Editorial and Research Policy

Editorial scope

Formula Clarity publishes skincare and beauty consumer education, including ingredient-label explainers, product research workflows, comparisons, buying guides, pricing context, routine decision support, alternatives, compatibility questions, and risk-aware summaries. We do not publish personalized medical advice, diagnosis, treatment instructions, or emergency guidance.

Source hierarchy

Where relevant, articles should prioritize primary or close-to-primary sources: product labels and packaging, official brand pages, retailer listings, regulatory pages, safety notices, peer-reviewed literature, standards bodies, official ingredient databases, and direct manufacturer statements. Secondary commentary can be useful for context, but it should not replace primary evidence when the article depends on a factual product, price, regulatory, or safety claim.

Evidence levels

Risk levels and reviewer gate

Low-risk buying and label-interpretation content can be written from documented sources when it stays within evidence limits. Content becomes higher risk when it discusses diagnosis, treatment, disease, pregnancy or lactation, medications, severe reactions, procedures, ingestibles, toxicity conclusions, or individualized safety. Those claims require an appropriately qualified reviewer before publication, or they must be removed or reframed.

Product selection and comparisons

Product pages and comparisons should define the buyer question, product universe, inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, source dates, and update burden. A comparison should not pretend to be exhaustive unless the research record supports that scope. A product can be excluded because evidence is incomplete, not because it is worse.

Prices, availability, and formulas

Prices, sizes, sellers, formulas, ingredient lists, claims, availability, and affiliate terms change. Articles should show when a relevant product label, retailer page, price, or source was checked. A public INCI list does not reveal exact concentrations, pH, stability, delivery system, manufacturing quality, contamination risk, or how an individual will tolerate the product.

Testing, review, and hands-on wording

Formula Clarity must not use words such as tested, clinically proven, dermatologist-approved, lab-verified, certified, safest, or best unless the exact article has evidence that supports that wording. If a page uses direct observation, it should say what was observed and avoid expanding that observation into claims it cannot support.

Affiliate and commercial independence

Commercial relationships may affect where links point, but they must not decide the evidence threshold, conceal limitations, or force positive conclusions. Articles with affiliate links should include a clear disclosure near the point of decision and should remain useful even if a reader does not click the links.

AI and editorial assistance

AI tools may assist with outlining, summarizing, formatting, or checking consistency, but they do not replace source review, human editorial judgment, expert review where required, or final accountability. AI-generated statements must be checked against sources before publication.

Updates and corrections

Material updates should record what changed, why it changed, and when key sources were checked. Errors, outdated product details, unclear evidence labels, broken links, disclosure issues, and privacy concerns can be sent to contact@formulaclarity.com. See the Corrections Policy.