Our Standards

Every guide on Body Skin Insider follows the rules on this page. The short version comes first.

The short version

  • Every guide lists its sources, and key claims link to them.
  • We say how strong the evidence is, including when it’s weak.
  • We describe how long changes usually take, based on the research, and never call a product a cure.
  • We never treat “whitening” or “lightening” as a goal for skin.
  • No product rankings.
  • When a fix changes a guide’s advice, we say so.

Choosing topics

We choose topics from search data on what people in the US ask about body skin. Several of the most searched topics, like crepey skin and dark underarms, come with a lot of worry attached, so we also write the guides that answer “is this serious?”, such as when a brown spot on the leg should be checked.

Our owner also makes body care products, which gives us a commercial interest in this subject. How we deal with that is on the disclosure page.

Sources

We rely most on the American Academy of Dermatology and on peer-reviewed studies found through PubMed. We also use the FDA and the FDA-approved drug labels on DailyMed, plus DermNet, Cleveland Clinic, MedlinePlus, the National Cancer Institute and, for pregnancy topics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We don’t use brand websites as proof that an ingredient works.

Products and prices

Guides talk about ingredients and formats more than brands, and they never rank products. Where price matters, we use published research on what products cost rather than store prices or deals. Our guides don’t link to stores.

What body care can’t do

Body care products can soften and protect skin. They can’t diagnose or treat a medical condition, and our guides don’t suggest otherwise. Guides about spots, patches and discoloration include the signs that mean you should see a board-certified dermatologist, and prescription choices, including doses, are left to you and your clinician.

Corrections

A fix that changes what a guide tells you gets a dated note at the end of the guide; typos just get fixed.

Updates

When research or rules change in a way that affects a guide, we revise it and note what changed at the end.