Now, app that checks hidden chemicals in your cosmetics!

Johannesburg – With women exposed to a lot of chemicals in everyday beauty products, a new app has been reportedly developed that scans barcodes to review the product for safety.

The ‘Think Dirty’ iPhone app gives a product a score after scanning the barcode for ingredients and chemicals.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) states that women are exposed to 168 chemicals each day.

Founder of Toronto-based Think Dirty, Lily Tse said that people use so many products but are not able to understand what is there actually in the product.

Tse explained that cost is of priority for companies who make the products, and making something synthetic that can be mass produced lowers the cost, News24 reports.

The app shows score for a particular product depending on whether any harmful ingredient or allergens exists in it.

According to the report, the app also lists each ingredient and its potential effect on health using sources such as The National Library of Medicine’s Hazardous Substances Data Bank, the EWG and the David Suzuki Foundation, a Canadian environmental group.

Tse said that warnings from regulatory agencies in other countries show up as well because if a product is not considered safe in some other country, the consumer must know.

The report added that Think Dirty also suggests products that contain safer ingredients.