How to Find Brands That Skip Artificial Colours

Rather than a list that dates instantly, here is how to reliably spot the brands and ranges that colour with natural sources instead of synthetic azo dyes, in any shop.

Why this is a “how to find”, not a fixed list

Brands reformulate constantly, so a named list goes out of date almost immediately and can mislead. It is far more useful, and more honest, to learn the reliable signals that tell you a product avoids synthetic colours, so you can judge anything on any shelf.

The signals that work

• The warning label. In the UK and EU, products containing the main azo colours must state “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children”. No warning means none of those colours.
• “No artificial colours” claims. A useful starting filter, but still read the ingredients, since it does not rule out preservatives or natural colours you might react to.
• Organic ranges. Organic standards restrict synthetic colours, so certified organic products are usually a safe bet for colour specifically.
• Supermarket “free from” ranges. These typically avoid synthetic colours, though they are aimed at allergens, so check for your specific triggers too.
• Short ingredient lists. Plainer products (plain chocolate, plain crisps, plain yoghurt) simply have no colours to worry about.

The colours to scan for

• Tartrazine (E102), Quinoline Yellow (E104), Sunset Yellow (E110)
• Carmoisine (E122), Ponceau 4R (E124), Allura Red (E129)
• Plus the naturals carmine (E120) and annatto (E160b) if those affect you

A note on getting it right

“Natural” on the front of a pack is marketing, not a guarantee, the only reliable source is the ingredients list. Build the habit of checking colours specifically and the right brands reveal themselves.

Check it against your own list

A free database like Open Food Facts lets you look up a product’s full additive list, and Fig is genuinely good for managing a defined eating pattern. These give broad information rather than a check against your own skin. To check a product against the specific colours that make your skin react, a personal-list app like ClearaScan lets you save your triggers once and scan any product, food, medication or cosmetic, against your ingredient guard list, flagging only yours, which sidesteps the whole “which brand this month” problem. Its Reaction Journal lets you tie a flare back to the product that caused it, a shared Care Circle lets family scan for you, and a Trusted Products list keeps what you have cleared. It is currently in early access. (Disclosure: our editor co-founded ClearaScan, and we are not paid to mention the others.)

Written and reviewed by the Sensitive Skin Lab editorial team.