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How Can You Be Sure of a Company's Active Ingredient Percentage? Questioning Brand XY
  • BAlexandria


    How Can You Be Sure of a
    Company's Active Ingredient Percentage? I honestly don't think there is a way
    to estimate this, but then again I am not a scientist and thought it would not
    hurt to ask. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />



    Specifically, I recently
    found it puzzling that brand XY’s "Brown
    Spot Skin Lightening Night Cream for All Skin Types" did NOT list the
    hydroquinone percentage on their Night Cream package, but did so on their Day Cream
    package (1%). So, why report the proposed efficiency level i.e. the Active
    Ingredient Percentage inconsistently?!? I found later that the percentage is
    2%, but I am now feeling I should have just made a purchase that listed it prominently.
    #buyers.remorse.



    Here are the ingredients: Purified Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Monostearate, Isopropyl
    Palmitate, Hydroquinone, Glycerin (Veg.), Stearic Acid, Dilauryl
    Thiodipropionate, Citric Acid, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Sulfite, Methyl
    & Propyl Paraben, Natural Oil Fragrance



    Beauty Brains, please offer an insight into why
    there might be a difference in Active Ingredient Percentage on Packaging within
    the same 1. brand and product line and 2. any general hypothesis on how
    effective this formula may be.



    Thank you advance! And thanks for this Awesome
    Blog!!!



    *Because of my experience with the packaging, I did
    refer to the brand as Brand XY, but there is enough information here to figure
    out which it is if anyone is for some reason curious.



  • BAlexandria

    (Hmmm... there seems to be a "1 comment" but it's not visable to me).

    But I also wanted to speculate: After Water, Hydroquinone is the 4th ingredient, even though the percentage is said to be 2%.

  • BAlexandria
    Hello everybody?
  • Right BrainRight Brain
    Sorry, we're kinda of backed up right now and to be honest I'm confused by your question. You want to know why they list the active ingredient % on one product and not another? It's hard to say without the context of the specific brand and product.  If you can give us a link to the product or at least tell us the name I'll take a look at it. (But be warned, the answer might be just that sometimes companies don't behave consistently.  

    Thanks!


  • alchemist







    Hydroquinone is a OTC drug active, so not strictly a cosmetic.  After a bit of searching I found th following lists on the internet.  It's possible that the label list is slightly different and should be to comply with the FDA requirements
    Skin Lightener for Day
    Ingredients
    Octyl Methoxycinnamate, Oxybenzone, Hydroquinone 1%, Demineralized
    Spring Water, Mulberry Extract, Glyceryl Stearate, Wheat Germ Oil,
    Stearyl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Lime
    Extract, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Bisulfate, Citric Acid, Caramel,
    Simethicone, Glycerin, Cellulose Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium
    Benzoate, Essential Oil Fragrance.
    In this list the active ingredients are separated from the inactive ingredients and the concentration is included for Hydroquinone (as it should be) but not for the sunscreen actives (Octyl Methoxycinnamate, Oxybenzone)
    Night Cream
    Ingredients

    Purified Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl
    Monostearate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Hydroquinone, Glycerin, Stearic Acid,
    Dilauryl Thiodipropionate, Citric Acid, Sodium Betabisulfite, Sodium
    Sulfite, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Natural Oil Fragrance.
    With the position of Hydroquinone in the ingredient list it would be quite reasonable that it is at 2%.  Not entirely sure why they've not used the FDA drug labeling or why the concentration is not included.  (but again this is a list off the internet and not the actual label.

    Why are they different?  Hydroquinone can cause photosensitivity and is also very prone to oxidation, so it probably makes a sense to limit it's use in the day time and have stronger product at night.




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