How we grade
TODO(founder) — Opening paragraph: what this page is for, and the one-sentence version of the philosophy — we grade the strength of evidence behind concern claims, never the ingredient and never the product.
What each evidence grade means
A grade describes how strong the evidence is behind any concern about an ingredient — not whether the ingredient is “good” or “bad.” These are the exact labels shown on every ingredient.
- Evidence: established
- Strong evidence supports a real concern at the exposures people actually get.
- Evidence: suggestive
- Some credible evidence exists, but the question is not settled.
- Evidence: weak
- The concern is discussed, but the evidence behind it is poor.
- No credible concern
- No credible concern at the concentrations used in cosmetics.
- Insufficient data
- Too little has been studied to say either way.
What sources count
TODO(founder) — Explain the source hierarchy — regulatory bodies and expert reviews (CIR, EU SCCS, FDA), peer-reviewed research, industry reviews, databases — and how each is weighed. Note that every source on a reviewed ingredient has been checked by a human.
What we mean by context
TODO(founder) — Explain why context changes everything: rinse-off versus leave-on, concentration, and the “sounds alarming but” cases where a concern only applies at exposures far above cosmetic use.
Why there is no product score
TODO(founder) — The core stance: we never roll ingredient grades up into a single number, colour, or badge for a product. Explain why aggregate fear-scores mislead and what we offer instead.