body Wash
Brand: Alaffia

What's inside

Ingredients Explained

Water

Skin Conditioning, Solvent

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.

You'll also recognize water as that liquid we all need to stay alive. If you see this, drink a glass of water. Remember to stay hydrated!

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Potassium Shea Butterate

Potassium Shea Butterate isn't fungal acne safe.

Potassium Cocoate

Emulsifying, Surfactant

Potassium Cocoate is basically a liquid coconut soap that's made by cooking coconut oil with potassium hydroxide.

It's a cleanser, foaming, and emulsifying agent that mostly shows up in soaps and "natural" cleansers.

Rinse-off concentrations typically range from 2-25%.

The finished product sits at a fairly high pH (~9-11) because it's a true soap. This just means it can feel drying or slightly stripping if a formula isn't balance with emollients.

Allergy and irritation risk is low as this ingredient was found to be an irritant in less than 1% of subjects (2 of these subjects had active psoriasis and 3 had active eczema).

Fungal acne: The Malassezia yeast feeds on fatty acids in the ~C12-24 range, and Potassium Cocoate is made of exactly those (Lauric C12, Myristic C14, Palmitic C16, Oleic C18:1). Lab studies have shown the yeast can take up Lauric Acid and grows readily on Palmitic Acid. Therefore, this ingredient may not be fungal acne safe.

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Coco-Betaine

Cleansing, Foam Boosting, Skin Conditioning

Coco-Betaine is the natural version of Cocamidopropyl Betaine. It is often derived from coconuts.

Coco-Betaine is a surfactant, meaning it helps remove dirt and oil from the skin.

Melia Azadirachta Leaf

Skin Conditioning

We don't have a description for Melia Azadirachta Leaf yet.

Ethylhexylglycerin

Skin Conditioning

Ethylhexylglycerin is created from glycerin. It is a multitasker ingredient that:

The CIR Expert Panel found minimal skin absorption or sensitization of any kind in a safety assessment. Though this ingredient is considered well-tolerated, a small number of cases of allergic dermatitis have been published since 2002. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure.

Industry-reported use ranges from 8% in rinse-off products and 2% in leave-on formulations.

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Sodium Phytate

Chelating

Sodium Phytate is the sodium salt of Phytic acid, a compound that plants store phosphorus in. It's the plant-derived alternative to ingredients like Disodium EDTA.

In skincare, this ingredient is a chelator that grabs onto trace metal ions like iron and copper that sneak into formulas through water/raw materials.

Those metals speed up oxidation so binding them keeps oils, fragrance, and actives from going off, stops color changes, and helps the preservative system work harder.

Survey data shows usage levels range from 0.0099%-0.5% in leave-on products, 0.025%-0.3% in rinse-off, and up to 0.05% in eye-area products. Suppliers typically recommend a range between 0.05-0.5%.

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Phenoxyethanol

Preservative

Phenoxyethanol is one of the most widely used preservatives in skincare (and for good reason!).

It has a large spectrum of antimicrobial activity and especially effective bacteria, yeast, and mold while only having a weak effect on your skin's natural microbiome.

On a cellular level, it disrupts the cell membranes of microbes by poking holes that make the cell leak. This shuts down the chemical reactions the microbe needs to make energy so it can no longer survive.

Another perk of this ingredient is that it stays functional across a wide pH range (3-10).

You'll often see it paired with boosters like Ethylhexylglycerin; one study showed that a 1:9 ratio of Ethylhexylglycerin to Phenoxyethanol damages bacterial membranes as effectively as doubling the Phenoxyethanol concentration on its own.

Typical use concentrations range from 0.3-1% depending on the formula, and this ingredient is capped at 1% int the EU.

Safety-wise, the fear mongering does not hold up to the evidence. The EU's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and FDA consider it safe as a preservative at up to 1%, including for children of all ages.

Adverse systemic effects only showed up in animal studies at exposures roughly 200x higher than what people get from cosmetics. And despite its very widespread use, this ingredient is a rare sensitizer and allergic reactions are uncommon.

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Potassium Hydroxide

Buffering

Potassium Hydroxide (also known as potash) is a strong alkaline ingredient that does one job: it nudges a product's pH up so the whole formula lands in a skin-friendly range.

It's also the base that turns oils into liquid soap during the soap making process.

An expert safety panel reviewed it and found it safe when formulations are made to be non-irritating.

As a pH adjuster, it's typically used well under 1% though regulatory caps go much higher: 5% in nail cuticle removers and 2-4.5% in hair straighteners.

Though there is some concern for irritation from raw or high pH material, a well-balanced formula will be a non-issue for the vast majority of people.

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