You guys know that I’ve been slowly transitioning to a nontoxic/natural lifestyle. Part of that means being conscious of the ingredients of the products I’m using and switching to nontoxic alternatives. Thanks to Think Dirty, that task has become a lot easier.
Finding safer alternatives for everyday items can be tricky. It’s not a simple as buying an item that marked “all-natural” or “organic”. The FDA lets a lot of things slide when it comes to labeling and transparency. So having an app that provides detailed information is handy.
What is the Think Dirty App?
We live in an era where there’s literally an app for everything. Here’s one app that I’m frequenting a lot these days.
Think Dirty is an app or database that helps users learn about the potentially toxic ingredients in their everyday products. It allows you to compare products as you shop and gives easy to understand info on the product. There’s even an option to purchase items directly from the app versus going to the store.
Additionally, Think Dirty now also has a website where users can shop for their favorite nontoxic brands.
How do you use the Think Dirty App?
Using the app is pretty simple. Simply sign up using email or Facebook account and start searching for products.
Maybe you’re in the market for a new face wash or maybe you want to see the rating of your current one. You can find ratings for products by scanning the product barcode, typing in the barcode, or searching our database by keyword (brand name or product name).
Think Dirty is beyond a database. You can use to app to actually shop if you want.
Oh and if you have staple products, you can scan what you’re already using and add them to your Bathroom Shelf” and Think Dirty will give you ratings and provide some cleaner alternatives.
What do the Think Dirty Ratings Mean?
Think Dirty rates products based on the chemical content of the products using publicly available from a list of sources (more info on their site). Each ingredient cited on the label or the manufacturer’s website is examined for evidence of carcinogenicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and/ or allergenicity and immunotoxicity.
Yuck right?
The rating system gives an easy to digest method to understand how clean or dirty a product is based on their ingredients. The scale is from 0-10 with 0 being the cleanest and 10 being the dirtiest.
If numbers aren’t your thing, the system is also color-coded. Green is clean. Yellow is neutral and red is dirty.
Sometimes you may come across a product that hasn’t been rated yet. Think Dirty keeps it real and will let you know that it doesn’t have the info.
Here is a snapshot of ThinkDirty’s Dirty Meter rating system.
Who Made the Think Dirty App?
Think Dirty started as a passion project for Lily Tse. After experiencing some severe reactions to products and with a known family history of cancer, she started researching causes behind breast cancer including toxic ingredients in everyday products.
At the time, her focus was on finding safer alternatives for herself but she soon realized that others could benefit from this knowledge as well.
In 2013, the Think Dirty app was launched with roughly 68,000 products in its database. Today there are over 1,600,000 products available to search.
Is the Think Dirty App Legit?
Think Dirty is focused on helping consumers make educated decisions when making purchases by identifying the potential risks associated with their daily products.
As an independent company with no affiliates and a solid methodology, I believe that they are unbiased in their rankings. But there’s always room for improvement.
The app has been criticized for ratings due to the unfairness that some brands fully disclose their ingredients while others do not and the fact that it’s unknown how much of a toxic ingredient is in the product (arguing that in small amounts, it’s safe).
I know that there are other databases like Think Dirty. However, from what I see, they all seem to have the same issues.
How Much Does the Think Dirty App Cost?
Here’s the best part: Think Dirty is Free99. That’s right. Just download the app and start searching.
My Experience Using Think Dirty
Transitioning to nontoxic isn’t as easy as I thought. Not only do you want to monitor the ingredients but you want to make sure that the product gets the job done equal to if not better than it’s toxic competitor.
I really like Think Dirty. I refer to it often during my shopping trips. It’s easy to use and understand and has taken a lot of the stress I felt around transitioning to natural products.
I’m going to keep it real with you. Right now, a lot of my products are in the yellow. But as long as they are red, I feel comfortable using them until I find my perfect green match. The goal is to one day be all green.
Check out this video of my using Think Dirty during my Target Run (pre-COVID of course).
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Morgan Greene is a Maryland chronic illness and holistic wellness lifestyle blogger. After years of struggling with her autoimmune disease diagnosis, Myasthenia Gravis, she decided to combine two of her favorite things…writing and informing others
IsWasWillBe.com was created to have unfiltered discussions about having a chronic illness. It has since become a place to inspire and create a sense of community among women with autoimmune diseases. Morgan loves trying new things and sharing with other spoonies how to live an ill life on their terms.
When she’s not blogging she is probably reading a book, drinking a Coke Slurpee or listening to music.
I love that there is an app for this! I have been slowly trying to get rid of the toxic additives in our home – I started with food, then cleaning supplies, and now beauty and personal care products. This app will be so helpful!
Author
That’s a great approach! I started with food too – going less processed, more organic. Just wish the switch wasn’t so expensive lol.
Heck yeah I love this post! I love a good helpful app and Think Dirty seems to be really functional! Good luck as you move forward with detoxifying your life-it’s a really impressive goal!
Author
It’s a major goal. So I’m taking it one product at a time so I won’t be too overwhelmed. Thanks for reading!
What a great resource! I love the rating system–it would make life so much easier to know the risk factors.
Author
That’s what I really love about it. It breaks down the ingredients and tells you what the risks are associated with it. Like some things are ranked dirty due to fragrance. But if you aren’t sensitive to fragrances then you may still consider buying it.
I admit that this blog post baffled me, but in a positive sense. In short, it is really unusual as it is interesting.
Think dirty app, I have never heard of that until now, wow, thanks for sharing
What a cool name for cleaning out ones proverbial closet!
how has no one ever made an app like this before? this looks so helpfull!
Yes! I love this app! I heard about it a few years ago and have since been changing all my skincare products. It’s fabulous!
Author
Yes!!! One of my favorite apps on my phone. Was it hard for you to make the switch in your products?
Wow, i honestly didn’t know an app like this exist! i have to check this out! thank you for the useful information.
Wow I did not know that an app like this even existed but it is good to know about. Being more aware if so important.
Author
I agree. Even if folks don’t switch to different products I think being aware is important.
I am so excited to check this out! We do all we can to eat organic whole foods and avoid gmo’s always. But there’s so much more to do. To be able to weed out the toxic products that we use in our home is amazing. Thanks for sharing this incredible info!
Wow, thanks for the suggested app. I love the idea of getting a little more information on a product and getting passed the advertising. I am going to download it today.
Author
Let me know what you think after you try it out for a while. I hope you like it.
Oh, wow. I have to confess that I thought this app did a whole different type of thing. It’s an interesting name choice for sure, but it grabs attention! I can see this being a great app for anyone who wants to search for products without all that extra stuff!
Author
It is an interesting name! I sometimes get it confused with this other app I have with Think in it. Lol
This app is a great concept. I also love the convenience of being able to shop directly within the app. I’m going to check it out because you gave such a great overview of what it is and how best to use it.
Author
I hope you like it!
Wow. Thank you for sharing this as I had no clue shoot this app. I also want to change over to a more healthier diet like vegan. Just taking it one step at a time.
Interesting! I never knew such an app existed but it’s cool and useful especially for a person wanting to detox. Great post!
I have never heard of the app but I really like that it tells you when things are harmful. I hardly look at the ingredients in items but I really should because they really do put a lot of unnecessary ingredients in things especially the USA.. it’s actually quite sad. I like the name of the app.. unique play on words .
Love thos! I’ve actually never heard of this app before, but could totally benefit from it. I have sensitive skin and sometimes I want to know if ingredients in my facial products or hair products are natural or good for me. Definitely downloading this!
It’s scary but it’s a good scary. Now we can make better choices. I totally need to download this app again.