These are the tools, guides, and resources I actually use when shopping for my family. No fluff, no paid partnerships — just the things I have relied on for years to cut through the noise and make more informed choices.
Free Downloads
12 Ingredients to Avoid in Your Personal Care Products The ingredients I look for first on every label — what they are, why they matter, and what to swap to instead. Free download linked in my instagram bio and on my Linktree.
Trusted Tools I Use Every Week
EWG Skin Deep Database — ewg.org/skindeep My go-to for checking any personal care product or ingredient. Deodorant, hand soap, baby wash, sunscreen — I check everything here before I buy. Search by product name or ingredient. Free to use.
EWG Guide to Healthy Cleaning — ewg.org/cleaners The same database but specifically for household cleaning products. Laundry detergent, multipurpose cleaners, dish soap — all rated A through F for ingredient safety.
EWG Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce — ewg.org/foodnews Where the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists live. Updated every year. I have this bookmarked on my phone and check it before farmers market season every spring.
Think Dirty App — thinkdirtyapp.com Scan product barcodes while you shop to get an instant ingredient safety rating. Great for when you are standing in the aisle and need a quick answer. Free to download.
Yuka App — yuka.io Similar to Think Dirty but also covers food products. Scan a barcode and get a score based on ingredient quality and nutritional value. My daughter thinks it is fun to scan things at the grocery store which is honestly a parenting win.
The Lists
2026 Dirty Dozen — Buy These Organic Spinach, Strawberries, Kale and Leafy Greens, Peaches, Pears, Nectarines, Apples, Grapes, Bell and Hot Peppers, Cherries, Blueberries, Green Beans, Blackberries, Potatoes
2026 Clean 15 — OK to Buy Conventional Avocados, Sweet Corn, Pineapple, Onions, Papaya, Frozen Sweet Peas, Asparagus, Honeydew Melon, Kiwi, Cabbage, Mushrooms, Mangoes, Sweet Potatoes, Watermelon, Cauliflower
Full breakdown with notes on each item in my Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 blog post.
A Note on How I Use These Resources
None of these tools are perfect and I do not use them to stress myself out. I use them the same way I use everything on this site — as a starting point for making better choices, not as a rulebook for making perfect ones. Check what you can, swap what makes sense for your budget and your life, and do not let the research become another source of anxiety.
Not perfect. Just better.
Further Reading and References
These are the primary sources I draw from across all posts on this site. If you want to go deeper on any topic I have written about these are the best places to start.
Environmental Working Group — ewg.org The organization behind Skin Deep, the Healthy Cleaning Guide, and the annual Shopper's Guide to Pesticides. My most used resource across every category on this site.
American Lung Association — lung.org Research on the respiratory effects of household cleaning products and VOCs. Referenced in the multipurpose cleaners post.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration — fda.gov Source for the 2016 triclosan ban in hand soap and ongoing regulatory guidance on personal care ingredients. Referenced in the hand soap post.
National Toxicology Program — ntp.niehs.nih.gov Peer reviewed research on ingredient safety including studies on retinyl palmitate and formaldehyde releasers. Referenced in the ingredients guide.
Wellness Mama — wellnessmama.com Katie Wells. Source for the homemade diaper rash cream recipe featured in the clean baby post. Full recipe at wellnessmama.com/motherhood/diaper-rash-cream.
Dr. Axe — draxe.com Guide to non-toxic home cleaning referenced in the multipurpose cleaners post.
IARC Monographs — iarc.who.int International Agency for Research on Cancer. Source for BHA classification and coal tar dye evaluations referenced in the ingredients guide.
Hawaii Act 104 — hawaii.gov 2018 state legislation banning oxybenzone and octinoxate in sunscreens. Referenced in the sunscreen and ingredients guide posts.
Have a product you want me to look up? Drop it in the comments on any blog post or send me a message on Instagram at @the_functional_reset. I am happy to check it.