Short answer: Instead of parabens, silicones, PEGs and sulphates, we use Olivem 1000 as the emulsifier, coco glucoside-based cleansers, cold-process soap, and one preservative system (sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate) in just 14 of our 75 formulas. Every ingredient is named on the label, and each has limits we explain below.
Key takeaways
- Every brand uses processing ingredients; the difference is which ones, and whether you are told.
- Our creams use Olivem 1000, made from olive-oil fatty acids; our washes use coconut-derived cleansers.
- 61 of our 75 formulas contain no water and need no preservative; the other 14 use sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate.
- Honest caution: our washes foam less than a sulphate wash, our water-based products have a shorter shelf life, and natural scents can still cause allergy.
Which processing ingredients does GraceYes use, and why?
A cream is oil and water persuaded to stay mixed. A wash is something that lifts oil and rinses away. A water-based formula is something kept safe from microbes. None of that happens on its own, so every skincare brand, including this one, uses processing ingredients. The difference is which ones, and whether you are told. This is the full list of ours.
How do our ingredients compare at a glance?
| Job | What we use | Made from | Honest limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emulsifier | Olivem 1000 | Olive-oil fatty acids and sorbitol | Costlier and slower to work with |
| Cleanser | Coco glucoside, coco betaine, sodium cocoyl isethionate | Coconut and glucose | Foams less than sulphate washes |
| Soap | Cold-process saponification | Oils, butters and lye, cured for weeks | Bars can soften if left wet |
| Preservative | Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate (Sensicare) | Salts of benzoic and sorbic acid | Narrower spectrum; shorter shelf life |
| Scent | Essential oils and hydrosols | Steam distillation of plants | Contain natural allergens, declared on the label |
What is Olivem 1000, our emulsifier?
It is the trade name for a blend of cetearyl olivate and sorbitan olivate, made by combining fatty acids from olive oil with sorbitol, a sugar alcohol. It holds oil and water together in our creams, lotions and the face moisturiser.
We chose it for three reasons: it is derived entirely from plant sources, it is listed as an approved ingredient under the COSMOS standard for natural and organic cosmetics, and it forms an emulsion with a lamellar structure similar to the lipid layers of the skin, which is why our creams sink in rather than sit on top. It is more expensive than a PEG emulsifier and slower to work with. That is the trade.
If you would like to try it in a finished product, our Face Moisturizer is built on it.
Face Moisturizer
50 gm · ₹600
An everyday cream on a plant-derived emulsifier.
Who this is not for: if you react to olive-derived or coconut-derived ingredients, patch test first or skip it.
What gives our creams structure?
Fatty alcohols, stearic acid and xanthan gum. Cetearyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol give a cream its body. Despite the name they are waxy solids from coconut and palm fatty acids, not the drying alcohol of a toner; the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety considers them non-irritating at cosmetic use levels. Stearic acid does the same job in balms and bars. Xanthan gum thickens the water phase; it is produced by fermenting sugar and is the same E415 that thickens sauces.
What cleansers do we use instead of sulphates?
Coco glucoside, coco betaine and sodium cocoyl isethionate. Our face wash and hair wash are built on coco glucoside, an alkyl polyglucoside made by reacting coconut fatty alcohol with glucose. In a 2007 comparison of surfactant irritation potential across eye and skin tests, alkyl polyglucosides ranked among the mildest of every class tested, well below sodium lauryl sulfate. It is fully biodegradable and is listed as approved under COSMOS.
Coco betaine and sodium cocoyl isethionate are used at low doses to improve foam and feel. Both are derived from coconut, both are used in many baby washes, and both are on the same approved list. If you are choosing a wash for a baby, ask your paediatrician. Our washes still foam less than a sulphate wash. We have made peace with that.
How is our soap made?
By cold-process saponification, the old way. Oils and butters are mixed with sodium hydroxide (lye) and left to cure for weeks. The lye reacts completely with the oils to form soap and glycerin, so none remains in the finished bar; what remains is a small surplus of unreacted oil, which is why the bars feel conditioning. Large-scale soap manufacture removes the glycerin to sell separately. We leave it in, because it is the part that keeps skin from feeling tight.
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What preservative do we use, and what are its limits?
Sensicare, which is sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Sixty-one of our 75 formulas contain no water and need no preservative. The 14 that do use this one system. These are the salts of benzoic and sorbic acid, both found in fruit, both used to preserve food for a century, and both permitted in EU cosmetics at limits we stay well under. Sensicare is eco-certified.
Its limits are real and we would rather say so than pretend. It works only in mildly acidic formulas, so we formulate every water-based product at the right pH. Its spectrum is narrower than a paraben's, so we make small batches and print a best-before date that reflects a shorter, honest shelf life. If a jar of ours lasts less time than the one from the supermarket, this is why. We explain what we avoid in Parabens and formaldehyde releasers.
Where do our scents come from?
Every scent in a GraceYes product is a steam-distilled essential oil or a hydrosol, the water that comes off the same still, and each is named on the label. Essential oils contain natural allergens (linalool, limonene, geraniol among them) that the EU requires to be declared, so we declare them, and we ask everyone to patch test before first use. Natural is not the same as inert. Read more in Parfum and phthalates.
What will we not claim?
We are a small team in India making plant-based personal care, and we are not a pharmacy. Nothing on this page claims to treat or cure anything. What it does is tell you exactly what is in the jar, and why, which is the least a skincare brand owes the skin it is asked onto.
Safety and patch test
Patch test any new product on the inner forearm for 24 hours before first use. If you have a skin condition, are pregnant, or are using a product on a baby, ask your doctor or paediatrician first.
Frequently asked questions
What does COSMOS-approved mean for an ingredient?
COSMOS is a standard for natural and organic cosmetics that keeps lists of permitted ingredients. We use it as a reference when we choose ingredients.
Why do your washes foam less than other washes?
Mild coconut-derived cleansers produce a softer, creamier lather than sulphates. Less foam does not mean less cleansing.
Why is the shelf life of water-based products shorter?
Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate have a narrower spectrum than parabens, so we make small batches and print a shorter date.
Is cetearyl alcohol the same as drying alcohol?
No. Cetearyl and cetyl alcohol are waxy fatty alcohols that give cream its body; they are different from the drying alcohol used in some toners.
Does cold-process soap contain lye?
Lye is used to make it, but it reacts completely with the oils to form soap and glycerin, so none remains in the finished bar.
Can I be allergic to natural scents?
Yes. Essential oils contain allergens such as linalool and limonene. We declare them, and you should patch test before first use.
In short: we use fewer, named ingredients and explain the limits of each. If you would like to see them in finished products, browse our bestsellers or read The Free-From Promise. For why we avoid silicones and PEGs, see Silicones, mineral oil and PEGs.
Our motto: to make the cleanest beauty products
If you'd like to see these ingredients in finished products, browse our bestsellers.
Browse our bestsellers →Sources
- COSMOS-standard (Cosmetics Organic and Natural Standard), ingredient approval lists for cetearyl olivate, sorbitan olivate, coco glucoside, coco betaine and sodium cocoyl isethionate.
- Mehling A, Kleber M, Hensen H. Comparative studies on the ocular and dermal irritation potential of surfactants. Food and Chemical Toxicology. 2007;45(5):747–758.
- Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS), opinions on cetearyl alcohol and cetyl alcohol as cosmetic ingredients.
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex V: benzoic acid and its sodium salt (entry 1) and sorbic acid and its potassium salt (entry 4), permitted preservatives with maximum concentrations.
- Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives: sodium benzoate (E211), potassium sorbate (E202), xanthan gum (E415).
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex III: fragrance allergens requiring individual labelling.