How to Read a Skincare Ingredient List Like a Cosmetic Chemist — with Annie Graham

How to Read a Skincare Ingredient List Like a Cosmetic Chemist — with Annie Graham

From The Skincarma® Pod by CARMINE MONTALTO

July 19, 2026 · 1h 7m · Episode 86

About this episode

Carmine Montalto and Annie Graham discuss how to effectively read skincare ingredient lists and understand product formulations.

Ingredient savvy isn’t the same thing as ingredient literate. We know to hunt for ceramides. We compare Vitamin C percentages. We scan for peptides, retinoids, and niacinamide. But when we turn over the carton and browse the full ingredient list, can we actually tell whether a product is well formulated—or whether we’re simply responding to clever marketing? In this episode of The Skincarma Pod, Carmine welcomes back Annie Graham , cosmetic chemist and co-founder of Atomic Pom Labs , for a practical and refreshingly honest guide to reading skincare ingredient lists. Annie explains why an INCI list is first and foremost a regulatory disclosure; what ingredient order can—and cannot—tell us; why effective ingredients may appear surprisingly low on the list; and why percentages, botanical overload, and hero-ingredient marketing can lead even experienced skincare shoppers in the wrong direction. Carmine and Annie also compare different forms of Vitamin C, unpack the anatomy of a thoughtfully formulated moisturizer, and discuss why texture, stability, delivery, and the overall experience of a product cannot be judged from the ingredient list alone. Then they put those ideas to the test…

More episodes of The Skincarma® Pod

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Skincarma® Pod podcast page.