Serums, shampoos, foundations, eyeshadows...the beauty world is overflowing with so many lotions and potions claiming to provide all sorts of miraculous benefits that it can be difficult to determine which really work. To the rescue: GH Beauty Lab scientists, who evaluated 800 products and tabulated more than 8,000 data points to find the best makeup, skin and hair products you can buy.

meet the beauty lab experts

How We Tested

The scientists in the Good Housekeeping Institute Beauty Lab follow stringent industry protocols to evaluate beauty products — from face and body skincare to haircare and hair styling tools, makeup, technology and more — throughout the year.

5 gh institute cosmetic chemists and analysts who conducted product and treatment assessments 26 beauty product categories evaluated 100 pages of data in the beauty awards testing report 808 beauty products submitted for awards testing 845 number of consumers recruited to test products 8000 data points reviewed and tallied to identify the winners

The Lab uses advanced equipment including the Corneometer device to measure skin moisture levels; the Visia Complexion Analyzer to track changes in skin including wrinkles and hyperpigmentation; and the Cutometer to gauge skin firmness. For hair, the Swatch Wash Station is used to test shampoos, conditioners and at-home hair color products; the Instron machine calculates conditioning properties; the climatology chamber regulates humidity to determine frizz-blocking effects; and the Q-Lab QUV Accelerated Weathering Tester and VeriVide DigiEye system are used to evaluate at-home hair color shade retention.

And that’s just the beginning: Products are often label-masked to eliminate bias and distributed to consumer and expert testers throughout the country to elicit and quantify feedback on factors like ease of use, benefits and drawbacks. For the Beauty Awards hair category, the Lab consulted an expert hairstylist panel including Michelle Hong, colorist and founder of NYC The Team Salon and Becca Mutchler, a hairstylist in North Canton, OH. Taken together, these objective assessments reveal the best products you can buy, ones that truly deliver.

Be a product tester! Sign up for a GH+ membership and register for the chance to be one of our consumer testers.

beaker symbol indicates beauty lab top tested product lightbulb symbol indicates breakthrough product good housekeeping seal indicates seal star product star symbol indicates new and hot product dollar sign indicates bargain buy product clock symbol indicates time tested product


Image no longer available
anti aging beauty award winners
Mike Garten


Image no longer available
roc skincare multi correxion revive and glow moisturizer
Mike Garten


Image no longer available
bodycare award winners
Mike Garten


Image no longer available
dyson airstraight straightener
Mike Garten


Image no longer available
gh beauty awards makeup
Mike Garten


Image no longer available
gh beauty award cosmetics
Mike Garten