How we grade the evidence
Every article and every product pick on MyAgenix rests on the same question: what does the published research actually show? This page sets out how we answer it, what the four grades mean, what we will not claim, and how the product picks are made.
What the four grades mean
- Strong
- Large, long or repeated independent trials that point the same way. Daily sunscreen and topical retinoids sit here, and we say so plainly.
- Good
- Decent independent evidence, usually several smaller trials, with a mechanism that makes sense. Niacinamide, azelaic acid and ceramide moisturisers are examples.
- Emerging
- Early, small or mixed studies, often funded by the brands selling the ingredient. Worth watching, not worth paying a premium for.
- No good evidence
- Nothing beyond marketing, anecdote, or trials that fall apart once you look at who paid for them. We say that plainly too.
How a grade is decided
We start with the strongest evidence available: pooled analyses of randomised trials where they exist, then individual trials, then guidance from the NHS and from the professional body for UK skin specialists. We weigh who funded a study and how well it was run before we weigh what it found. Where the evidence is thin, the grade says so rather than rounding up.
What we will not claim
MyAgenix is cosmetic guidance to help you choose products. It is not a medical service. We do not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition, we do not promise a result on any timetable, and we do not use the words clinically proven, because in cosmetics they rarely mean what they sound like. Where a concern needs a pharmacist or a GP, our articles say so.
How product picks are made
A pick starts from your read and your answers: the concerns you want to work on, what you would rather avoid, your budget and your preferences. The matching then weighs each product against the grades above, its published ingredients list against your allergies and exclusions, and its price against your budget. Every pick shows its reason, and the reason is the whole basis for it.
Affiliate links and ranking
Some product links may earn us a commission. Commission is not an input to the matching and never changes a ranking: the same product would be picked, in the same place, with no affiliate link at all. Our affiliate disclosure has the detail.
Where the articles get their facts
Every factual claim in an article that came from a source links to that source in the sentence that makes it, and each article lists its sources at the foot. We link to the NHS, to patient information from the professional body for UK skin specialists, to regulators, and to the studies themselves. If a number cannot be sourced, it does not appear.
Dates and corrections
Every article shows when it was published and when it was last updated. If you think we have something wrong, email us and a person will look at it.