Our process

This is how we get to an answer.

Transparent on purpose. If you think there is a better way to do this, we want to hear it.

What we treat as research

Primary source

Peer-reviewed journals

Dermatology and cosmetic science journals, indexed and reviewed by other researchers before publication.

Primary source

Registered clinical trials

Human trials with a stated method, sample size and comparison group, not internal brand testing alone.

Primary source

Regulatory and safety data

Ingredient-level safety reviews from the EU's SCCS and the US Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel. Indian cosmetic standards largely follow EU norms.

Not treated as evidence

Brand press releases

A brand's own marketing copy about its own product doesn't count as a source, even when we quote it.

Not treated as evidence

Influencer claims

Personal results are real, but they're anecdotes. We label them as such, we don't cite them as proof.

Not treated as evidence

Uncontrolled studies

Small studies with no comparison group can point us somewhere. They can't earn a Tier 1 badge on their own.

What we turn it into

  1. 01

    Source

    We pull every study, trial and regulatory filing that touches the topic, including the ones that disagree with each other.

  2. 02

    Grade

    Each piece of evidence gets sorted into Tier 1, 2 or 3, based on study design, sample size and whether results have been repeated.

  3. 03

    Check for deeper skin tones

    We look specifically for what changes, if anything, on Fitzpatrick IV to VI skin, since most source studies don't ask that question by default.

  4. 04

    Write it in plain language

    The article gets written the way we'd explain it to a friend, without losing the caveats that actually matter.

  5. 05

    Revisit

    When new research changes the picture, we update the article and note what changed and why, instead of quietly editing it.

This process is a work in progress, on purpose

If you think there's a source we're missing, a step that should work differently, or a better way to check our claims, we want to hear it. Drop your email and tell us what you'd add.

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