How we pick

Who we are

Avina Picks is written by the team behind Avina, a skincare routine app for iPhone, Android and the web made by Ysoftware LLC. Avina keeps a catalog of skincare products with their ingredient lists so people can build their routines from real products. That catalog is also our research tool: across the 8,130 leave-on face products in it with a readable label, we can see how a formula compares with everything else on the shelf.

What we check on every label

• The active is namedThe ingredient the product is sold on appears on the label, and we record where it sits. A retinol with no retinoid on its list never makes a list.
• A strength we can repeatWe repeat a strength only when the product's own name states it, and the card says so when it does not. Where a name carries a level instead of a percent, we give the percent the brand states and say it is the brand's.
• No added fragranceFragrance is one of the most common causes of skin reactions to cosmetics. We flag an added fragrance, and we also flag scent-bearing plant oils and the named fragrance allergens that EU-compliant labels list separately.
• No drying alcohol near the topDenatured alcohol high on a list can sting skin that a retinoid is already irritating. We flag it by position.
• Something that helps itCeramides, glycerin, niacinamide, squalane and similar ingredients make a strong active easier to live with. We list what is there.
• Evidence for the formRetinol, retinal, adapalene and the retinoate esters differ in strength and in how much research stands behind them. We cite it.
• You can buy itSold widely in the US, and in Avina's catalog with a complete label. An incomplete label is refused, not guessed at.

Each pick shows these facts in a Label facts panel, and the full ingredient list is one tap away with the actives marked. The facts are generated from the label, not typed by hand, and dated: the current set was read on September 29, 2026.

What we do not do

• We do not test products on skin, run testing panels or measure results. A label tells you what is in a formula; it cannot tell you how it feels on your face. When we say something about texture or tolerance, it comes from the cited research, the brand’s own statement, the ingredient list, or public Reddit discussions we link in Sources, and we say which. What people say on Reddit is opinion, and we treat it as that, never as proof a product works.
• We do not accept payment, free products or ad buys in exchange for a place on a list.
• We do not invent reviewers. There is no fictional dermatologist here. Articles are written by the Avina Picks team and are not clinically reviewed.
• We do not show prices. They change by the hour, and Amazon’s rules forbid typing them in. The retailer shows the current price.

How we write

We use AI tools to help draft articles and to read each label against the catalog. Every ingredient position, count, printed dose and fragrance or alcohol flag is generated from the product’s ingredient list, not typed by hand; every research claim links its source; and the Avina Picks team decides the picks.

How we make money

Some links on Avina Picks go to Amazon. If you buy through one, Amazon pays Avina a small commission at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links are marked as sponsored for search engines, labeled as paid links next to the button, and always point visibly to amazon.com.

Commission never decides a pick. Products are chosen from the label first; whether a store pays us comes after, and a product with no affiliate link can win. The other way Avina earns money is the Avina app, and we tell you so at the end of each post.

Corrections and updates

Brands reformulate. When a label changes, the facts change with it and the post carries a new date. If you see a label that no longer matches your box, or anything we got wrong, write to support@avina.skin and we will check it and correct it.

Where to learn more

Avina Picks is for choosing a product. For the evidence behind the ingredients, with no product picks and no links to shops, read Avina Learn, starting with retinol vs retinal.