Author
Nora Ellison
Nora Ellison is DermalGuide's founder. She reads brand ingredient lists, checks them against public ingredient databases and writes up what the label says. She isn't a dermatologist and doesn't test products.
What she does
Nora Ellison founded DermalGuide and is responsible for everything it publishes. Every product page starts from the brand's own published ingredient list, recorded as printed, linked to the brand page it came from and dated so readers can see how current it is. The most recent label check was on.
Each ingredient is matched to the site's glossary, and the ingredient guides explain what an ingredient is, what it does in a formula and what published research and regulators say about it, with those sources cited on the page. Where a product sold as fragrance free lists scent ingredients, the site flags it inlabel findings.
How each label is checked
- The full ingredient list (INCI names) and stated details are copied from the brand's own product page, with a link to it.
- "May contain" shade ingredients are kept separate from the base formula, and known transcription errors are corrected from an explicit list rather than guesswork.
- Each ingredient is matched to the glossary, and scent ingredients and named sensitivity considerations are flagged.
- The check is dated, and the date changes only when the label is actually rechecked.
- Reported errors are fixed and logged on the corrections page.
The full process, including what a label can't tell you, is on how we check labels.
What she doesn't do
- She isn't a dermatologist, chemist or other licensed professional, and doesn't claim to be.
- She doesn't test products or write as if she had. Nothing on the site is a hands-on review.
- She doesn't rate or score products, and doesn't give medical advice.
- She doesn't accept payment or free products from brands for coverage. The site earns Amazon affiliate commissions, which never change the facts listed.
Sources the guides rely on
The site's guides cite 610 outside sources in total. These are the publishers cited most often:
Recently published and updated
How-tos
Buying advice
Ingredient explainers
Side-by-side comparisons
Ingredient guides
There are 436 ingredient guides, from common bases like glycerinto actives like retinol. Browse all ingredient guides.
Contact and corrections
Spotted an error, or a label that has changed? Email admin@dermalguide.com. Corrections are made on the page and listed on the corrections page. Read more about DermalGuide.