You have probably seen it on our packaging: SGS lab-tested. It is fair to ask what that actually means, because the skincare aisle is full of badges that mean nothing at all.
Who SGS is
SGS is an independent testing, inspection and certification company. They are not owned by us and they do not work for us in any ongoing way. We send them product, they run the tests, and they send back a report — whatever it says.
That last part is the whole point. A brand can write anything it likes on a box. A third-party report is a document somebody else signed.
What the testing actually covers
Cosmetic testing is not one test, it is several. The ones that matter most for a product like ours:
- Heavy metals screening. This looks for mercury, lead, arsenic and cadmium. For skincare sold into our communities this is the big one, because mercury has a long and ugly history in products marketed for uneven tone. A screen either finds it or it does not.
- Microbiological testing. Checks that the product is not carrying bacteria, yeast or mould, and that the preservative system actually holds up once a jar is opened and fingers go in it.
- Ingredient verification. Confirms that what is declared on the label is what is in the bottle — that the niacinamide percentage is the niacinamide percentage.
- Stability. Whether the formula stays the same over time and at different temperatures, rather than separating or losing potency in a hot room.
What it does not mean
Here is where we want to be straight with you, because plenty of brands are not.
A lab report does not mean a product will work on your skin. It does not measure results. It does not promise a timeline. SGS is not telling you that your tone will even out — they are telling you what is in the jar and that it is safe and stable.
It is also not the same thing as "dermatologist approved", "clinically proven", or any of the other phrases you see stamped on packaging. Those are different claims with different evidence behind them, and quite often with no evidence behind them at all.
So we use the badge for exactly one thing: to tell you the contents are what we say they are, and that nothing is in there that should not be.
Why we bothered
When I started looking for a cream for my own skin, almost every option marketed to women who look like me either promised to lighten me, or hid its ingredient list, or both. Several of the best-selling ones in the markets I grew up around have been pulled in other countries for mercury.
I did not want to ask anyone to take my word for it. Testing was the only way to be able to say "here is what is in it" and have it mean something.
How to check anyone, including us
If a brand tells you it is lab-tested, these are fair questions:
- Tested by whom? A named independent body, or their own factory?
- Tested for what? Heavy metals and microbiology, or just a pH reading?
- Can you see it? A brand that has the report should be able to tell you what it covers.
Ask us those questions too. That is the only reason to print the badge in the first place.
Our full ingredient lists are on every product page, with the active percentages on the front of each label.