A quick look at the best skin care ingredient checkers:
- Best overall: ThinkDirty
- Best for multiple languages: INCI Beauty
- Best for widest range of health products: EWG Healthy Living
- Best for creating a skin care regimen: Good Face
- Most comprehensive database: Yuka
- Best for finding products: Skinsort
- Best for learning ingredient purpose: Skincarisma
- Best for allergies: CodeCheck
- Best for community reviews: Beautypedia
- Best for DIY beauty: Detox Me
- Best for sensitive skin: SkinSAFE
When selecting the items you apply to your skin daily, how closely do you inspect the ingredient lists? The industry terminology and marketing claims can make selecting appropriate products confusing and difficult.
Ingredient checkers simplify the process of understanding what’s inside your products, along with the safety and potential benefits of those components. These sites and apps decode beauty industry language so you can make educated choices about your skin care purchases.
Read on to discover the top websites and apps for examining skin care product ingredients.
How to use an ingredient checker
Skin care ingredient checkers maintain extensive product and ingredient databases. Usually, you just enter the product name in the search field to locate items you currently use or are considering.
Several apps also include a barcode scanner, making it even simpler to pull up the exact item in question.
The search outcomes and the depth of information depend on the checker you pick. Generally, after locating a product you’ll find details such as:
- types of ingredients
- safety and toxicity data
- efficacy
- user feedback
- risk categorization
- potential allergenic ingredients
- ingredients that may worsen acne
- comparable or substitute products
Most checkers provide ingredient breakdowns for skin care, hair care, and makeup items.
How we chose
To guide you toward better health choices, we rigorously evaluate every product or brand we suggest for clinical credibility, societal impact, and sound business conduct.
We take seriously our duty to the community to deliver thoroughly vetted recommendations reviewed and approved by our team of medical professionals.
In our evaluation process, we assess accuracy, usability, customer feedback, and adherence to industry norms.
Healthline’s picks of the best skin care ingredient checkers
Best overall
Think Dirty
Think Dirty is a widely used ingredient-checking app with more than 36,000 reviews on the Apple app store and an average rating of 4.8 out of 5 stars.
The app emphasizes evaluating the chemical impacts of ingredients for possible long-term health implications. Its barcode scanner works for over 2 million beauty and personal care products available in Canada and the United States.
Think Dirty presents straightforward explanations of ingredients and a clear label indicating whether a product is “clean,” “dirty,” or somewhere in between.
If a product isn’t already in the database, you can scan its barcode and ingredient list and the team will assess it for you.
Download ThinkDirtyBest for multiple languages
INCI Beauty
INCI Beauty is an independent French startup launched in 2017.
The platform bills itself as one of the most exhaustive apps available, reviewing roughly 15,000 different chemicals that may be used in personal care items.
The app supports translation into five languages, broadening its accessibility. INCI Beauty scores products on a 1 to 20 scale, classifying them from favorable to controversial.
Download INCI BeautyBest for widest range of health products
EWG Healthy Living
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) developed the EWG Healthy Living app to support healthier choices for individuals and the planet.
Beyond cosmetics, EWG’s database includes information on food and household cleaning items. The site reports ratings for more than 120,000 food and personal care products.
The app holds an average of 3.3 out of 5 stars on the Apple app store, with some users noting issues with organization and usability.
Download EWG Healthy LivingBest for creating a skin care regimen
Good Face
The Good Face Project built the Good Face app to help users understand their products and design a customized skin care routine.
The app simplifies product evaluation with a database covering over 80,000 ingredients.
Its personalized regimen tool helps you locate alternative products and monitor which items perform best for you. The app also enables asking questions and sharing product details with others.
Good Face averages 4.8 out of 5 stars on the Apple app store.
Download Good FaceMost comprehensive database
Yuka
Yuka is a mobile app delivering insights on food and cosmetic products. Its database holds more than 1.5 million food entries and 500,000 cosmetic items. The team evaluates roughly 800 new products every day.
Use the search tool or scan a product to see a detailed ingredient list. Yuka categorizes products with four risk indicators: risk-free (green), low risk (yellow), moderate risk (orange), and high risk (red).
Yuka has a 4.7 out of 5 rating from over 2,400 reviews on the Apple app store. Users report it’s straightforward and useful.
Download YukaBest for finding products
Skinsort
Skinsort helps you discover the best products for your skin type and concerns. You can filter products using over 60 criteria to pinpoint the ideal match for your needs.
Once you select products, you can build a customized routine and visualize how items interact. Add products to your “shelf” to record notes about reactions and preferences.
The database includes safety and effectiveness information on more than 27,000 skin care ingredients.
Get started with SkinsortBest for learning ingredient purpose
Skincarisma
Skincarisma emphasizes not only ingredient safety but also explaining what each ingredient does for your skin. Use the search to specify your product preferences and it will suggest suitable items for your skin type.
The site provides full ingredient lists, safety notes, effectiveness ratings, and warnings for each product.
Get started with SkincarismaBest for allergies
CodeCheck
CodeCheck helps you determine if allergens or irritating substances are present in your food or personal care items.
Create a profile with your allergies or preferences, then scan products while shopping to see if they’re suitable.
The app also flags whether food or cosmetics are vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, or lactose-free, and checks for parabens, microbeads, paraffins, and sugar levels.
CodeCheck has a 4.5 out of 5 average rating from over 175 reviews on the Apple app store.
Download CodeCheckBest for community reviews
Beautypedia
Beautypedia was founded by beauty authority Paula Begoun, the creator of Paula’s Choice. Her team of specialists strives to uncover evidence and research about skin care products, cutting through marketing hype.
The site assigns products a rating from 1 to 5 stars and includes tools to help you locate top-rated skin care items.
Alongside expert reviews, you can read customer reviews submitted on the platform.
Get started with BeautypediaBest for DIY beauty
Detox Me
Detox Me is an app focused on minimizing toxin exposure across all aspects of life. It covers six categories: home, food and drink, clothing, personal care, cleaning, and children.
The app provides advice on products to avoid, ingredient information, and safer alternatives to harmful chemicals. It also offers reminders, tips, and DIY recipes to replace store-bought items.
Download Detox MeBest for sensitive skin
SkinSAFE
SkinSAFE is another tool created to help evaluate beauty products, specifically to help people identify and avoid ingredients that trigger sensitive skin. The app was developed using test data with input from Mayo Clinic.
It aims to remove the guesswork of product testing so you can more easily avoid items that may provoke sensitivity. Products are labeled with markers indicating which allergens they lack and providing safety information.
Download SkinsafeFrequently asked questions
Where can I find skin care with certain ingredients?
Ingredient-checker websites and apps let you locate skin care that contains or excludes specific ingredients.
For instance, Skinsort lets you apply 60 filters to sift through products by ingredients and desired features.
Is there an app to check ingredients in products?
Yes — many apps and sites help you rapidly review product ingredients. Consider options from this list such as Think Dirty, INCI Beauty, CodeCheck, or Skincarisma.
How do I look up ingredients in beauty products?
You can check beauty product ingredients easily using a skin care checker like Think Dirty, CodeCheck, Good Face, EWG Healthy Living, or any other checker mentioned here.
Takeaway
Not every skin care ingredient suits everyone. Some components can even trigger allergic reactions in certain individuals. Using an ingredient checker can help you learn about the contents of your products and their effects.
With access to these extensive databases, building a safe and effective skin care routine doesn’t have to be hard. If you need more guidance about ingredients or products, consult a dermatologist.
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