← 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 benzophenonesIncludes: oxybenzone, sulisobenzone, anything containing "benzophenone"
  • BHA / BHT Suspected endocrine disruptors.Includes: butylated hydroxyanisole, butylated hydroxytoluene
  • BPA / BPS Usually in packaging rather than the ingredient list.Includes: bisphenol a, bisphenol s
  • ParabensIncludes: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben, anything containing "paraben"
  • Phthalates Rarely listed on labels because they can hide inside "fragrance."Includes: diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate, dehp, anything containing "phthalate"
  • Triclosan / TriclocarbanIncludes: triclosan, triclocarban

Microplastics Avoid

  • Acrylates copolymercase by case Counts when used as a film-former or microbead.Includes: acrylates copolymer
  • Nylon-12 / Nylon-6Includes: nylon-12, nylon-6, nylon 12, nylon 6
  • Polyethylene (PE) Not the same as polyethylene glycol (PEG), which isn't a plastic.Includes: polyethylene
  • Polypropylene (PP)case by case A concern in rinse-off exfoliants and scrubs.Includes: polypropylene
  • Polyquaternium compoundscase by case Some are harmless conditioning polymers rather than plastic particles.Includes: anything containing "polyquaternium"

Non-fragrance sensitizers and preservatives Caution

  • Formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasersIncludes: formaldehyde, dmdm hydantoin, quaternium-15, imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, bronopol, sodium hydroxymethylglycinate
  • Isothiazolinones (MI, MCI, BIT, OIT)Includes: cmit, methylisothiazolinone, methylchloroisothiazolinone, benzisothiazolinone, octylisothiazolinone, anything containing "isothiazolinone"

Fragrance Fragrance Watch

  • EU fragrance allergens On the EU's list of fragrance allergens that must be named on labels.Includes: amyl cinnamal, amylcinnamyl alcohol, anise alcohol, benzyl alcohol, benzyl benzoate, benzyl cinnamate, benzyl salicylate, cinnamal, cinnamyl alcohol, citral, citronellol, coumarin, eugenol, farnesol, geraniol, hexyl cinnamal, hydroxycitronellal, hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, isoeugenol, butylphenyl methylpropional, limonene, d-limonene, linalool, methyl 2-octynoate, alpha-isomethyl ionone, evernia prunastri extract, evernia furfuracea extract
  • Undisclosed fragrance A catch-all term; the actual scent ingredients aren't disclosed.Includes: fragrance, parfum, perfume, aroma, natural fragrance, fragrance/parfum

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.

The fine print

These are my personal ratings, based on published research, not medical advice. A rating reflects the ingredient list on the date I reviewed it, and formulas change, so always check the current label. My ingredient list will keep growing as I research more products.