You just bought a new cleaning product. Or you're standing in the store aisle comparing two shampoos. Or you're worried about your child's favorite toy. How do you actually check if a product is safe?
Here are three methods, ranked from fastest to most thorough.
Method 1: Scan the Barcode (30 Seconds)
The fastest way to check any product: open Rabbithole's scanner, point your camera at the barcode, and get an instant safety score from 0 to 100. You'll see the overall score, a breakdown by six safety factors, every ingredient flagged by risk level, and links to detailed toxicology data for each ingredient.
This takes about 30 seconds and covers 90% of what most people need to know. If the score is 80+, you're in good shape. If it's below 75, check the ingredient breakdown to see what's flagged.
Method 2: Check the Label (5 Minutes)
If you can't scan or want to double-check, read the ingredient label yourself. Look for these red flags: the word "fragrance" or "parfum" (undisclosed chemicals), anything ending in "-paraben" (endocrine disruptors), "DMDM hydantoin" or "imidazolidinyl urea" (formaldehyde releasers), and any Prop 65 warning on the packaging.
Remember: ingredients are listed in descending order of concentration. A red flag ingredient at position 3 is more concerning than one at position 25. For a deeper guide to label reading, see How to Read Ingredient Labels.
Method 3: Research Individual Ingredients (30+ Minutes)
For deep due diligence, research each ingredient individually. Rabbithole's ingredient database shows you the CAS number, risk score, and regulatory status (Prop 65, IARC, ECHA, EPA, FDA) for every ingredient we track. You can also check EWG's Skin Deep database for cosmetics or the EPA's Safer Chemical Ingredients List for cleaning products.
This level of research is most useful when you're choosing a product you'll use daily for months or years — your everyday moisturizer, your baby's lotion, your kitchen cleaner.
The Bottom Line
Method 1 is enough for most decisions. The scanner cross-references the same databases you'd check manually — it just does it in seconds instead of hours. Save the deep research for the products that matter most to you.