How we work

Fun on top, homework underneath. Here's the homework part, so you know exactly what you're reading.

We don't test on our faces

Waku doesn't run a lab, and we don't claim to have tried every product we write about. What we do is read. When a page says how something feels, that comes from what buyers report, gathered across many reviews, and we say so on the page.

How a topic gets made

1. Questions first. We collect what people actually ask about the subject, from forums, social media, search questions and review threads.
2. Evidence next. Studies, ingredient lists, brand facts and patterns across buyer reviews. When the science is thin or still out, we say that too.
3. Products last. We gather the products worth knowing about and build a card for each one: what's inside, how buyers say it feels, who it suits and what it costs per ounce.
4. One build. The page, its pictures and its social posts are made together, so they all say the same thing.

Topics get updated when the facts change. If you spot something wrong, tell us and we'll fix it.

How products get on a page

A product makes the page because it's good and relevant to the topic. Whether we can earn from it doesn't come into it, and plenty of the products we cover earn us nothing. Brands can't pay to be included, and we don't rank products or crown a winner.

Where our pictures come from

Product photos come from the brands themselves. We sometimes use AI tools to style the scene around a product, like the background, the light and the props. The product itself is never changed: its packaging, size, color and label stay exactly as the brand shot them.

Now and then a picture shows people made with AI, for mood. We keep their skin natural, with real texture, and we never present one as the result of using a product. You won't find before-and-after pictures here.

Our guides are characters

Juno, Sunny and Mimi are Waku characters, not real people. They have no credentials, and they're never dermatologists or estheticians. They give each topic a voice. The research is the same no matter who's guiding.

How Waku makes money

Some links on Waku are affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission, and it costs you nothing extra. Our disclosure has the details.