Oshun Supply
Glossary

Wondering what some of the industry specific terms mean? Or what some of the acronyms and abbreviations we use stand for? This glossary may help.

This page was last updated March 12, 2012 - content updated April 16, 2007

ABRASIVE

- Abrasives are used to remove unwanted tissue or foreign materials from various body surfaces. Oatmeal powder, calcium carbonate, clays, rice powder, poppyseed, pumice, salt, sodium bicarbonate, talc, and cornstarch are examples of abrasives or ingredients that can function as abrasives.

ABSORBENT

- Absorbents are ingredients with a large surface area that can attract dissolved or finely dispersed substances from another medium.

ADSORBENT

- The distinction between absorbents and adsorbents is sometimes difficult, but an adsorbent is a material which attaches other substances to it's surface. Oatmeal powder, clays, calamine, calcium carbonate, lemon and orange peel powders, pyrophyllite, talc and cornstarch are examples of absorbents and adsorbents.

ANTIOXIDANT

- An antioxidant is used to prevent or slow rancidity or deterioration from reaction with oxygen. Ascorbic acid, BHT, green tea extract, rosemary extract and tocopherol (vitamin E) are examples of antioxidants, however only BHT, rosemary extract and tocopherol are used to extent the shelf life of oils.

BHT

- Butylated HydroxyToluene

BINDER

- Binders are ingredients added to powder mixtures to provide adhesive qualities during and after compression to make tablets. Beeswax, guar gum, IPM, xanthan gum, oils, butters, lipids, surfactants and other waxes are used for this function.

BP

- British Pharmacopoeia

BUFFERING AGENT

- Buffers are chemicals with the property of maintaining the pH of an aqueous medium in a narrow range even if small amounts of acids or bases are added. PH adjusters and buffering agents are used to alter and maintain a product's pH at the desired level. Examples of buffering agents are calcium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate.

BULKING AGENT

- Chemically inert, solid ingredients used to increase the volume, extend or dilute other solids. Oatmeal powder, clays, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, pumice, talc, cornstarch and zinc oxide are all used as bulking agents.

C

- Celsius. Temperature scale previously known as centigrade. The melting point of ice is 0°C.

CAS

- Chemical Abstracts Service

CFR

- Code of Federal Regulations (US)

CHELATING AGENT

- Also called sequestrants, ingredients that have the ability to complex with and inactivate metallic ions in order to prevent their adverse effects on the appearance or stability of a cosmetic. Chelation of iron or copper ions helps retard oxidative deterioration in products. Citric acid and tetrasodium EDTA are chelants.

CIR

- Cosmetic Ingredient Review

COLOR ADDITIVE

- Approved colorants that impart colour to the skin or products. Botanicals that are not approved color additives that yield colour in products (alkanet root, spinach powder etc.) can not be called colorants or color additives. Examples of color additives are annatto, chromium hydroxide green, chromium oxide greens, iron oxides, ultramarines, FD&C, D&C, pyrophyllite, titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

COLORANT

- See above.

CCTFA

- Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association

CTFA

- Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association

CP

- Cold Process Soap

CP

- Cold Pressed (Expressed)

D&C

- Drug & Cosmetic

DEA

- DiEthanolAmine

DPG

- DiPropylene Glycol

DT

- Dip Tube. Refers to the dip tube in a mist sprayer or pump.

DW

- Double Wall. Containers like double wall jars have inner and outer walls, rather than being one piece like single wall jars. Often two different materials can be used. For example our white DW jars have a PP inner wall for a better moisture barrier and use slightly more durable PS for the outer wall.

EDTA

- EthyleneDiamine Tetraacetic Acid

EMOLLIENT

- An ingredient that helps to maintain the soft, smooth and pliable appearance of the skin. Emollients function by their ability to remain on the skin surface or in the stratum corneum to improve the skin's appearance, reduce flaking and act as a lubricant. Vegetal oils and butters are the best examples of emollients, however many other chemicals and substances have emollient properties.

EMULSIFIER

- An ingredient used to bind oil soluble and water soluble ingredients. Emulsifying agents work by reducing surface tension, forming complex films on the surface of emulsified droplets and creating a repulsive barrier on emulsified droplets to prevent their coalescence. Beeswax (in combination with borax only

- in W/O), cetyl alcohol, emulsifying wax NF, glyceryl stearate SE, polysorbates, sodium salts (soap), stearic acid, stearyl alcohol and xanthan gum are all emulsifying agents.

EMULSION

- A relatively stable mixture of oil and water made by mixing oil soluble and water soluble ingredients together in the presence of an emulsifying agent. Creams and lotions are emulsions. Generally emulsions are O/W, oil in water, where oil is the internal and water is the external phase, or water in oil, W/O. Most creams and lotions are oil in water emulsions.

EMULSION STABILIZER

- Ingredients that assist in the formation and stabilization of emulsions, not as a primary emulsifier but by electrical repulsion, film formation on the droplet surface or from changes in viscosity. Beeswax, clays, cetyl alcohol, guar gum, lanolin, xanthan gum are all used for this function.

EO

- Essential Oil

F

- Fahrenheit. Temperature scale where the freezing point of water is 32°F.

F217

- A Foam liner in caps and lids.

FCC

- Food Chemicals Codex

FDA

- Food and Drug Administration

FD&C

- Food, Drug and Cosmetic

FG

- Food Grade

FL OZ

- Fluid Ounce. A measure of volume. There are 29.57 ml in a US fluid ounce. There are 16 fl oz in a US pint, 8 fl oz in a cup. Not the same as an avoirdupois ounce which is a measure of weight.

FLINT

- Clear glass containers are referred to as flint in colour rather than clear. As we use the colours to refer to containers flint, amber and cobalt are glass; clear, brown and blue would be plastic.

FO

- Fragrance Oil/Fragrance

FORMULA

- A mixture expressed in percentages. Unlike a recipe for a mixture where ingredient amounts are given in volume or weight measurements, a formula in percentages can be made in any batch size by multiplying each ingredient's percentage by the total batch weight.

FR

- Fine Rib. Refers to the ribbing on the side of caps and lids, where there are raised "ribs" rather that being smooth.

FTC

- Federal Trade Commision

G

- Gram. A unit of mass. 1ml of water weighs 1g. There are 1000 g in a kilogram (kg), 454 g in a pound, 28.35 g in an ounce.

GM

- Goats Milk

GMS

- Goats Milk Soap

GMS

- Glyceryl MonoStearate/Glyceryl Stearate

GMS SE

- Glyceryl MonoStearate Self Emulsifying/Glyceryl Stearate

GRAS

- Generally Recognized As Safe

HDPE

- High Density PolyEthylene plastic

HPB

- Health Protection Branch

HUMECTANT

- Used to retard moisture loss from a product, also for moisturizing skin, increasing water content of the top layers of skin. Aloe vera gel, glycerin, honey and propylene glycol are humectants.

INCI

- Ingredient Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient

INGREDIENT LIST

- The composition of a finished product expressed in INCI terms, listed in descending order by weight.

IPM

- IsoPropyl Myristate

KG

- KiloGram. A unit of mass. There are 2.205 pounds in a kilogram. Commonly referred to as a kilo.

KOH

- Potassium Hydroxide/Caustic Potash/Potassium Lye

L

- Litre. A unit of volume. Roughly just over a quart. There are 1000ml in a litre, or 33.8 fluid ounces. An imperial gallon contains 4.54L, a US gallon is 3.79L.

LDPE

- Low Density PolyEthylene plastic

MEA

- MonoEthanolAmine

ML

- MilliLitre. A unit of volume. There are 1000 ml in a litre, 250 ml in a cup, 29.6 ml in a US fluid ounce.

MM

- MilliMetre. A unit of length. There are 10mm in a centimetre, 1000mm in a metre.

MP

- Melt and Pour (soap base)

M&P

- Melt and Pour Soap

NaOH

- Sodium Hydroxide/Caustic Soda/Lye

NATURAL

- A subjective term used to describe some version of "produced by or existing in nature". The exact meaning depends on the definition of it by the one using the term. Generally it refers to ingredients or products that are not synthetic or man made. In the marketplace it is used in so many different ways as to be completely meaningless. Some use it to describe only materials of botanical origin, excluding animal and mineral, others use it to describe botanical and animal origin materials, excluding mineral and some definitions include all three. The strictest definition may include only materials of botanical source that have not been altered by man. The widest definition would include botanical, animal and mineral source materials, including petroleum products from the biomass. It can mean anything between those two definitions however.

It can also be used to distinguish between two types of the same material, the natural being unrefined.

NATURAL

- A plastic colour, usually HDPE, that is translucent.

NF

- National Formulary

NL

- Natural

OIL PHASE

- Refers to the phase in a formula (emulsion) that contains the oils, oil soluble ingredients and usually the emulsifier(s).

OPACIFYING AGENT

- Ingredients added to a formula to reduce it's clear or transparent appearance. Some provide the pearly appearance desired in shampoos etc. Clays, calamine, calcium carbonate, cetyl alcohol, magnesium carbonate, pyrophyllite, talc and titanium dioxide are used as opacifying agents.

OPET

- Oriented PolyEthylene Terephthalate plastic

OTC

- Over The Counter, drugs or cosmeceuticals.

O/W

- Oil in Water (emulsion)

OZ

- Ounce. A measure of weight. There are 28.35 g in an avoirdupois ounce (or dry ounce). There are 16 oz in a pound. Not the same as a fluid ounce.

PABA

- Para-AminoBenzoic Acid

PCA

- Pyrrolidone Carboxylic Acid

PEG

- PolyEthylene Glycol

PER LB

- Usually refers to per pound of oils in a soap formula. Often the use rate of an additive or fragrance in soap will be expressed as an amount based on the oil weight of the formula rather than the entire formula. For example a fragrance may be used at a rate of 20ml per lb., meaning that in a 10lb. oil weight batch, 200ml of fragrance would be used.

PET

- PolyEthylene Terephthalate plastic, also referred to as polyester. Commonly referred to as pet.

PETE

- PolyEthylene Terephthalate plastic

PETG

- PolyEthylene Terephthalate Glycolate plastic

PG

- Propylene Glycol

PH

- Phenolic plastic

PK

- Pack

PP

- PolyPropylene plastic

PRESERVATIVE

- Ingredient which prevents or retards microbial growth and protects the product from spoilage.

PS

- PolyStyrene plastic

PS

PS22

PS113

- Pressure Sensitive foam liners in caps and lids that affix to the top of the container when the lid is applied. The end user peels the liner off to access the product. Often printed with SFYP.

PSB

- Product Safety Branch

PVC

- PolyVinyl Chloride plastic

QS

- Quantity Sufficient

RB

- Round Base

RECIPE

- A list of ingredients (usually expressed in volume or weight measurements) giving proper directions for compounding, cooking etc.

RIFM

- Research Institute for Fragrance Materials

RND

- Round

ROE

- Rosemary Oil Extract/ROsemary Extract/Rosemary Oleoresin Extract. A deodorized rosemary oleoresin product used as a natural anti-oxidant to extend the shelf life of ois.

SAP

- Saponification value or number. Usually expressed as an average number of the actual range. Each fat and oil has a SAP range which expresses the amount of potassium hydroxide (KOH) required to saponify it. These ranges or a number that is the average of the range are used to do the calculations to figure out how much sodium hydroxide to use in a soap formula. Please note that when you see a SAP number or value, it refers to the KOH calculation. To formulate a soap please use our Soaper's Spreadsheet on our downloads page where the calculations have already been done for you.

SB

- Square Base

SD

- Steam Distilled

SFYP

- Sealed For Your Protection

SM

- Smooth

SOLUBILIZER

- Solubilizing agents aid in the dissolution of an ingredient in a medium in which it is not otherwise soluble. For example emulsifying an oil soluble fragrance in water. In this example, the product is considered emulsified if it doesn't separate, but is usually opaque or cloudy, whereas it would be considered solubilized if the emulsion was water clear because the droplets are smaller than the wavelength of light. Polysorbates are solubilizers.

SPP.

- Non-specified species

SQ

- Square

SS

- Straight Sided

SW

- Single Wall

TE

- Tamper Evident

TEA

- TriEthanolAmine

THICKENER

- An ingredient used to increase the hardness, solidity of a product. Waxes, butters, hard butters, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, gums and other ingredients are used for this purpose.

USP

- United States Pharmacopoeia. Ingredients and raw materials with the USP designation are pharmaceutical grade.

VISCOSITY

- The state, quality, property or degree of being semifluid. Often used to refer to the thickness, pourability or liquidity of a product.

WATER PHASE

- The phase in a formula (emulsion) that contains the water and water soluble ingredients.

W/

- With

W/O

- Water in Oil (emulsion)

WT

- White

W/W

- Weight for weight or By Weight.