Common Latin and Scientific Terms Often Used in Skincare Ingredients
Most countries have labeling laws that require companies to list all of the ingredients in their products on the packaging. When it comes to all natural products it should be easy to spot the “real deal” for ingredients. However people are sometimes confronted with Latin or Scientific Genera.

Here are some terms to look out for:

English	Latin	Scientific
Beeswax	Ceris	Cera Alba
Honey	Mel	Apis
Milk	Lactis	Lactobascillus
Egg	Ovum	Ovum or Ovule
Egg White	Ovi Alba	Albumen
Yolk	Vitellu	Ovum Oil

One Green Planet started by identifying 10 ingredients that are animal based that are not obvious at first sight. However that list has since expanded:

1. Cochineal Dye, Cochineal Extract, Crimson Lake, Carmine, or Natural Red 4 – this comes from crushed beetles
2. Guanine – is crushed fish scales
3. Tallow – is rendered animal fat
4. Gelatin – boiled animal fat
5. Lanolin – excretion from wool bearing animals
6. Sqaulene – shark liver extraction
7. Ambergris – derived from the waxy oil of whale stomach linings
8. Collagen – protein from animal tissue, sometimes bovine sometimes fish
9. Estrogen or Estradiol – extracted from the urine of pregnant horses
10. Retinol or Retinoids – re found in animal sources such as liver, kidney, eggs, and dairy
11. Civet – a rich smelling secretion taken from the anal glands of the African civet cat
12. Castoreum – not to be confused with Castor Oil (which is vegetable derived), this is another musky perfume scent that comes from a beaver’s anal glands
13. Musk – this is taken from the anal glands of a male musk deer
14. Snail Slime – also known as alpha hydroxyl acid or elastin. Although snails are claimed to not be harmed during this process, this is an animal based ingredient high in glycolic acid, a common ingredient in anti-aging creams
15. Keratin – this is not vegan, Kosher or Halal as it is derived from the protein of ground up horns, hooves, quills and feathers of various animals
16. Shellac – comes from the secretion of the female lac beetle. Traditionally this was just gathered naturally from secretions left on leaves; these days companies just boil the beetles alive though.