Luminelle vs EWG Skin Deep
Luminelle vs EWG Skin Deep: which is right for you?
Skin Deep is a hazard database with two decades behind it. Luminelle is a mobile scanner that scores by what the regulator's entry says for the product type, with a daily skin selfie, cycle phase and patterns over time.
Out now on iPhone and Android. Free to download, free to scan.
TL;DR
The 3-sentence version
EWG Skin Deep is a free web database run by the Environmental Working Group, a US nonprofit founded in 1992. It rates ingredients on a 1-10 hazard scale with a separate data-availability rating and lists its references per ingredient.
Luminelle is a mobile app that scores each product by reading the regulator entries for its ingredients as they apply to that kind of product, publishes every point of the method, and keeps a daily skin selfie, your cycle phase and your meals in one timeline.
The choice: Skin Deep for one-off ingredient research on the web. Luminelle for scanning at the shelf, a score that separates bans from limits, and your skin, cycle and meals in one place.
Before the comparison
What Luminelle actually is
Every scan and selfie carries your cycle phase, so what you use, what you eat and how your skin looks can be read together.
Product scan
Score every label
Barcode or a photo of the ingredient list. Every product is scored against EU CosIng, California AB 2762/2771/496, Prop 65 and ECHA, and every flag links to the regulator entry behind it.
Meal scan
Calories and macros
Plate photo or barcode. Luminelle names the dish, estimates calories and macros, and adds them to your daily intake. Meals are not scored against ingredient lists.
Cycle tracking
Phase noted on every scan
Log your period; Luminelle estimates your phase and next period from the dates you give it. Every scan and selfie carries the phase you were in, so patterns can surface over weeks.
AI skin observations
A daily selfie, week over week
Up to five plain-language observations per selfie across forehead, under-eye, nose, cheeks and jaw, saved next to your products, meals and cycle. Observed without judgement.
Not a diagnostic, not a diet app, not a brand attack.
At a glance
Side-by-side
| Luminelle | EWG Skin Deep | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 2026 | EWG 1992, Skin Deep 2004 |
| Run by | HushThrive SRL, a company | A US nonprofit |
| Where it lives | iOS and Android app | Web database, plus the Healthy Living app |
| Scans cosmetics | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scans food | Calories and macros, no score | Food scores in the Healthy Living app |
| Score | 0-100 per product | 1-10 hazard per ingredient, plus data availability |
| How the score is built | Each flag read for the product type; bans, limits and not-scored tiers | Hazard from a collection of databases and studies |
| Concentration limits vs bans | Scored differently | Hazard-based |
| Uses ingredient order as evidence | ✓ (the 1% line) | - |
| Method published with point values | ✓ | Method published |
| Sources shown per ingredient | Link to the regulator entry | References listed |
| Daily skin selfie observations | ✓ | - |
| Cycle phase noted on scans | ✓ | - |
| Patterns across products, meals, cycle and skin | ✓ (Pro) | - |
| Pregnancy and breastfeeding avoid-lists | ✓ | - |
| Brand certification | None | EWG Verified, paid by brands |
| Languages | English | English |
| Free tier | ✓ (barcode scans unlimited) | ✓ |
What Luminelle does
Five things Luminelle does
Scans at the shelf. Barcode first, with a photo of the ingredient list as the fallback when a product is not in the catalogue.
Reads the regulator entry, not just the list. A banned ingredient is a finding whatever the dose. An ingredient permitted up to a limit is scrutiny. An ingredient whose limit the label proves through ingredient order is not scored at all. Every point value is at /methodology.
Covers the EU and California. EU CosIng and Regulation 1223/2009, ECHA's endocrine disruptor assessments, California AB 2762, AB 2771 and AB 496, and Prop 65 are in the score. SCCS opinions, ECHA hazard classifications and the EPA PFAS list are shown but not scored.
Observes your skin daily. A selfie returns up to five plain-language observations, saved next to that day's products, meals and cycle phase.
Looks for patterns over weeks. With Pro, the Patterns view checks whether what you scan, eat and log lines up with how your skin looks across your cycle. Correlation, not causation.
Who each is for
Match the tool to your habit
Luminelle is best for…
- You scan in a store and want a verdict in seconds
- You want a score that treats a concentration limit differently from a ban
- You want your products, meals, cycle and skin in one timeline
- You are pregnant or breastfeeding and want an avoid-list applied to every scan
- You want a method with every point published
Skin Deep is probably the better fit if…
- You research ingredients on a desktop and want a long-established reference
- You want a hazard rating per ingredient with the studies behind it
- You don't want a skin selfie or cycle layer
- You are a brand looking for a certification mark
Both can coexist. Skin Deep is the reference desk; Luminelle is the scanner you carry into the shop.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- How does Luminelle differ from EWG Skin Deep?
- Skin Deep is a hazard database: each ingredient gets a 1-10 hazard score and a data-availability rating, and products inherit from their ingredients. Luminelle reads each regulator entry for the product type, distinguishes a ban from a concentration limit, and adds a daily skin selfie, cycle phase and patterns over time. EWG is a US nonprofit founded in 1992; Skin Deep launched in 2004.
- How does Luminelle's scoring work?
- Every flagged ingredient is classified as a finding, scrutiny, or listed-but-not-scored by what the regulator's entry says for this kind of product. A ban is a finding whatever the dose; a concentration limit is scrutiny; a limit the label proves through ingredient order is not scored. The full method, with every point value, is public.
- Does Luminelle have a web database like Skin Deep?
- No. Luminelle is a mobile app for iOS and Android. Products people have scanned have public web pages, but there is no web search or scanner.
- Does Luminelle scan food?
- A plate photo or food barcode gives you the dish, calories and macros, added to your daily intake. Luminelle does not score food.
- Is Luminelle free?
- Barcode scans are free and unlimited, with an account. Photo-based scans are limited to five a day on the free tier. Luminelle Pro removes that limit and adds Patterns, Shelf Check and Ask Luminelle.
- Does Luminelle run a brand certification program?
- No. Luminelle does not certify brands and takes no money from them. EWG offers the EWG Verified mark, which brands apply and pay for.
One scan tells you what's in it. A month tells you what it does.
Free to start. Products, meals, cycle, skin selfie, with every flag linked to a regulator entry.
Out now on iPhone and Android.