Are your beauty products safe?

Every lotion, shampoo and cosmetic you put on your skin can soak right into your body. The Skin Deep app allows you to scan products to find out if they’re safe

Every lotion, shampoo and cosmetic product you put on your skin can soak right into your body – but do you know what’s really in those products? Now, a new app can help you determine which products are safe and which ones aren’t.

The app, called “Skin Deep,” was developed by the Environmental Working Group – an environmental health research and advocacy organization – in order to educate consumers about the products they use.

Upon downloading the free product, users will find a database of 72,000 personal care products, 2,500 brands and 9,000 ingredients. Users can scan product barcodes or search goods by name to determine their safety.

Each item listed in the app is given a rating based on the hazard-level of each of its ingredients, compared to other products in the database. Users can even find out which ingredients in each product are most harmful.

Though not every product sold in stores can be found in the database, the app gives consumers information about which chemical ingredients are the most hazardous, so they can make an informed decision next time they’re making a purchase.

For more information on “Skin Deep,” visit http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/app/.