Washington, D.C. -- Skin Deep boasts a new look today, featuring smoother navigation, easier search functions and additional tips for consumers looking for information on the ingredients in their soap, deodorant, toothpaste and countless other personal care products.
The free online database, which has logged more than 250 million searches since its launch in 2004, profiles tens of thousands of cosmetic products and their ingredients, allowing consumers and manufacturers alike to access the latest scientific findings on ingredient toxicity.
User feedback helped Environmental Working Group develop the new look and feel of the site. Find it at www.ewg.org/skindeep.
EWG’s surveys show that consumers use an average of 10 personal care products a day, containing a total of about 126 distinct ingredients, but there is no federal law requiring that these products or their ingredients be proved safe before reaching store shelves. Many ingredients lack basic safety information.
Consumers seeking more information search Skin Deep an average of 100,000 times a day, scouring its profiles of more than 65,000 products and 7,000 ingredients.
“From baby shampoo to blush, Skin Deep empowers consumers by giving them the information they need to make wiser choices on what to put on their bodies,” Jane Houlihan, EWG’s senior vice president of research said.
EWG bases its rating of each product on information gathered from more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases published by U.S. and international health agencies. Products and ingredients are given two scores. One details the known hazards associated with each ingredient and the other rates how much or how little is known about it. Scores for the ingredients in each product are integrated into an overall product score. References to studies that determined the hazard score are listed on each page, as well as information about each ingredient in the published scientific literature.
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EWG is a nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC that uses the power of information to protect human health and the environment. https://www.ewg.org
