Inside our 12-week panel protocol
5 min read · Updated July 2026
"Panel-tested" is a phrase that gets used loosely in this category. We get asked often enough how our version actually works that it's worth laying out in full — recruiting, protocol, photography, scoring, and the parts we're honest about not claiming.
Recruiting the panel
Our panel is a standing group of 24 people, ages 24 to 58, recruited to represent the people who actually buy these products — not just one demographic. That means the group deliberately includes sensitive-eye panelists, contact-lens wearers, and people who regularly get lash extensions, so tolerability results reflect real-world use rather than a best-case scenario.
The nightly protocol
Every serum is purchased at full retail price — we don't accept free products from brands, for the same reason we don't accept payment for ranking placement (more on that on our about page). Panelists apply it nightly for twelve weeks, following each brand's own instructions as closely as possible, and log any irritation, redness or discomfort in a running weekly check-in.
Photography checkpoints
Standardised macro photographs are taken at three points — week 0 (baseline), week 6, and week 12 — under fixed lighting and a fixed camera angle for each panelist, so photos from different checkpoints are actually comparable. You can see an example set in our QUALASH review.
Blind scoring
Two reviewers assess length and density from the photo sets without knowing which serum produced them — a basic blinding step that keeps brand reputation or price from quietly influencing the score. Their assessments are then cross-checked against each panelist's own weekly self-reports, so a photo-only read can't miss something a panelist actually felt.
Turning it into a score
The blind assessments and tolerability logs feed into a fixed, published rubric — Efficacy (40%), Tolerability (25%), Formulation (20%), Value & UX (15%). Every serum is scored against the same weights, which is why a 9.1 means the same thing wherever it appears on the site. The full breakdown lives on our methodology page.
What we don't claim
This is an editorial testing process, not a substitute for a clinical trial — we're not a research institution, and we don't present our panel that way. What we can promise is that every product goes through the identical process, purchased at retail, scored the same way, with nobody paying for a better result.
See the results
Every score on the site comes from this exact protocol, applied the same way to all ten serums.
See the Top 10 →