Paula’s Pick! Ingredients rated with this symbol have proven benefits for your skin and present minimal to no risk of problems. These ingredients are what you should look for when shopping for skin-care and makeup products. In most cases, ingredients rated Paula’s Pick are formulated with ingredients that we rate with a happy face. Such ingredients are necessary to create a product’s texture and other important esthetic and formulary considerations.

Very good ingredients whose inclusion in skin-care and makeup products is necessary for efficacy, esthetics, and overall performance. These are the essential, unsung heroes of almost any cosmetic product sold today. Ideally, you should shop for products that contain a mix of ingredients rated as very good and Paula’s Pick.

Ingredients rated with this symbol are either controversial, have no research to support their use or benefit for your skin, or offer your skin a mix of benefits and potential problems such as irritation. Some ingredients were rated with this symbol despite the fact that they are fine for your skin when used in very low amounts as part of a product’s formulary or stability needs. Generally, it is best to avoid these ingredients but there are cases where they’re necessary additions to cosmetic products.

Ingredients that are bad for all skin types due to their strong irritant potential or ability to damage skin. These are the ingredients that everyone should avoid even if they are combined with lots of beneficial ingredients.