Skincare ingredient checker: see if it suits your skin
Paste any ingredient list. See what each ingredient does, what may clog pores or irritate, and whether it’s Good for you, Go easy or Skip for your skin type.
How it works
- Copy the ingredient list from the box, the brand’s site or a shop page, and paste it in. Typos and “Aqua (Water)” style names are fine.
- Pick your skin type. Oily and acne-prone skin cares most about pore-cloggers; dry and sensitive skin cares most about fragrance, drying alcohol and strong actives.
- Ingredients are listed from most to least, so something near the top matters more than the same thing at the end.
Sources: ingredient names and jobs follow the EU CosIng database. Pore-clogging flags come from Fulton, “Comedogenicity and irritancy of commonly used ingredients in skin care products” (Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists, 1989) and Kligman & Mills, “Acne cosmetica” (Archives of Dermatology, 1972). We only flag ingredients rated 3 or more on their 0–5 scale, and we never guess a rating for an ingredient they didn’t test. Fragrance ingredients follow the allergens EU rules require brands to name on the label.
Questions
How does the ingredient checker work?
It matches every ingredient on the label against our list of over 1,000 cosmetic ingredients, then weighs pore-cloggers, fragrance, drying alcohol and strong actives for the skin type you pick. It runs in your browser, and nothing you paste is saved or sent.
What do Good for you, Go easy and Skip mean?
Good for you: nothing in it that your skin type usually needs to avoid. Go easy: fine, with a heads-up, like a strong active to start slowly or fragrance if you’re dry. Skip: something your skin type often reacts to, like a known pore-clogger high on the list for oily skin, or fragrance for sensitive skin.
Where do the ingredient ratings come from?
Names and jobs follow the EU CosIng database. Pore-clogging flags come from the classic Fulton (1989) and Kligman & Mills (1972) ratings, used conservatively. Fragrance flags follow the allergens EU rules require on labels.
Does “may clog pores” mean it will break me out?
Not necessarily. Those ratings come from older tests on single ingredients, and a finished product can behave differently. Treat a flag as a heads-up, and patch test anything new.
What if an ingredient isn’t recognized?
It’s marked “Not in our list yet” and doesn’t change the verdict. We don’t invent ratings for ingredients we don’t know.
Is this medical advice?
No. These are general cosmetic skincare tips. For rashes, infections, sudden changes or anything that worries you, see a doctor or dermatologist.
Your skin, simplified.
Ask anything, scan a label and get a routine. Free on iPhone, no sign-up needed.
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