← Product Ratings

How I Rate Products

Every product gets one of four ratings, based only on its ingredient list. The rating is calculated the same way for every product, so when I add an ingredient to my list, every product that contains it is re-rated.

The four ratings

Clean
No red-flag ingredients, no sensitizers, no undisclosed fragrance.
Fragrance Watch
The only issue is undisclosed "fragrance" or a named fragrance allergen. Otherwise clean.
Caution
Contains a non-fragrance sensitizer or preservative of concern, with or without fragrance issues.
Avoid
Contains a hard-flag ingredient (endocrine disruptor or microplastic), regardless of anything else.

How a rating is decided

I check these in order and stop at the first one that applies:

  1. Any hard-flag ingredient (an endocrine disruptor or microplastic)? Avoid
  2. Any non-fragrance sensitizer (like MI, BIT, or formaldehyde releasers)? Caution
  3. Undisclosed fragrance or a named fragrance allergen, and nothing else? Fragrance Watch
  4. Nothing flagged? Clean

Fragrance on its own never pushes a product to Caution. For fragrance allergens, I use the EU's official list of allergens that must be named on labels. Natural extracts that contain allergens (like rose or cedarwood oil) get a note in the ingredient table, but don't change the rating.

What I flag

Endocrine disruptors Avoid

  • Oxybenzone and other benzophenones
  • BHA / BHT Suspected endocrine disruptors.
  • BPA / BPS Usually in packaging rather than the ingredient list.
  • Parabens
  • Phthalates Rarely listed on labels because they can hide inside "fragrance."
  • Triclosan / Triclocarban

Microplastics Avoid

  • Acrylates copolymercase by case Counts when used as a film-former or microbead.
  • Nylon-12 / Nylon-6
  • Polyethylene (PE) Not the same as polyethylene glycol (PEG), which isn't a plastic.
  • Polypropylene (PP)case by case A concern in rinse-off exfoliants and scrubs.
  • Polyquaternium compoundscase by case Some are harmless conditioning polymers rather than plastic particles.
  • Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) The dissolving film on detergent pods and sheets. It's water-soluble, but critics argue it doesn't fully break down in all wastewater treatment plants.

Non-fragrance sensitizers and preservatives Caution

  • Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers
  • Isothiazolinones (MI, MCI, BIT, OIT)

Fragrance Fragrance Watch

  • EU fragrance allergens On the EU's list of fragrance allergens that must be named on labels.
  • Undisclosed fragrance A catch-all term; the actual scent ingredients aren't disclosed.

Case by case: some ingredients are only a concern in certain products (for example, polyquaternium compounds can be harmless conditioning polymers). For those, I decide product by product and explain the call in that product's ingredient table.

What I note, but don't rate

These show up as notes in a product's ingredient table. They're worth knowing about, but they don't change the rating.

Emerging sensitizer

Not on my sensitizer list, but reported as a growing allergen. I'm tracking it, and it may become a rule.

  • Alkyl glucosides. Named Allergen of the Year in 2017 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society, with patch-test rates around 1.5–2% and rising. Tracking it; it may become a rule.

Inhalation risk

Mainly a concern when breathed in as dust or spray. Low concern in liquids.

  • Enzymes. Known respiratory sensitizers when breathed in as dust. Low concern in liquid products.

Processing contaminant risk

The ingredient itself isn't the issue; manufacturing can leave trace contaminants. The fix is asking brands about testing.

  • Ethoxylated ingredients (-eth, PEG, polysorbate). Manufacturing can leave trace 1,4-dioxane. Testing and removal vary by brand and usually aren't disclosed.
  • Styrene/acrylates copolymer. Generally considered safe, but made from styrene (a possible carcinogen), so it can carry unpredictable trace contamination.