The rules, including the one we cannot bend.
IngredientMD sells review time, tooling and display. It does not sell verdicts. Most of what follows is ordinary; the section on independence is the part that actually matters.
Last updated 21 July 2026
This text is in review with counsel. What it describes is accurate and checked against how the product actually works. The final wording is not settled, so treat this as a description of our practice rather than the binding agreement. The signed version replaces it here on this page.
What a verification is
A brand submits a formula. We read it against the published trial and interaction record, check the label against what the research supports, and check any declared limits against the numbers regulators publish. What holds up earns a verdict, a badge and a public record.
A verification is a statement about a formula and the research behind it. It is not a medical opinion, not a promise about what any product will do for any person, and not advice. Labs test products. IngredientMD verifies the work.
The verdict cannot be bought
The verdict can't be bought or edited. Brands pay for display and tooling, never the outcome.
Private until you publish, and the fee pays for review time, never for the outcome.
This is the whole product, so it is worth being exact. No plan, price, relationship or request changes what a verification says. We will not edit a verdict because a brand asks, and we will not issue one that the evidence does not support. A brand that disagrees with a verification can withdraw it and stop displaying the badge. It cannot have it rewritten.
What a brand owes us
A brand is responsible for the accuracy of what it submits: the formula, the label, the ingredient declarations and any certificate of analysis. We verify against what we are given. If a submission misrepresents the product, the verification built on it is void.
A brand may display its badge on the storefronts it operates, for as long as the verification is current. The badge links to the public record so anyone can check it, and that link is not optional. A badge that cannot be checked is a logo.
What we owe a brand
A review done properly and on the evidence, a record that stays reachable while it is published, and a badge that keeps working. Where a verification changes because the research changed, we update the record and say so rather than quietly editing it.
Submissions stay private until a brand publishes them.
Plans and payment
Plans are billed through Shopify on the terms shown at the point of purchase. A plan sets how many products a brand can carry, and nothing else. Cancelling stops future billing; it does not retroactively unpublish a record, and a brand can unpublish at any time.
Using the public side
Ingredient pages, the registry and the public records are open to anyone, and they cite their sources so a reader can go and check. They describe research, not people. Nothing on this site is medical advice, and nothing on it should replace a conversation with a clinician about your own situation.
Take what you need for your own reading and reference. Do not scrape the site wholesale, resell it, or present our verifications as your own.
When we would end an account
We would end an account for misrepresenting a formula to obtain a verification, for displaying a badge for a product that does not carry one, or for presenting a verification as something it is not, such as approval or a safety guarantee.
We will say which of those it is. An account ending does not entitle anyone to have an accurate published record removed from the historical registry.
Changes
When these terms change materially we will update the date at the top and tell active brand accounts directly. Continuing to use the service after that is acceptance of the revised terms.
Questions about these terms go to hello@ingredientmd.com.