INCI names decoded: why “aqua” and “butyrospermum parkii” are on your label

“Aqua, butyrospermum parkii, cetearyl alcohol…” Reading the back of a body butter can feel like a pop quiz in Latin. It isn’t there to confuse you. Those names follow a system with a few clear rules, and once you know them, most ingredient lists become readable in seconds.

What INCI is, and who writes it

INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. Canada’s Cosmetic Regulations require every cosmetic to list its ingredients on the outer label, each one only by its INCI name. Health Canada’s consumer page puts it simply: ingredients must be identified using INCI.

Health Canada’s labelling guide explains the background. INCI is a multilingual, multinational naming system based on Latin, created by the Personal Care Products Council’s International Nomenclature Committee. The names are published in the International Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and Handbook, which links each name to its chemical formula, trade names and registry numbers. Health Canada sits on the committee that assigns the names, alongside other governments and industry.

The point is one name per ingredient across countries, so the same shea butter is called the same thing wherever the label follows INCI.

Why water is sometimes “aqua”

Water is the classic example, and it follows a special rule. The Cosmetic Regulations include a schedule, a short list of common ingredients that each have three possible names: an EU technical name, an INCI name and a French equivalent. For these, a label may use:

• the EU technical name alone: aqua
• the INCI name with its French equivalent: water/eau
• all three: aqua/water/eau

What’s not allowed is “water” alone, “eau” alone, “aqua/water” or “aqua/eau”. That’s why you never see a Canadian label that just says “water”.

The schedule is worth a look because it explains several Latin names that puzzle people:

• Cera alba is beeswax (cire d’abeille).
• Paraffinum liquidum is mineral oil (huile minérale).
• Mel is honey (miel).
• Lac is milk, and caprae lac is goat milk.
• Butyrum is butter.
• Maris sal is sea salt, and maris aqua is sea water.
• Colophonium is rosin (colophane).

Health Canada’s guide notes these schedule ingredients are the only ones that may need a French equivalent. Everything else stays in its INCI form in both languages.

Why plant names look like a botany exam

Plant ingredients, which Health Canada calls botanicals, follow their own rule. Section 21.2(3) of the Cosmetic Regulations says they must be listed by at least the genus and species part of their INCI name, the two-word scientific name that identifies a plant anywhere in the world.

So “butyrospermum parkii” is shea. It’s an older scientific name for the shea tree; the Global Biodiversity Information Facility lists it as a synonym of Vitellaria paradoxa, the name botanists generally use today. Cosmetic labels still use the older name; Health Canada’s own labelling examples list it as “butyrospermum parkii”.

A complete botanical INCI name can include four parts:

1. Genus and species, in Latin: Citrus aurantium dulcis
2. Common name, in brackets: (orange)
3. Plant part: peel
4. Preparation: extract

Put together: Citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel extract. Health Canada’s guide says a label must show at least “Citrus aurantium dulcis”, or the full name, but not a partial mix. Its examples make the point: “Mentha viridis” and “Mentha viridis (spearmint) leaf oil” are acceptable, but “spearmint oil” or “Mentha viridis oil” are not. The common name in brackets isn’t translated, so you’ll see “(orange)” on a French-language package too.

What the slashes and brackets mean

Two small symbols carry a lot of meaning.

• A slash between plant parts means all of them were used. The guide’s example: “Camellia sinensis flower/leaf extract” was made from both flowers and leaves.
• A slash between chemical words usually means they reacted together to form one ingredient. “Acrylates/styrene copolymer” is one substance, not two.
• A slash between two colour names means they’re the same colourant written two ways, such as “CI 42090/Blue 1”.
• A slash between an INCI name and French marks a schedule pair, such as “water/eau”.

Commas separate different ingredients. If you see “water/eau, butyrospermum parkii, cetearyl alcohol”, those are three ingredients.

When there’s no INCI name

Most ingredients have one, but not all. Section 21.3 of the regulations says an ingredient with no INCI name must be listed by its chemical name. Health Canada’s guide gives the order of preference: a registry number, then a formal chemical name, then a trade name from a standard reference, then a Latin scientific name.

The guide also closes some marketing loopholes. Descriptions aren’t allowed inside the ingredient list, so “super-oxygenated water” can’t appear there. Translations into French or other languages must sit in a separate list, not mixed in with the INCI names.

Why this matters for sensitive skin

The consistency is the real benefit. If a patch test, a test where small amounts of common allergens are taped to your back, shows you’re allergic to a specific ingredient, your doctor will usually give you its name. Because INCI names are standardized, that same name will appear on every cosmetic label sold in Canada that contains it.

A few habits help:

• Keep the exact INCI name of anything you react to, spelled as it appears on labels.
• For plant allergies, note the genus. Plants in the same genus share the first word of their INCI name.
• Remember that a product can list a botanical by genus and species only, so the common name you know may not be there.
• Browse our products for sensitive skin if you want a shortlist to start from.

If you’re reacting to products and don’t know why, see your doctor or pharmacist; a diagnosis gives you the name to look for.

The thing to remember: “aqua” is water, “butyrospermum parkii” is shea, and the Latin isn’t decoration. It’s one shared language for every ingredient, set by a committee Health Canada sits on, and it lets you find the same ingredient on any label in the country.