Scottish Fine Soaps Sea Kelp Conditioner

Scottish Fine Soaps Sea Kelp Conditioner

Save

Overview

What it is

Conditioner with 13 ingredients

Cool Features

It is vegan, cruelty-free, and reef safe

Suited For

It has ingredients that are good for dry skin, sensitive skin and scar healing

Free From

It doesn't contain any harsh alcohols, oils, parabens, silicones or sulfates

Fun facts

Scottish Fine Soaps is from United Kingdom.

We independently verify ingredients and our claims are backed by peer-reviewed research. Does this product need an update? Let us know.

What's inside

Benefits

Concerns

Ingredients Explained

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!

Learn more about Water
Emollient, Emulsifying, Emulsion Stabilising

Cetearyl alcohol is a waxy mixture of two fatty alcohols: cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol. It is an emollient and emulsifier.

Despite having "alcohol" in its name, it has nothing to do with drying solvent alcohols; the FDA also allows "alcohol-free" products to contain fatty alcohols like this ingredient.

It plays several roles in a formula:

Typical use levels for this ingredient sit around 1-10% and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel has affirmed safety at concentrations up to 25% in leave-on products.

Multiple assessments have found it to be non-irritating and non-sensitizing to most people.

However, there have been some cases of allergic contact dermatitis in patients with chronically compromised skin barriers.

Cetearyl alcohol has a comedogenic rating of 2 and irritancy rating of 1. Both of these numbers come from the 1989 study that used rabbit ears; a "2" means mildly comedogenic and a "1" means low irritancy.

Here's the catch: rabbit skin is more sensitive than human skin and throws a lot of false positives. A 1996 reappraisal found that ingredients rated 1-2 in the rabbit ear tests are generally safe for humans.

Remember comedogenic ratings are unable to assess the entire formula of a product or how it will react on your skin. Just be sure to patch test if you are unsure about certain ingredients.

This ingredient is not fungal acne safe. Cetearyl alcohol is a fatty alcohol with chain lengths that fall within the range that Malassezia can metabolize.

A 2019 study has also observed Malassezia growth in the presence of this ingredient, confirming it to be not-fungal acne safe.

Learn more about Cetearyl Alcohol
Antimicrobial, Emulsifying, Preservative

This ingredient is a preservative, antimicrobial, and emulsifier. It is often used in cosmetics for its ability to cleanse, condition, and reduce static.

Cetrimonium chloride is a quaternary ammonium salt, meaning it has a water-soluble structure.

Cleansing, Surfactant

Lauramine Oxide is a gentle surfactant from the amine oxide family. It's made by reacting a coconut or palm-derived starting material with hydrogen peroxide.

It plays several roles in skincare:

The best range for this ingredient is between 6-8.

The CIR Expert Panel has concluded this ingredient to be safe at current use levels with a maximum of 3.7% for leave-on products.

The EU COSing Database lists "perfuming" as a function for this ingredient. This is because of it's surfactant property; it helps dissolve and evenly disperse fragrance in a formula to keep the scent uniform. This ingredient doesn't have a scent on its own.

Learn more about Lauramine Oxide
Masking, Perfuming

Parfum is a catch-all term for an ingredient or more that is used to give a scent to products.

Also called "fragrance", this ingredient can be a blend of hundreds of chemicals or plant oils. This means every product with "fragrance" or "parfum" in the ingredients list is a different mixture.

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.

Learn more about Parfum

We don't have a description for Magnesium Nitrate yet.

Methylchloroisothiazolinone, or MCI, is a synthetic preservative used to protect against the growth of bacteria, yeasts, and fungi in water-based products.

MCI is commonly combined with methylisothiazolinone (MI) in a 3:1 ratio.

This ingredient is safe in cosmetics when formulated to be non-sensitizing and concentrations must not exceed 7.5 ppm in leave-on products / 15 ppm in rinse-off products.

Unfortunately, this ingredient has a well-documented sensitization story. Studies spanning several decades have shown this ingredient + MI to cause skin irritation and allergies.

The use of this ingredient varies around the world:

This just means this ingredient is most likely non-sensitizing in rinse-off products unless you've been diagnosed with a contact allergy to isothiazolinones.

Learn more about Methylchloroisothiazolinone

Magnesium chloride is a mineral salt made from magnesium and chloride. It is mainly used to control product stability and texture in cosmetics.

This ingredient can also play a role in soothing the skin and supporting normal skin function.

Magnesium chloride is water-soluble, generally well tolerated, and does not act as a strong “active” ingredient on its own.

Learn more about Magnesium Chloride
Preservative

MI is a preservative and known skin irritant. In the past, MI was used for its ability to prevent bacteria, yeast, and fungi growth in low doses.

Nowadays, you'll most likely see MI combined with Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI).

Since then, numerous studies have shown this ingredient to cause contact dermatitis, or skin irritation.

The use of this ingredient varies around the world:

Learn more about Methylisothiazolinone
Humectant, Skin Conditioning, Skin Protecting

Glycerin (or glycerol) is a compound naturally found in your skin. It's a powerhouse humectant that pulls water into the stratum corneum.

Topically, glycerin does several things at once:

Your skin makes glycerin on its own (mostly from sebaceous oil breakdown) and shuttles it to your outermost layer of skin, or your epidermis, via aquaporin-3.

Aquaporin-3 is a transporter that is essential for normal skin hydration, elasticity, and repair. Interestingly, mice lacking in AQP3 have dry and less elastic skin that can be fully corrected with glycerin.

This ingredient is non-irritating, plays well with almost every ingredient, and works across all skin types. Typical use is anywhere between 3-10% but can go up to 79% in some leave-on products.

Just know very high concentrations (>40%) can feel tacky in low humidity.

Glycerin is the name for this ingredient in American English. British English uses Glycerol/Glycerine.

Learn more about Glycerin
Emollient, Skin Conditioning, Smoothing

Fucus Vesiculosus Extract is derived from a type of brown algae.

Algae is an informal term for a group of aquatic organisms that can photosynthesize. It is estimated there are at least 30,000 types of Algae.

Fucus Vesiculosus Extract contains antioxidants. Antioxidants help fight free-radicals. Free-radicals are molecules that may damage your skin cells, such as pollution.

Fucus Vesiculosus Extract is also rich in sodium, potassium, and amino acids.

Many different types of algae have different benefits.

Learn more about Fucus Vesiculosus Extract
Skin Protecting

Laminaria Digitata Extract comes from the dark brown seaweed, Laminaria Digitata. It is a potent antioxidant, which also provides soothing and hydrating benefits.

Many studies show the antioxidant components of Laminaria Digitata to help with anti-inflammation.

This ingredient is rich in amino acids, proteins, sugars, and vitamins. Small amounts of minerals such as phosphorous, iron, potassium, and copper are also found the seaweed.

These components help hydrate and nourish your skin's natural barrier. Having a healthy skin barrier leads to more youthful looking skin and may help reduce the signs of aging.

Laminaria Digitata is found in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

What's the difference between algae and seaweed?
Algae is a broad term that includes seaweed. Not all algae is seaweed.

Learn more about Laminaria Digitata Extract
Perfuming, UV Absorber

Benzyl Salicylate is a solvent and fragrance additive. It is an ester of benzyl alcohol and salicylic acid. This ingredient can be naturally found in some plants and plant extracts.

In fragrances, Benzyl Salicylate may be a solvent or a fragrance component. In synthetic musk scents, it is used as a solvent. For floral fragrances such as lilac and jasmine, it is used as a fragrance component. The natural scent of Benzyl Salicylate is described as "lightly-sweet, slightly balsamic".

While Benzyl Salicylate has been associated with contact dermatitis and allergies, emerging studies show it may not be caused by this ingredient alone.

However, this ingredient is often used with fragrances and other components that may cause allergies. It is still listed as a known allergen in the EU. We recommend speaking with a professional if you have concerns.

Another study from 2021 shows Benzyl Salicylate may have anti-inflammatory properties.

Learn more about Benzyl Salicylate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. Be the first to review this product.

Where it's from

Scottish Fine Soaps is a British brand

British flag
SkinSort Icon
Verified by SkinSort

We're dedicated to providing you with the most up-to-date and science-backed ingredient info out there.

The data we've presented on this page has been verified by a member of the SkinSort Team.

Read more about us

· Updated March 21, 2024 Added by starstellastar_407