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The International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) are the unique identifiers for cosmetic ingredients that are assigned in accordance with rules established by the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), previously the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA). INCI names often differ greatly from systematic chemical nomenclature or from more common trivial names and is a mixture of conventional scientific names, Latin and English words. INCI nomenclature conventions "are continually reviewed and modified when necessary to reflect changes in the industry, technology, and new ingredient developments

INCI and CAS

The relationship between a CAS Registry Number and an INCI name is not always one-to-one. In some cases, more than one INCI name may have the same CAS number, or more than one CAS number may apply to an INCI name. 

INCI Name Assignment Timetable

The International Nomenclature Committee (INC) meets approximately 5 times per year, generally during the months of February, April, June, September, and November. Applications included on the meeting agenda are compiled in chronological order and distributed to the INC for review 6 weeks prior to the scheduled meeting date.

After the INC Meeting, monographs for the new ingredients are drafted and finalized. This process takes approximately 1 month. Once the monographs are completed, applicants are notified of the INCI name assignment via email from the INCI Application website.

The average amount of time to receive an INCI name assignment is about 3 months after an application has been submitted, provided there is no need for further information after INC review. However, it is not unusual for an application to take 6 months for completion, depending on the number of applications received, date of submission with respect to the scheduled INC meeting, and clarity of composition and manufacturing details provided on the application. 

To facilitate the assignment process, applicants should provide all requested information on the application, and respond promptly to any inquiries posted about the application that are sent via email through the application site.

categories :

• Biotechnology/Animal Cell Culture (including defined media)
• Biotechnology/Fermentation Processes
• Biotechnology/Peptides (recombinant; solid and liquid phase)
• Biotechnology/Plant Cell Culture (including defined media)
• Biotechnology/Biologicals, Botanicals, Misc.
• General Chemistry/Inorganic
• General Chemistry/Organic
• Polymers/Silicones

Each category corresponds to a specific application which contains required fields about the ingredient’s identity and composition.