Editorial policy

Independence

No brand sees an article before it publishes, including brands that have paid for a sponsored review. Payment buys placement and our time; it does not buy the verdict, and we will publish a low score on a paid review.

Testing

Products are bought at retail unless a sample is explicitly disclosed on the page. Each is used for at least six weeks and scored on the same five criteria: cleansing or conditioning, feel and finish, formula and ingredients, value, and how it held up over the full period.

Sources

Where we describe a mechanism or a study we say what the study measured, how many people it involved and what it did not show. Where the evidence is thin we say that too.

Corrections

Errors are corrected in place with a dated editor’s note at the foot of the article. We do not delete published pages or silently remove links.

Medical content

Nothing on this site is medical advice. We will consistently point readers towards a dermatologist for anything involving patches, scarring, pain, progressive loss or symptoms beyond the scalp.