What do the symbols on labels of beauty products actually mean?

The handy cheat sheet to deciphering beauty jargon as easily as the ellipsis on your ex’s drunk text

There’s nothing like being confronted with the alphabet soup printed on labels of beauty products to make you regret using your eighth-grade chemistry textbook as a pillow. If the scientific names of ingredients weren’t complicated enough, there is also a sea of illegible doodles to squint your way through, ranging from bunny ears to generic test tubes and vials. Matters are further complicated with brands devising their own symbols, with vague illustrations of leaves and foliage leveraged to indicate that a product is natural and organic. This is exactly why we rang up the experts to understand the symbols you should be looking out for and what they denote, and here’s what we learned.

Understanding beauty labels without a dictionary

Raja Mathur, manager of education for Kiehl’s India, believes that once learned, cosmetic symbols can offer a thorough understanding of products that can simplify your purchasing decisions. He says, “When shopping for beauty products, labels can be your best friends to help you make informed and efficient choices. As a customer, it is important to check the label for the ingredient list, usage instructions, shelf life, certifications and specifications.” As research advances, newer certifications keep finding their way into the beauty lexicon. However, it helps to ground your knowledge in the crucial symbols to ensure that you aren’t falling for gimmicky marketing claims. Here is a handy blueprint to know what the symbols on beauty labels mean at first glance:

Organic: Megha Asher, COO and co-founder of Juicy Chemistry, cautions, “There is no official symbol for denoting the organic nature of a product, so you’ll want to be vigilant about products that claim otherwise. However, the ECOCERT certification is widely accepted and recognised as an international authority on organic [products].” The red-and-white textual logo denotes assessment by the ECOCERT standard to ensure the organic nature of products from composition to processing and packaging. Eligible products require a composition that guarantees 95 per cent of the plants it contains are organic and the presence of at least 20 per cent organic ingredients in the total formula, excluding water.

Cruelty-free: If you’d like your skincare saviours to not be tested on our furry friends before they reach your skin, Mathur advises keeping an eye out for bunnies that have become the unofficial ambassadors of cruelty-free products. “There are three official bunnies that signify the product has not been used on animals: the Leaping Bunny, the PETA Bunny and the Choose Cruelty-Free Bunny,” he explains. While PETA is the most commonly known symbol, it helps to note that the Leaping Bunny symbol signifies the most rigorous standards, including documentation from suppliers to ensure compliance and independent audits.

Recyclable: Given the mounting spectre of waste generated by single-use beauty products, you’ll want to ensure that the contents of your skincare shelf won’t end up as junk in the ocean. Asher advises, “The Mobius loop commonly indicates whether the container is recyclable. It is also often denoted with a percentage in the centre to explain the amount of recycled material used. Other symbols, such as The Green Dot, are meanwhile more prevalent in Europe.”

Eco-friendly: With a wide array of requirements necessary to determine if a product is truly friendly to the environment, there are multiple symbols to keep an eye out for. Asher elaborates, “Look for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo that is displayed on products containing wood from sustainably managed forests. These forests have been independently certified in accordance with the rules of the FSC. RESY is another symbol displayed on paper and cardboard packaging to guarantee that it is recyclable and will be accepted by cardboard recyclers—this applies to secondary and transit paper as well as card packaging.”

Understanding if a product can deliver on its certification claims

With greenwashing rampant in the beauty industry, it helps to stay vigilant about misleading symbols used to loosely denote that a product is organic, natural or eco-friendly. Asher believes that the rule of thumb is to always question which certifications can prove the brand’s claims. “Ask questions! Research the brand to understand its philosophy, cross-check its certifications to verify the product claims and develop an understanding of ingredients and processes to know that you aren’t being misled by generic marketing buzzwords,” she signs off.

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