Kroger Calamine Plus Spray

Hectorite is a rare, white clay mineral.

For instance, Habanolide is a proprietary trade name for a specific aroma chemical. When used as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetics, most aroma chemicals fall under the broad labeling category of “FRAGRANCE” or “PARFUM” according to EU and US regulations.

The term 'parfum' or 'fragrance' is not regulated in many countries. In many cases, it is up to the brand to define this term.

For instance, many brands choose to label themselves as "fragrance-free" because they are not using synthetic fragrances. However, their products may still contain ingredients such as essential oils that are considered a fragrance by INCI standards.

One example is Calendula flower extract. Calendula is an essential oil that still imparts a scent or 'fragrance'.

Depending on the blend, the ingredients in the mixture can cause allergies and sensitivities on the skin. Some ingredients that are known EU allergens include linalool and citronellol.

Parfum can also be used to mask or cover an unpleasant scent.

The bottom line is: not all fragrances/parfum/ingredients are created equally. If you are worried about fragrances, we recommend taking a closer look at an ingredient. And of course, we always recommend speaking with a professional.

Silica is often used for absorption and can help reduce shine when products are applied.

If it does somehow make it onto your skin, it is chemically inert and does not penetrate or get absorbed into skin. Safety assessments note that adverse skin reactions to this ingredient are uncommon.

Its job in a formula is boring, but useful:

Typical concentrations range from 0.1-50% and it's usually low single digits in leave-on skincare.

One thing that sets it apart from other fatty alcohols is that it's used deliberately as a penetration enhancer in topical drug delivery. This is because it "loosens" the packing of your skin's surface lipids a bit so other ingredients can get through more easily.

A study on human skin found both Oleic Acid and Oleyl Alcohol at 0.75% increased how much topical anti-inflammatory drug got through with the effect leveling off after about 12 hours.

Allergic reactions are uncommon but documented; there's a published case of a patient with atopic dermatitis who developed severe allergic contact dermatitis from a prescription cream. A patch testing traced it specifically to the Oleyl Alcohol in the formula rather than the active drug.

The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel concluded Oleyl Alcohol is safe as used in cosmetics. Acute toxicity testing showed very low toxicity, animal tests showed minimal to mild skin irritation, human patch testing found low irritation and sensitization potential, and no phototoxicity or photosensitization has been reported.

It's reasonable to patch test if you have eczema, a known fatty alcohol allergy, or you've reacted to Stearyl or Cetyl Alcohol before.

Oleyl Alcohol scored a 4 out of 5 for comedogenicity in the 1989 rabbit ear study. Just know the rabbit ear test has real limits:

It's worth watching if you're acne-prone and how you will react to it really comes down to concentration, formula, and your skin.

The culprit behind fungal acne, the Malassezia yeast, feeds on fatty acids with carbon chain lengths between C11-C24. Oleic Acid, at C18, falls right into that sweet spot.

In vitro studies have shown that Oleic Acid is one of the fatty acids that induce rapid Malassezia growth in lab settings. Since this ingredient is created from Oleic Acid, it may not be fungal acne safe.

The 40-B is given by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. This is in accordance to the method of how the alcohol was denatured.

This ingredient is a solvent alcohol.