The Label Report
What 40 everyday products reveal about the labels you buy
We grade every ingredient on the actual evidence and score every product on one rubric. That gives us a consistent dataset across 40 popular products and 95 profiled ingredients. Two stories fall out of it: where the genuine concern hides, and how much of the feared list is actually fine.
Updated July 2026. By PlainBody Editorial.
The concern that actually matters is hiding in plain sight
Fragrance is the most common cause of cosmetic contact allergy, and 38% of the products we scored list it only as an undisclosed “fragrance” or “parfum” blend, so you cannot see which allergens you are getting. Among leave-on products, 36% carry a fragrance blend. Meanwhile 10% of products still use a formaldehyde-releasing preservative, a class with real, cited contact-allergy concern, concentrated in hair care.
Most of the feared list is fine
Of the 95 ingredients we have profiled against the published safety reviews, 19 (20%) carry a verdict of feared but fine: parabens, silicones, sulfates in rinse-off products, fatty alcohols, mineral oil, and the rest of the usual suspects. Only 2 carry genuine restricted or limited-concern verdicts. And 10 of our ten cleanest products contain at least one feared-but-fine ingredient, which tells you how little the fear lists have to do with what actually matters on a label.
How the scores fall
The median product scores 89 out of 100. Most everyday products are fine; the bottom of the distribution is where the fragrance blends, sensitizing preservatives, and hidden allergens cluster.
By category
| Category | Products | Median score |
|---|---|---|
| Cleansers | 6 | 99 |
| Moisturizers | 5 | 100 |
| Serums | 4 | 96 |
| Toners | 3 | 75 |
| Sunscreens | 5 | 97 |
| Shampoos | 5 | 76 |
| Conditioners | 2 | 93 |
| Body wash | 3 | 89 |
| Body lotion | 3 | 79 |
| Deodorants | 2 | 77 |
| Masks | 2 | 93 |
Cite this report
The findings are free to reference, in a story or a study, with a link back to this page.
PlainBody Editorial. (2026). The Label Report: what 40 everyday products reveal. PlainBody. https://plainbody.com/reportHow we built this
Every figure is computed live from the 40 products and 95 ingredient dossiers in our database. Concern verdicts are graded against published safety reviews (CIR, EU SCCS, CosIng, FDA), never hazard-score lists. Full method: how we score. Cosmetic information for general education, not medical advice.