Quick guide... to beauty ingredients

We're used to hearing adverts list lots of weird and wonderful ingredients that are put in our cosmetic products, supposedly to help in some way. But what are they all and do they really do any good? We thought we'd take a look at some of the most common, and the most bizarre, to see what all the fuss is about.

Vitamin E. A classic ingredient for any product to do with the skin, vitamin E is meant to be a great anti-oxidant, helping keep all the bad stuff out. It comes in many creams or you can even take it pure, in tablet form.

Aloe Vera. Aloe vera appears in many products, from soap to shaving cream, shower gel and suntan lotion. It is an extract from a plant of the same name and is said to have great soothing properties, so is really good for sunburn!

Jojoba. Usually added in its oil form, jojoba is a non-fragrant plant extract that is proven to have strong moisturising qualities.

Q10. Often found in anti-wrinkle creams, Q10 is a relatively new ingredient for companies to be using and is considered to be a bit like a super vitamin E, with anti-oxidant and repairing qualities. There are some questions over its effectiveness, however.

Lotus extract. This is rather exotic-sounding but Lotus extract has been found to have good anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties, so a little bit in your moisturiser probably isn't doing any harm.

Coffee berry. The new kid on the block, coffee berry is the latest thing in the world of high-end cosmetics. It's meant to do most of the things all the others already do - moisturise, reduce wrinkles and provide an anti-oxidant effect - only better, of course.

Date: 16/04/2012