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Ingredient breakdown: what is really inside an “aloe vera” gel

Packaging makes promises, while the ingredient list shows what is inside. We took two gels with the same “aloe vera” promise and compared their ingredients line by line.

What we are comparing

  • Product A — Phytorelax Aloe Dermo-Gel from our portfolio.
  • Product B — an aloe vera gel from a large international mass-market manufacturer. We do not name the brand: our aim is not to criticise a specific company but to show how to read an ingredient list.
  • Both are aloe gels with the same purpose: to soothe and moisturise the skin. That makes the comparison fair.

Why this breakdown

Consumers pay for the ingredient they see on the packaging. But advertising does not say how much of it is in the product — that is only visible from the ingredient list. In our example one gel consists almost entirely of aloe juice, while in the other the base is water and there is much less aloe. After this breakdown you will be able to check any product on the shelf in a minute.

Three rules for reading ingredients

  1. Order matters. Ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration: the first five make up the base of the product.
  2. The hero ingredient from the advertising should be at the start. If it is closer to the end of the list, the product most likely contains very little of it.
  3. The form of the ingredient matters. Juice (Leaf Juice) is the plant itself, while an extract (Extract) or powder (Powder) is a concentrate that is added in much smaller amounts.

Comparing the two gels

Product A · Phytorelax Aloe Dermo-Gel

Aloe comes first: you get real aloe care

  1. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice
  2. Aqua
  3. Xanthan Gum
  4. Hydroxyethylcellulose
  5. Lauryl Glucoside
  6. Polyglyceryl-2 Dipolyhydroxystearate
  7. Sodium Levulinate
  8. Potassium Sorbate
  9. Citric Acid
  10. Glycerin
  11. Sodium Dehydroacetate
  12. Sodium Benzoate
  13. Parfum
  14. Sodium Phytate
  15. Lactic Acid
  • Aloe vera juice comes first, before water: it is the base of the product — the brand states 95% organic aloe juice
  • Plant-based thickeners (xanthan gum, cellulose)
  • Preservatives with a mild profile (potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate and dehydroacetate)
  • No alcohol, silicones or parabens
View Aloe Dermo-Gel
Product B · aloe gel from a well-known mass-market brand

Aloe only fourth: more promise than care

  1. Aqua
  2. Propylene Glycol
  3. Niacinamide
  4. Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract
  5. Ocimum Sanctum Extract
  6. Azadirachta Indica Leaf Extract
  7. Citrus Limon Peel Extract
  8. PEG-12 Dimethicone
  9. Carbomer
  10. Glycerin
  11. Salicylic Acid
  12. Tocopheryl Acetate
  13. PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil
  14. Disodium EDTA
  15. DMDM Hydantoin
  16. Phenoxyethanol
  17. Sodium Benzotriazolyl Butylphenol Sulfonate
  18. Buteth-3
  19. Tributyl Citrate
  20. Sodium Hydroxide
  21. Parfum
  • The base is water and propylene glycol, not aloe. The product moisturises mainly thanks to them and glycerin
  • Aloe is in extract form and only fourth, after niacinamide: the consumer pays for an “aloe gel”, but there is much less aloe in it than the packaging promises
  • The silicone PEG-12 Dimethicone creates a feeling of smoothness rather than care
  • DMDM Hydantoin is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative; it can irritate sensitive skin
  • A formula of 21 components: more risks for sensitive skin and less room for the main ingredient

How to read: bold — the hero ingredient from the advertising, brown — components worth paying attention to. Product B is a real product of a well-known mass-market brand, shown without its name.

What this means for the consumer

With Product A you get the care of aloe vera — soothing and moisturising the skin, because the product is 95% aloe juice. In Product B the base is water and propylene glycol; it moisturises mainly thanks to them and glycerin, and there is much less aloe than the packaging promises. In addition, the longer formula with DMDM Hydantoin and silicone carries more risks for sensitive skin.

How to check your own product

  • Find the ingredient list on the packaging (Ingredients).
  • See where the hero ingredient from the advertising appears in the list.
  • Check whether it is juice or extract.
  • Look for formaldehyde-releasing preservatives and fragrances if your skin is sensitive.
View Aloe Dermo-GelAll tips on choosing cosmetics

Product B is a real product of a well-known mass-market brand, shown without its name.

Source of the ingredient lists

We took the ingredient lists of both products from INCIDecoder — an open international database of cosmetics ingredients where every product can be checked against its ingredient list. Product A: Phytorelax Aloe Dermo-Gel on INCIDecoder. Product B is given without a link so as not to name the brand.