CosDNA, EWG, Paula's Choice Skincare Dictionary, and SkinCarisma: The Skincare Ingredient Dictionaries and Product Safety Rating Databases

CosDNA stands for "Cosmetic DNA" and is a database of cosmetic products, such as skincare, and the lists of ingredients inside of them (or their "DNA"). It rates the safety of cosmetic products such as skincare based on comedogenity and it's likelihood to cause irritation to the skin, and is popularly used and cited among skincare addicts and people with sensitive skin. CosDNA defines their rating system as the following:

"Safety index from 1~10, the lower number means this ingredient is low hazard. Unlike comedogenic and irritation, Safety is a comprehensive index focus on safety on long term usage, according to harmful report from CIR, RTECS, FDA and other related information. The purpose of the index is more inclined to assess whether long-term injury of skin, cells or the human body.

Our data source include international experts, institutions and publications. If any the three column is blank, this means there is no data (not indicate the ingredient is safe or unsafe)."
CosDNA

CosDNA also provides a disclaimer for their rating system, reminding readers that skin is a highly personal and ambiguous, inconsistent, unpredictable matter.

"We want to remind our user, the effect of cosmetics depends on concentration, quality, process and mutual influence of ingredients. The skin condition of each person are different (even constantly changing), pay attention and understand the ingredients is a right attitude, but you still need professional physicians to diagnose skin problems."
CosDNA

GENERALLY this is a safe, basic summary of what CosDNA's safety ratings mean:

Green ratings mean safe for sensitive skin or relatively harmless skincare ingredients.

Yellow ratings mean in the middle with a possibility of irritating your skin.

Red ratings mean ingredients known to be highly irritating to the skin.

Some criticisms of CosDNA (which are consistent with my personal experiences) include:

that it's sometimes too "flag-happy" and flags too many ingredients as dangerous for sensitive skin when in reality for many (or even most people) they may be just fine.


However for those with sensitive to very sensitive skin, it is a safe good measure to make sure there really is NOTHING inside the product that could possibly cause irritation.


Also, CosDNA ingredient lists are submitted by users, which allows there to always be a most up-to-date version of ingredients lists, but may also leave room for human error/inaccuracy and thus should be taken with a grain of salt.


Other online resources to quickly research ingredients are:

• Paula's Choice Ingredient Dictionary, which is linked in my menu and allows you to search ingredients by keyword for their safety (although often backed with links to research articles, I have a suspicion that she may be paid to say that certain ingredients are safer to be used in skincare than others, but it's certainly a useful and convenient resource nonetheless, so I just caution you to also take ratings with a healthy grain of salt).
  
• And the EWG (Environmental Working Group) Skin-Deep Cosmetics Database, though while that certainly gives a rating of how environmentally-friendly a product may be it may be biased/wrong and doesn't always have the most up-to-date ingredients lists.
  
• The newest trendy skincare database among skincare addicts is SkinCarisma (I was referred to it by skincare guru Ivan Lam's Youtube video), but I don't know much about it yet.)

What are other ways you research skincare ingredients and products to make sure they are safe for your skin? Leave suggestions in the comments below!


Love,


The Queen of Skincare Addiction