What a Skincare & Cosmetic Ingredient Checker can (not) do for you

Making skincare decisions can be time-consuming and frustrating. There are thousands of skincare products to choose from and plenty of skincare recommendations.

All the information can be overwhelming.

How to pick the best product for my skin? Can I find my perfect product based on recommendations? What about The Glow Coach skincare & cosmetic ingredient checker? Is analyzing and checking skincare ingredients a better option?

To answer these questions, let's start with some background.

3 Key Factors to find effective products for your unique skin

In our eyes, there are 3 Key Factors that can help you find the perfect product for your unique skin:

• ➣ Key Factor 1: Know your skin type and skin concerns
• ➣ Key Factor 2: Check ingredients in products
• ➣ Key Factor 3: Look for product reviews.

Knowing your skin type and skin concerns help you understand what your skin really needs (Key Factor 1).

Based on your needs, you can then look for products that meet your personal preferences – such as alcohol-free or fragrance-free products - by checking skincare ingredients (Key Factor 2).

Finally, reading reviews, especially from people with similar skin, can help you cherry-pick products that really work (Key Factor 3).

The result is a higher chance of finding an effective and satisfying product that fits your unique skin.

There are 3 Key Factors that can help you find effective products for YOUR UNIQUE skin.

Let's have a closer look at the key factors...

1. Key Factor: Know your skin type and skin concerns

It is crucial to know and understand your skin type and skin concern(s).

But determining them is not easy: Do you know the differences between dry skin and dehydrated skin? Do you know why shiny, oily skin can sometimes feel dry? Do you know if your acne is caused by bacteria or by fungi?

There are small details to look for. And they're essential.

Here's why: You have to know your proper skin type and skin concern(s) to be able to give your skin what it needs. Only if you know what your skin needs you can find effective and satisfying products.

On the flip side: No matter how good a product is, you won't be fully satisfied if it's not the right one for your skin condition.

Imagine using a beautifully rich and thick moisturizer on your oily skin only because it feels somehow dry (= you may think you have dry skin, but in reality, your skin is oily and dehydrated). Not good.

We believe there are great products on the market. The difficulty is to find the right one for your unique skin.

By knowing your proper skin type and skin concern(s), you can give your skin what it really needs and find satisfying products.

2. Key factor: Check and analyze ingredients in skincare to meet your personal preferences

A skincare product consists of ingredients. So if you're not looking for the ingredient list to get a first impression of the product, what else are you looking for? The colors of the packaging?

Of course, there are limitations to keep in mind when reading and checking the ingredient list:

• ➣ It doesn't tell you the concentration of the single ingredients (in most cases)
• ➣ It doesn't tell you anything about the source, quality, or extraction method of the ingredients (especially plant-based ingredients)
• ➣ It doesn't tell you anything about the product formulation (= how the product was 'cooked'), the function of a single ingredient (an ingredient can have multiple alternative functions depending on the product formulation), and how the ingredients work together (a single ingredient can act differently than a mix of ingredients - this also depends on the product formulation)
• ➣ You have to know how to read an ingredient list (ingredients are listed in decreasing concentration, except on ingredients that are present in a concentration of 1% and less)

There are possibilities to keep these limitations at bay, like following this rule of thumb:

The first 5 ingredients make the most of the product. The remaining ingredients have barely any effect on the skin (but there are exceptions!).

Or you can visit the official website of the brand you're interested in and check if there is more information on the ingredients. Especially plant-based ingredients are sometimes explained in more detail (where they come from, how they are extracted).

Despite the limitations, the ingredient list still can help you answer the following questions:

• ➣ Does the product contain certain ingredients that my skin (doesn't) like or even tolerate?
• ➣ Are my preferences met: Is the product alcohol-free, fragrance-free, oil-free, ... ? Only, because an ingredient is safe to use, doesn't mean that you have or want to use it. It's all about personal preferences.
• ➣ What ingredients are present in a product – how can they potentially affect and benefit my skin? Keep in mind that an ingredient's effects on the skin may vary (especially because we don't know anything about the quality or source). Still, if a product doesn't contain any beneficial ingredients for a specific concern (let's say anti-aging), it is unlikely that it can fight this particular concern.

There are limitations to keep in mind when checking the ingredient list of a product. However, it still gives you helpful information, such as if the product is alcohol-free or fragrance-free. And btw, we think it's totally fine to avoid specific ingredients, like alcohol or fragrance, in your products, even if they're safe to use! It's your skin and your decision.

3. Key Factor: Look for product reviews to find out more about the efficiency of a product

Product reviews can help you learn more about the product formulation.

The product formulation tells you how a product was 'cooked'.

Similar to cooking or baking: you can have pretty much the same ingredients but a different meal depending on how you use them.

You will most likely taste the ingredients present in the meal (especially in high 'concentrations'). But pretty much everything else, like the consistency, can differ. Same for skincare.

When it comes to skincare, most of the products don't tell you anything about the formulation.

We don't know at what temperature the product was 'cooked' or what pH level or method was used to mix all the ingredients. In conclusion, we don't know how the product feels on the skin, its texture, how quickly it is absorbed, and even how effective it is.

So there is no possibility to find out more about the product formulation?

Well yes. By using the product. Or reading product reviews.

Product reviews can give you an insight into how a product feels, the texture, how it smells, if it's heavy or lightweight, OR if the product works.

The latter is especially helpful from people with a similar skin condition.

Reading product reviews can help you find products that will more likely work for your skin

A skincare ingredient checker helps you with 1 out of 3 Key Factors

You may ask yourself: So what can a skincare & cosmetic ingredient checker do for me?

By skincare & cosmetic ingredient checker, we mean a box, where you copy-paste the ingredient list of a product, which gets analyzed in seconds, like the Skincare Ingredient Checker from Glow Coach.

As discussed, checking the ingredients of your skincare products gives you some powerful information. You can:

• ➣ Check if ingredients that your skin (doesn't) like or even tolerate are present
• ➣ Check if your personal preferences are met: Is the product alcohol-free, fragrance-free, oil-free, ... ? Only, because an ingredient is safe to use, doesn't mean that you have to use it. It's all about personal preferences.
• ➣ Check the ingredients of the ingredient list and what benefits they potentially provide.

In some cases, this information may be enough for you.

On the flip side: If you want to find really effective products for your unique skin, there are more Key Factors to consider besides checking the ingredient list of a product. You should additionally:

• ➣ Keep your skin type and skin concerns in mind (Key Factor 1) and
• ➣ Look for reliable reviews (Key Factor 3).

This is also what other skincare experts emphasize: A basic skincare ingredient checker can give you helpful information. But it's not right to make conclusions about the efficiency of a product only based on the analysis of the ingredient list since you need more information.

We agree.

A skincare & comsetic ingredient checker gives you useful information. But if you're looking for effective products for your unique skin, there is additional information (Key Factors) to consider.

And that’s why Glow Coach offers you more than a skincare ingredient checker...

The Glow Coach tools help you with all 3 Key Factors and ensure more reliable decisions

Glow Coach is more than a skincare & cosmetic ingredient checker. It is a set of tools that help you find effective and satisfying products for your unique skin.

How?

By using the following tools:

1. 1. Glow Coach Skin Quiz – important for Key Factor 1
   Based on the Glow Coach algorithm, the Glow Coach Skin Quiz helps determine your skin type and skin concerns.

2. 2. Glow Coach Skincare & Cosmetic Ingredient Checker and Search Engine – important for Key Factor 2
   Based on the ingredient list of a product, Glow Coach gives you all the information you need at a glance in an easy way. Additionally, there are PRO tips that help you understand your skincare and ingredients better.
   There are 2 options to check and find products according to your skin condition and personal preferences: You can either use our Glow Coach Skincare Search Engine – currently, there are over 3,500 products in our database and over 30 filters – or you can analyze new products by yourself with our Glow Coach Skincare Ingredient Checker.

3. 3. Reviews from members – important for Key Factor 3
   Glow Coach allows users to review products. Reviews, especially from users with a similar skin condition, can help you find out if a product is likely to work for you as well.

The tools and features are essential when searching for effective products for your unique skin. They cover all 3 Key Factors.

Especially the skin quiz makes your product search more reliable:

• ➣ You know your skin condition, understand what your skin needs and what to look for
• ➣ Reviews are more reliable since other users know their skin condition as well.

When it comes to the latter: Do the reviewers of other websites know their proper skin type and skin concerns? Dry or dehydrated? Acne or fungal acne? Maybe. Maybe not.

Glow Coach is more than a basic skincare ingredient checker. It is a set of tools that can help you find effective products for your unique skin.

To sum up: A skincare ingredient checker is a good starting point; other tools are needed to find effective products for your unique skin - Glow Coach provides them all

Let’s answer the question from the beginning:

Can I find my perfect product based on recommendations (of product manufacturers, bloggers, YouTubers, or influencers)?
Product recommendations are always great inspirations.

Suppose you know your skin type and skin concerns (Key Factor 1), the reviewer gives you all the information you need about (the ingredients of) the product (Key Factor 2), and your skin condition is similar (Key Factor 3). In that case, the recommendation is worth a try.

What about a skincare ingredient checker? Is checking skincare ingredients a better option?
When comparing a skincare ingredient checker with recommendations from RELIABLE bloggers, influencers, or YouTubers: An ingredient checker is, depending on what information you're looking for, not necessarily a better option, but for sure a great, flexible, quick, and easy alternative. It can also help you double-check your decision.

How to pick the best product for my skin?
Based on the 3 Key Factors, you can find effective products for your unique skin following these 3 steps:

1. 1 - Take our Glow Coach Skin Quiz and determine your skin type and skin concerns
2. 2 - Based on your skin condition and personal preferences: check known products (Glow Coach Ingredient Checker) or browse new products (Glow Coach Skincare Search Engine)
3. 3 - Pay attention to product reviews to cherry-pick the best products.

Hope this post helps you in your skincare journey!