The LabelPeek editorial desk

Curly Girl ingredient checker: sulfates, silicones and the rules

Paste a shampoo or conditioner label to see which ingredients break the Curly Girl Method rules — sulfates, silicones, drying alcohols, waxes — and why.

Red dye 3: why the FDA revoked it, and what changes in 2027

Red dye 3 (FD&C Red No. 3, erythrosine, E127) loses its US food authorisation on 15 January 2027. What the FDA order says, why, and how to find it on a label.

Yellow 5: what tartrazine is and what the rules say

Yellow 5 is tartrazine, E102 in Europe. US law makes foods name it, even butter and cheese, and drug labels name it too. What the rules and FDA plan say.

What are seed oils? The full list, and the oils that aren't

Seed oils come from plant seeds: canola, soybean, sunflower and peanut oil do; olive, avocado and palm oil come from fruit. Every common oil, classified.

Is glycerin comedogenic? Graded 0, and a humectant, not an oil

Glycerin was graded 0 for comedogenicity and 0 for irritancy in the 1989 rabbit-ear tests. It is a humectant, not an oil, and US rules allow it at 20–45%.

Is jojoba oil comedogenic? A liquid wax graded 0–2

Jojoba oil was graded 0–2 in the 1989 rabbit-ear comedogenicity tests, depending on the raw material, while sulfated jojoba oil got a 3. What each number means.

Is squalane comedogenic? Not squalene, and the difference matters

Squalane is not on the comedogenic list this site uses, and a review reports a negligible comedogenic effect in testing. Oxidised squalene is another matter.

Pregnancy skincare checker: what the AAD says to avoid or limit

Paste a skincare ingredient list to see which names the American Academy of Dermatology lists to avoid or limit in pregnancy, and who says so for each one.

How to use an app to scan food ingredients, and when it fails

An app to scan food ingredients reads either a barcode or the printed list, and the two fail in opposite ways. Yuka, Fig and LabelPeek compared.

Best skincare ingredient app: 6 checkers compared

Six skincare ingredient apps compared: Yuka, Think Dirty, EWG Skin Deep, INCIDecoder, SkinSort and LabelPeek, on what each reads, returns, costs and suits.

EWG Skin Deep alternatives: five ways to read a cosmetic label

EWG Skin Deep is a database you search at a desk. Compare it with Think Dirty, INCIDecoder, SkinSort and LabelPeek on input, output and reference size.

Food additive scanner app: four tools and the E number gap

Yuka, Open Food Facts, Bobby Approved and LabelPeek compared on the additive names each one matches, why Red 40 is E129 abroad, and when a scan fails.

INCIDecoder alternatives: reference, database or list screening

INCIDecoder explains one ingredient at a time. How SkinSort, SkinCarisma, EWG Skin Deep and LabelPeek differ on screening a whole list, and where each stops.

Open Food Facts alternatives for shoppers and for data users

Open Food Facts alternatives split in two — apps for shoppers, data for developers. What Yuka, Fig, Bobby Approved and LabelPeek replace, and what nothing does.

Seed oil scanner app: four tools and the names they match

Yuka, Bobby Approved, Open Food Facts and LabelPeek compared for finding canola, soybean and corn oil on a US label, plus the 35 spellings that match.

Think Dirty alternatives: five ways to read a cosmetic label

Think Dirty rates cosmetics 0–10 from a barcode. Compare it with Yuka, EWG Skin Deep, INCIDecoder and LabelPeek on input, output, reference data and cost.

Yuka vs Fig app: a general score against a dietary filter

Yuka scores a product against a general health model; Fig checks it against dietary restrictions you declare. Eight axes compared, and who each one fits.

Yuka vs Open Food Facts: private score vs open database

Yuka keeps a private score; Open Food Facts publishes its whole database under ODbL 1.0. How the two differ on coverage, freshness and fixing a bad record.

Best food scanner apps: five compared on what they read

Yuka, Open Food Facts, Bobby Approved, Fig and LabelPeek compared on the database each one reads, the scoring rule behind it, cost model and who it suits.

Best app to check ingredients: food and cosmetics

Five ingredient checkers compared for food and cosmetics: Yuka, Think Dirty, INCIDecoder, EWG and LabelPeek, plus what each database can and cannot read.

Bobby Approved app alternatives (the FlavCity one, not Bobby)

Bobby Approved is the FlavCity grocery scanner, not the subscription app. Compare it with Yuka, Open Food Facts and LabelPeek on standard, output and cost.

Is Red 40 bad for you? What the rules actually say

Red 40 is Allura Red AC, or E129. What the FDA listing, the EU labelling statement and California's 2027 school ban actually say, and how to read a label.

Is titanium dioxide bad for you? Two regulators, two answers

Titanium dioxide was removed from the EU permitted list by Regulation (EU) 2022/63 and is still permitted in the US at up to 1% by weight of the food.

How we rate food additives: the rules and the sources

The rules behind the LabelPeek additive list, what a marker of industrial processing does and does not claim, and the documents every regulatory fact came from.

Ultra-processed food checker

Paste a packaged food ingredient list and see which entries are markers of industrial processing, which are ordinary food, and which could not be read.

Comedogenic rating scale: where the 0-5 numbers come from

The comedogenic rating scale is a 0-5 score from a rabbit-ear assay. Where the numbers came from, why concentration moves them, and who certifies the lists.

Fungal acne checker: Malassezia trigger ingredients

Paste a skincare ingredient list and see which entries match the Malassezia rule this page publishes in full, which do not, and which cannot be read.

Is alcohol denat bad for skin? What the evidence says

Alcohol denat is denatured ethanol, and it is absent from the 86-entry pore-clogging list published here. What it does in a formula, and where evidence stops.

Is coconut oil comedogenic? Rated 4 on published lists

Coconut oil is rated 4 of 5 on the pore-clogging list published here, reaches labels under two different spellings, and is flagged by the Malassezia rule too.

Is dimethicone comedogenic? What the lists actually say

Dimethicone is a silicone polymer, and it is absent from the 86-entry pore-clogging list published here. What it does in a formula, and what is unknown.

Is isopropyl myristate comedogenic? Rated 5 on published lists

Isopropyl myristate is rated 5 of 5 on the 86-entry pore-clogging list published here. What the number records, what it does in a formula, where it turns up.

Is phenoxyethanol safe? What the label and the rules say

Phenoxyethanol is a preservative, and it is absent from the 86-entry pore-clogging list published here. What it does in a formula and which document caps it.

Is shea butter comedogenic? Rated 0, and still flagged

Shea butter is rated 0 on the published comedogenic list this site uses, and the same butter is flagged by the Malassezia rule. Why both results hold.

Pore-clogging ingredients checker: comedogenic list

Paste a skincare ingredient list to see which entries are on the published pore-clogging (comedogenic) list, which are not, and which could not be read.

Yuka alternatives: what four label scanners actually check

Why shoppers look for a Yuka alternative, and how Open Food Facts, Bobby Approved and LabelPeek differ on scanning, scoring and the data they publish.

Yuka vs Bobby Approved — score vs curated verdict

Yuka scores food with an algorithm; Bobby Approved gives a curated human verdict. How the two methods differ, what each hides, and which fits you.