Clue # 1 .... If it's got water listed, it must have preservatives & emulsifiers!

One of the industry's favourite tricks — replacing "water" as the first ingredient with something like "organic aloe leaf juice" so the label reads as more natural or active, when the functional reality is that it's still a 80% water-based formula requiring preservatives and emulsifiers all the same.

Water goes by a lot of names on skincare labels. Here are the common ones:

Aqua, Purified Water, Deionized Water, Distilled Water, Thermal Water, Mineral Water, Spring Water, Glacier Water, Sea Water (Maris Aqua), Deep Sea Water, Volcanic Water, Micellar Water.

Botanical waters & hydrosols: 

Rose Water (Rosa Damascena Flower Water), Lavender Water, Witch Hazel Water, Chamomile Water, Orange Blossom Water (Neroli), Cucumber Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (often 95%+ water), Coconut Water

Juice/extract-based water substitutes: 

Aloe Vera Juice, Bamboo Water, Cactus Water, Birch Sap, Maple Water, Rice Water, Barley Water, Fruit juice concentrates reconstituted with water

Infusions & decoctions: 

Herbal infusions (listed as "Extract of X" where the solvent is water), Tea extracts (Camellia Sinensis Leaf Water), Flower/plant decoctions.

The sneaky ones: 

Hydrosol (steam distillation byproduct — still essentially water), any ingredient listed as "[Plant Name] Extract" where water is the extraction solvent, "Organic Juice Base" (water with trace botanicals)