So what is this post about really? I am going to try to give you the tools to find the best quality products and to understand ingredients better. You will find that when you look up product's ingredients lists, that the same few ingredients stand out over and over again as bad choices. You will eventually familiarize yourself with the names of bad ingredients over time, and eventually you will just be able to look at a label.

NEW INFORMATION - Acne Mantra in no longer a supported site. I now use Skin Carisma's Ingredient Analyzer or the Skin Salvation Comedogenic Vetting Process Tool in order to find out exactly what ingredients in my skin care could cause me issues. The Skin Salvation tool just pulls up ingredients in your copied and pasted list that could be problematic, it tells you how bad they are and a short overview of why, and you can click "show more" for more information. The Skin Carisma analyzer gives more information. It talks about how bad it would be for different skin types and why. It goes over quick product notes and points out highlights (is it sulfate free, paraben free, etc.) as well as if it has any anti aging ingredients and more. I use Skin Carisma more than Skin Salvation, but if you prefer something simpler then skin salvation is the way to go.
This app is brilliant, and the more people use it, the more amazing it will be. The think dirty app is an amazing tool. It is available for those using both android and apple devices. The think dirty app allows you to scan product barcodes and it will pop up with the item and the over all rating for that item. Click on it and you will get a breakdown of each ingredient and it's individual rating. Click on the ingredient and you will see it's other names, what it's used for, health concerns related to it and more! It is SO MUCH information in one place!
However the Think Dirty app doesn't always have the products we want (but they do have THOUSANDS of products listed). If a product you want is missing it allows you to put in the name of the product and to take a picture of the front and back of it (including the ingredients list) and they will add it within 30 days. So the more people that use it, the more info we will have.
But be real about Think Dirty's motives. WHY is that ingredient considered bad? They focus mostly on toxic ingredients and things that are harmful to the environment as well as to your overall health. They may clear pore-clogging ingredients that are safe for the bees and non toxic. It's important to read up on the ingredients as you get more into this.
I check everything out on Think Dirty first, and if they don't have it I check Good Guide. On Think Dirty the same dry shampoo was found, with a negative red score, but when I clicked on the product list the only negative ingredients were added fragrances, which many people don't like, but aren't known to be toxic and I don't mind them. However if you are sensitive to artificial fragrances this would be great information to have. But on Think Dirty the info is a little more accessible.
Before these lovely two apps became known to me, I used several ingredients sites to basically look up any ingredients I didn't know on products. Typically the most important ingredients are the first five. The rule of thumb is that the first 5 ingredients make up 75% of the product. Even if I had only looked up the first five ingredients in the Flower Beauty foundation, I would have learned about the Ethylhexyl Palmitate that broke me out, as it is the second ingredient listed!
There are a lot of ingredients guides out there, but it's best to research on at least two sites. The thing about Ethylhexyl Palmitate is that it is not a toxic ingredient, it's just highly comedogenic. Because it isn't considered toxic it's given a pass by a lot of sites, so that's why it's so important to start by checking AcneMantra.com. Here are a list of other sites I like to research ingredients.
This all seems like a lot - I know. But if you are vigilant in the beginning by looking into all these things thoroughly you will begin to remember words, phrases and ingredients so well and eventually you will memorize certain ones. It is easier than it sounds, give it a try next time you are in the beauty isle.
Thanks for this! I wish I had known all this sooner!!
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