If you’re not a chemistry buff, ingredient lists on cosmetic products can look like Elvish. So, what are they and what do they do? This handy guide will explain it all. We’ve also included the products that contain each ingredient for quick reference. All ingredients used in Harley Waxing Products are of the highest quality and meet all cosmetic safety criteria.
Anyone with an allergy to one or more of these ingredients should avoid using the products containing them. Extremely sensitive skin may also react to certain ingredients.
Denatured alcohol acts as a solvent for plant extracts to distribute them evenly throughout products. It preserves active ingredients and aids their absorption. Its ability to dissolve oil and evaporate quickly provides a fresh, clean feeling on the skin. Furthermore, Alcohol Denat’s antimicrobial properties help prevent infection.
Products: Cleanser & Toner, Ingrown Hair Solution
A soothing, skin-conditioning ingredient with anti-inflammatory properties that help calm irritation and support the skin’s natural repair processes after waxing. Allantoin is an effective moisturiser and very gentle exfoliant. Its keratolytic effect removes dead skin cells to help prevent ingrown hairs.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
Also known as Aloe Vera, it hydrates, cools and comforts the skin after waxing. A cocktail of polysaccharides, vitamins, and minerals, it is anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial. Commonly used on burns to reduce redness and tightness and promote skin healing.
Products: Pre-Waxing Oil, Aloe Soothing Gel
Chamomile, well known for its calming and soothing properties, is ideal for sensitive or freshly waxed skin. Rich in antioxidants, it repairs skin damage and reduces irritation and redness.
Products: Cleanser & Toner, Aloe Soothing Gel
Arnica flower extract soothes skin and reduces the feeling of discomfort. It improves circulation to deliver nutrients and oxygen to cells. Together with powerful antioxidants, flavonoids and carotenoids, this supports skin recovery and reduces swelling after hair removal.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
Purified water, used as a base carrier in many liquid and gel products.
Products: Cleanser & Toner, Aloe Soothing Gel, Ingrown Hair Solution
Filters UVA and UVB rays to protect the product from light damage, ensuring colours and performance remain stable.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
An aromatic alcohol and preservative that helps keep the formula free from microbial growth. It improves the absorption of active ingredients and is a humectant, supporting the skin barrier to prevent transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Antioxidant properties protect the skin from free radicals.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
This ester is a fragrance ingredient and solvent that improves product texture and enables scent components to blend uniformly. It is also antimicrobial and an emollient that softens and smooths skin.
Products: Summer Fruits Hot, Film and Strip Waxes, Cleanser & Toner
A fragrance compound with a soft, floral, slightly sweet aroma used to round out perfume notes. It also acts as a fragrance fixative.
Product: Cleanser & Toner
A thickening agent used as a stabiliser for emulsions to create smooth gels and even textures in skin care products, as well as hydrating the skin.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
Natural beeswax lends structure to wax, allowing it to grip the hair, and provides a protective film on the skin. Its anti-inflammatory properties soothe skin, and it is an emollient that keeps skin supple.
Products: Hot and Film Waxes
A refined wax that adds flexibility and strength, it improves texture, helping waxes to spread evenly and facilitate clean removal.
Products: Summer Fruits Film Wax, Strip Wax Cartridges
A naturally occurring fragrance component with a fresh, lemon-like scent. Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties support skin health.
Product: Aloe Hot Wax
A mild alpha hydroxy acid (AHA), it exfoliates by breaking down keratin bonds between dead skin cells. Maintains pH balance to support the skin’s barrier function, preventing dryness and irritation.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
A fragrance compound found naturally in rose and geranium oils, it adds a pleasant floral scent. Antimicrobial and antioxidant.
Products: Rose Hot Wax, Rose Strip Wax, Cleanser & Toner, Pre-Waxing Oil, Ingrown Hair Solution
In small amounts, this fragrance ingredient, with a warm, cinnamon-like aroma, imparts a soft spicy note.
Product: Aloe Hot Wax
The sweet, floral scent of this fragrance ingredient is often used in floral and spicy perfumes.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
Colour index (CI) pigments give products their distinctive colour. Apart from titanium dioxide, they do not affect performance.
A natural pine tree resin that enables a strong grip on hair for efficient removal from the root.
Products: Hot and Film Waxes
A fragrance fixative with a sweet, vanilla-like fragrance note gives products a warm, comforting scent.
Product: Gold Strip Wax
A stabilising ingredient that helps maintain product texture and supports preservative effectiveness to extend shelf life.
Products: Aloe Soothing Gel, Ingrown Hair Solution
A flexible synthetic resin that improves wax elasticity, helping film wax bend without breaking.
Products: All Film Waxes
A gentle moisturising agent that also enhances the performance of preservatives, helping to keep the formula stable.
Products: Cleanser & Toner, Aloe Soothing Gel, Ingrown Hair Solution
A fragrance component that adds a clove-like, spicy note to the scent blend. Antiseptic and anti-inflammatory to soothe irritation and calm redness.
Products: Cleanser & Toner, Pre-Waxing Oil
This monoterpenoid alcohol has a floral, rose-like fragrance, naturally occurring in many essential oils, such as rose, citronella and palmarosa. Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties support skin health.
Products: Rose Hot Wax, Rose Strip Wax, Cleanser & Toner, Pre-Waxing Oil
A powerful humectant that attracts moisture to the skin to prevent dryness, tightness and flakiness.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
Resin derived from rosin (natural pine tree resin) helps wax adhere to the hair while remaining gentle on the skin to support efficient removal. Also acts as an emollient.
Products: Hot, Film and Strip Waxes
A natural astringent and anti-inflammatory that helps tighten pores, reduce redness and calm the skin after waxing.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
A fragrance component with a soft, jasmine-like floral scent.
Product: Azulene Film Wax
Wax-like ingredients help create a smooth, flexible wax texture that spreads evenly.
Product: Summer Fruits Film Wax
A fresh, floral fragrance ingredient commonly used to add a light, clean note to products.
Products: Azulene Film Wax, Cleanser & Toner
A fast-evaporating alcohol used in cleansers to dissolve and remove surface oils and prepare the skin before waxing. Acts as a disinfectant to support skin hygiene.
Product: Cleanser & Toner
A gentle exfoliating AHA that helps smooth the skin’s surface and can assist in reducing the risk of ingrown hairs by unblocking and cleansing pores. Unlike other AHAs, it also hydrates the skin. Although generally thought of as a dairy byproduct, for cosmetic use, it is usually produced by fermenting vegetable matter, making it suitable for vegans.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
A rich moisturising ingredient derived from sheep’s wool wax that helps protect, soften and condition dry or freshly waxed skin and lends wax plasticity. It has similar properties to sebum in human skin. The extraction process does not harm the animal.
Products: All Hot Waxes
Lavender oil and extract are known for their soothing, balancing and calming properties, helping to reduce the feeling of irritation after waxing and support skin healing.
Products: Lavender Film Wax, Cleanser & Toner, After Wax Oil
A citrus-scented fragrance component that provides a fresh, uplifting aroma. Found in essential oils from citrus peel, and is antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant.
Products: Aloe Hot Wax, Lavender Film Wax, After Wax Oil, Ingrown Hair Solution
A naturally occurring fragrance ingredient with a soft, spicy-floral scent, commonly found in lavender and other essential oils. Reduces inflammation and is antimicrobial to support skin health.
Products: Azulene/Lavender Film Wax, Cleanser & Toner, After Wax Oil
Tea tree oil is known for its purifying and clarifying properties, helping keep freshly waxed skin feeling clean and cared for. Antimicrobial against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Supports skin healing.
Product: After Wax Oil
A mineral powder used to improve wax elasticity and give products a subtle shimmer or pearlescent finish.
Products: Summer Fruits Hot, Film and Strip Waxes; Aloe Hot Wax; Azulene Film Wax; Gold Strip Wax
A revitalising plant extract that helps tone and invigorate the skin, supporting a healthy-looking complexion. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Product: Cleanser & Toner
A moisturising, soothing and healing ingredient that helps improve skin softness and supports the skin’s natural barrier.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
A waxy material used in hot wax formulas to provide structure, pliability and a smooth, even application.
Products: All Hot Waxes
A highly refined, skin-safe oil that provides excellent slip, helping wax glide on easily. It forms a protective barrier on the skin, acting as an emollient to leave the skin feeling soft.
Products: All Strip Waxes, Pre-Waxing Oil, After Wax Oil
A blend of aromatic ingredients that gives each product its distinctive scent. Used at safe cosmetic levels for a pleasant treatment experience.
Products: All Hot Waxes, Summer Fruits/Azulene Film Wax, All Strip Waxes, Cleanser & Toner, Pre-Waxing Oil, Ingrown Hair Solution
A widely used cosmetic preservative that helps keep products free from harmful bacteria and mould. Naturally found in green tea, a ‘nature identical’ chemical is produced in a lab for commercial use.
Products: Cleanser & Toner, Aloe Soothing Gel
An emulsifier that helps oils mix evenly into water-based formulas, ensuring a uniform texture and performance.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
A humectant that helps attract and hold moisture in the formula, supporting skin hydration. It enhances the penetration of other actives, improves texture and keeps formulations stable for extended shelf life.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
A thick, glossy oil that adds richness to the texture, supports glide and helps condition the skin.
Products: Rose/Summer Fruits Cartridges
An oil-soluble, keratolytic beta hydroxy acid (BHA) that gently exfoliates inside the pores and on the skin’s surface, helping to prevent and treat ingrown hair. Naturally found in the bark of the White Willow tree.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
The salt form of hyaluronic acid, a powerful hydrator that attracts moisture to the skin for a plump, comfortable feel. Having a smaller molecule than hyaluronic acid allows it to penetrate deeper into the skin to promote tissue repair and cell regeneration.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
Used in very small amounts to preserve and adjust the pH of a formula so that it remains skin-friendly.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
A sodium salt derived from lactic acid, this moisturising ingredient helps maintain skin softness and hydration. An excellent humectant, stabiliser and pH regulator.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
A conditioning ingredient that provides hydration and elasticity to help skin feel smoother and more supple.
Product: Aloe Soothing Gel
Comfrey root extract is traditionally used to support skin comfort and help reduce the feeling of irritation. Antioxidant properties protect skin from free radicals to support healing and cell regeneration.
Product: Cleanser & Toner
An emulsifier that prevents the separation of oil and water to ensure a consistent texture in gels and lotions. Balances the pH of products so it’s safe to apply to the skin.
Product: Ingrown Hair Solution
Are you a therapist looking to offer the best waxing experience, or a client searching for a skilled professional? We connect clients with expert Harley Waxing therapists for superior results. If your therapist isn’t using Harley Wax, introduce us—if they switch, your next waxing treatment is on us!
