Improving the search process for healthier cosmetic and body care products

Abstract

People around the world use and desire cosmetics; however, a lot of these products have ingredients that have not been tested or regulated for safety, many that have been linked to endocrine disruption, cancer, pregnancy loss, hyperactivity, male infertility, attention problems, and more. Tools have been developed to help educate consumers and help them make healthier choices when buying cosmetic and body care products, but these tools can be inconvenient, time consuming and overwhelming for users. This creative project explored ways to make it easier for shoppers to find healthier products with less harmful chemicals in stores and websites where they may shop, influencing healthier lifestyle choices. The use of design thinking helped guide the creative project by highlighting the challenges users face when using existing tools and/or searching for healthier products, and providing potential solutions to these challenges. Low-fidelity and mid-fidelity prototypes of an app and a website were created and tested with users to demonstrate the solutions and their potential impact.