Detect Harmful Ingredients in Your Skincare with BellieTime
Inspiration…
I have always been obsessed in skincare and wellness. I thought of this app when I was expecting my baby girl. When I was visiting my doctors, they were pretty strict with what ingredients to avoid during pregnancy. Some ingredients has hormones while some can even cause defects during the first trimester.
Of course this was very concerning as any expecting mother would be. I had this list of ingredients to avoid from my doctors and since I am a software engineer, I decided to build an app that not only detects these harmful ingredients in my skincare products, but to also detect the derivatives because they can be harmful too. I wanted to bring transparency to my users so they know exactly what they are putting on their skin.
This app started with transparency for moms and babies but I decided to expand the database even further. With open source data and help with my dermatologist friends, we curated a database that identifies ingredients with obvious and hidden fragrances, potential allergens (U.S. FDA), and non-vegan sources. This app is for anyone and everyone who is obsessed with skincare like me.
How to Use BellieTime?
Currently, BellieTime is a webapp. I am in the process of moving to IOS. It is quite simple to use actually. You have two options when you go to bellietime.com.
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First option is a capture text with the “Choose file“ button. Take a picture of your ingredient label, crop to context (optional), then hit submit. Give it a second and you will be given a detailed analysis of your product with breakdowns of which ingredients are potentially not fragrance-free, not pregnancy/baby-safe, not allergen-free, and not vegan.
Second option is copying and pasting the list of ingredients (from sephora.com for example) into the textbox. You will get the same breakdown.
Is BellieTime FREE to Use?
Of course it is! I monetized it by running ads. I respect privacy so I don’t see any of your images or results and I definitely do not track. Currently it is being sponsored by Google AdSense and I generate a small revenue stream from bellietime.com/tree through the use of affiliate links to products I love and recommend.
What’s Next for BellieTime?
Definitely moving to the app store will make my life a lot easier. I am in the process of redesigning the UI and looking for a new ads agency for mobile. I heard AdMob is pretty good. What do you think?
In the meantime, I am just really enjoying getting user feedback from my mommy friends, other content creators, and skincare enthusiasts. If you want, please support my channel at youtube.com/@bellietime where I love making content related to parenting, skincare, and tech. I am a software engineer by day, content creator at night, and mommy all day long.
