How to read an ingredient list on a Canadian cosmetic

The ingredient list is the most honest part of a cosmetic package. The front makes promises; the back, in tiny type, states what’s actually inside, in a format set by law. Once you know the handful of rules behind that format, gibberish becomes a quick, reliable read.

The rules behind the list

Cosmetics in Canada are governed by the Food and Drugs Act and the Cosmetic Regulations, which spell out how ingredients must be shown. Health Canada’s consumer page sums up what every cosmetic label must carry: an ingredient list using the INCI system, the product identity in English and French, the net quantity in metric units, contact information, the dealer’s name and address, and any warnings and directions for safe use, in both languages.

The list has to appear on the outer label. The Cosmetic Regulations require all ingredients to be disclosed, with a few defined exceptions we’ll get to. These rules apply to cosmetics only: a product with a DIN or NPN is labelled under different regulations, which is why a medicated cream splits its list into medicinal and non-medicinal ingredients while a cosmetic never may.

Why the names look like Latin

Each ingredient must be listed by its INCI name, which stands for International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients. Health Canada describes it as a multilingual, multinational naming system based on Latin, created by an international committee so that the same ingredient is identified the same way everywhere. Health Canada sits on that committee.

That’s why you’ll see “butyrospermum parkii” rather than shea butter, and why plant ingredients read like a botany textbook. The regulations require botanicals to be listed with at least the genus and species of the INCI name, and the guide gives the example “Citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel extract”. A few common ingredients, listed in a schedule to the regulations, must appear with a French equivalent, which is why “water/eau” opens so many lists.

The upside is consistency: once you learn the INCI name of something you react to, you can find it on any label in Canada.

The order matters, until it doesn’t

Ingredients must be listed in descending order of predominance by weight. The first ingredient is the biggest share of the formula, the second is next, and so on. For most creams and lotions, that means water first, then oils and emollients (softening ingredients).

Then comes the rule that trips people up. Ingredients present at 1% or less may be listed in any order after the ingredients above 1%. Colouring agents can go there too, whatever their concentration. So the list has two zones: a ranked top and an unranked tail. You can’t tell where the 1% line falls from the label alone, and within the tail, order means nothing.

That tail is where the interesting things live. Preservatives, the ingredients that stop bacteria and mould from growing in water-based products, are used at low concentrations, so they sit near the end; DermNet makes that point about methylisothiazolinone. So do fragrance and many botanical extracts. If you’re shopping for sensitive skin, read the list from the end backwards.

Why “parfum” is one word

Fragrance is the exception to the disclosure rule. The regulations let a company insert the word “parfum” at the end of the list to indicate that ingredients were added to produce or to mask a particular odour, without naming them. The same goes for “aroma”, the equivalent word for flavour in things like lip products.

The guide is specific about spelling. “Parfum” alone is acceptable, as are “parfum/fragrance” and “fragrance (parfum)”; “fragrance” on its own is not. A company may instead list each fragrance ingredient individually, but few do.

Note the phrase “to mask a particular odour”. A product can contain a fragrance whose only job is to cover the smell of the raw materials, and DermNet notes that products labelled “unscented” may still contain a masking fragrance. That’s why “fragrance-free” and “unscented” aren’t the same claim, and why “parfum” can appear on a product that doesn’t smell of anything. You can browse products reviewed under the fragrance-free tag if you’d rather skip the question.

The new fragrance-allergen rule

This is the biggest change to Canadian ingredient lists in years. Some fragrance ingredients are recognized contact allergens, meaning they can trigger allergic contact dermatitis, an itchy immune rash, in people who’ve become sensitized. Canada now borrows the European Union’s list of such ingredients and requires them to be named.

The regulations set the thresholds: a fragrance allergen must be listed if it’s above 0.01% in a rinse-off product (cleanser, shampoo) or above 0.001% in a leave-on product (moisturizer, makeup). It has to appear as its own entry in the list, outside the word “parfum”, and this applies even when it arrives inside a botanical extract or an essential oil. The guide’s example is rose oil: if a leave-on product’s rose flower oil and rose flower extract together exceed the threshold, the grouped name “Rose Flower Oil/Extract” must be listed.

The timing is staged. As of April 12, 2026, new and existing cosmetics must disclose the first list of 24 fragrance allergens. From August 1, 2026, new products must also disclose an expanded second list, and existing products have until August 1, 2028 to follow. Linalool and limonene, two widely used fragrance ingredients on the European list, are among the names you’ll start to see spelled out. For anyone with a fragrance allergy, this turns the list from a black box into a useful tool.

“May contain”, small packages and other exceptions

Makeup and nail polish come in dozens of shades, and printing a separate list for each isn’t practical. The regulations allow the colouring agents used across a whole range to be listed once, preceded by “±” or “may contain/peut contenir”. Your shade contains some of them. Colours are usually written as CI numbers, such as CI 42090, sometimes with a colour name like Blue 1 alongside; both refer to the same dye.

Sometimes there’s no list on the container. That’s allowed for small packages such as lipstick or lip balm: the list can be on a tag, tape or card attached to the product, or on a website, as long as the label carries a bilingual statement pointing you there. Bulk products like bath bombs or unwrapped soap can use a leaflet at the point of sale.

Companies may also leave out incidental ingredients: processing aids that are removed or converted, or trace components of another ingredient with no function in the finished product.

A quick routine at the shelf

• Scan the top three. They’re most of the product.
• Read the tail backwards. That’s where preservatives, fragrance and extracts sit.
• Look for “parfum”, and for any named fragrance allergen now listed beside it.
• Look for your own triggers by INCI name, especially anything ending in “-isothiazolinone” and any ingredient a patch test has flagged for you.
• Treat “±” as a range, not a promise that every colour is in your shade.

If a product keeps giving you a rash despite careful reading, keep the packaging and ask your doctor or pharmacist about patch testing, so the list can be matched against a real diagnosis.

To remember: a Canadian cosmetic must name every ingredient by its INCI name, in descending order by weight, with the 1%-or-less ingredients and colours allowed in any order at the end. “Parfum” hides a fragrance blend, though named fragrance allergens must now be listed on their own, and “± / may contain” covers a range of shades. The back of the package won’t tell you whether a product will suit you, but it’s the one place the company can’t use marketing language, and that makes it worth thirty seconds.