Blog

How Scoring Works

Dose, not presence: why the amount of an ingredient decides what it does

Most ingredient apps rate a product the same whether an ingredient is at 0.01 percent or 2 percent. Here is what the label can actually tell you about amounts, and where that runs out.

What replaced the ingredient you were scared of

When an ingredient gets a bad reputation, formulators replace it with something that has no reputation at all. That is not the same as replacing it with something better understood.

The acne advice that makes it worse

Acne is not a hygiene problem. The most common belief about it leads directly to the behavior that makes it worse. Here is what acne actually is, the advice that backfires, and what calm treatment looks like instead.

Where to actually start with skincare

The honest beginner routine is three products: a gentle cleanser, a moisturizer, and sunscreen. Here is what each one does, what to ignore, and how to know if you ever need a fourth.

What niacinamide actually does

Niacinamide is the most-recommended ingredient in modern skincare, and the most poorly explained. Here is what it actually does, what it doesn't, and where the myths come from.

Routine creep: the conflicts hiding in your skincare

Most people don't choose a 7-step routine. They build one by accident. Here are the three most common ingredient conflicts hiding in real routines, and how to spot them.

How skincare ingredient apps actually work (and where they get it wrong)

Why two apps give the same moisturizer opposite scores. The four calls every ingredient scanner makes, where they go wrong in both directions, and the parts most apps would rather you didn't think about.