Method

How I read

I read the fine print, and every card shows where its facts came from. Here is how a label becomes a card.

Where the facts come from

SourceWhat it gives a card
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review) safety assessmentsSafety findings and how much industry reports using
SCCS opinions and the EU CosIng databaseEU limits, restrictions and bans
PubChemChemistry: formula, molecular weight, identity
Kew's World Checklist of Vascular PlantsThe correct botanical name for plant ingredients
EWG Skin DeepOne outside score, shown as theirs
The brand's own labelThe ingredient list, in the brand's order

No fact on a card is written by AI. If I cannot point to a source, it is not on the card.

How a safety finding becomes a pill

  1. I read the CIR report for the ingredient, not a summary of it.
  2. Each study is recorded once, with a quote from the report, so a repeated study is not counted twice.
  3. The studies decide the label. “Not a Sensitizer” means every study found no reaction; “Sensitizer in Testing” means every study found one; “Mixed” means they disagree.
  4. Case reports (one person's reaction, written up by a doctor) are counted on the pill but do not set the label.
  5. A panel statement about a whole family of ingredients is used only when the ingredient has no studies of its own, and the pill says so.
  6. Every pill names its CIR report number, so you can read it yourself.

How the usage bars are read

The bars show the concentrations reported in CIR's newest use survey, split into leave-on and rinse-off products. “NR” means the survey gave no figure, and an older survey is never shown in its place. If the newest survey did not cover an ingredient at all, the bar shows the newest one that did, with its year. More in How much is in it?

Keeping it current

Every month I check CIR's status list. When CIR reopens a review, the card shows “under review” in orange until the new report is final.

Rules I keep

  • Two ingredients are the same only when their INCI names are identical. A similar name is a different ingredient.
  • “Is it clean?” is answered from the ingredient list alone.
  • No brand pays to be on the site or to change a card. See the policies.

Every term on a card is defined in the glossary.