Rules the build enforces

Language

A cosmetic changes how skin looks and feels. A product that claims to act on a disease is, in regulatory terms, something else entirely, and this site does not write about topicals in that register. Copy here describes the appearance of skin and what an ingredient has been shown to do at a given strength. Where a reader wants a claim about a condition, that is a question for a clinician rather than a ranking site.

The phrases "clinically proven", "FDA approved" and "dermatologist recommended" do not appear in our own copy. Each one describes a specific regulatory or survey fact that a skincare page almost never has in hand.

Sourcing

Every ingredient fact traces to the brand's published list, linked on the entry. Every price carries the date it was read. Where a brand publishes nothing on a point, the page says so rather than filling the gap from a retailer listing or a press release.

Bylines

One byline exists on this site and it names the editorial team. The build rejects any other, including any wording that asserts a medical review.

Numbers

Scores, costs and totals are computed by the site from the product records. An editor can change what a record says, and can argue for a different weight in a rubric, but cannot type a total. Table highlighting comes from an explicit flag on the row rather than from matching text in a formatted value, because a highlight rule written the loose way once promoted the worst documented product on a sister site.

Independence

Brands connected to the publisher's other work cannot appear in rankings or editorial at all. See Disclosures for the full arrangement.