This page explains the rules behind every review and buying guide on SeaBuckthornWorld. If you only read one thing, read this: we score products against a published rubric, we show the math, and commissions never affect rankings.
How we choose what to review
We start with the products people actually search for and buy, then add the brands our research suggests deserve attention. A brand cannot pay to be included, and a brand cannot pay to be left out.
How we score
Every product in a buying guide is scored from 0 to 10 across five criteria:
| Criterion | Weight | What we look at |
|---|---|---|
| Purity and sourcing | 30% | Species, origin, organic certification, what part of the plant is used |
| Fatty acid profile | 25% | Verified omega-7 content for berry oil, omega-3 and 6 for seed oil |
| Third-party testing | 20% | Published certificates of analysis, contaminant screening |
| Value | 15% | Cost per day at the dose used in human studies, not cost per bottle |
| Transparency | 10% | Whether the label tells you what you are actually getting |
We publish each score next to the product. When we have not tested a product hands-on yet, we say so on the page and mark the review as research-based, which means it relies on label data, certificates, and published analysis rather than our own use.
The cost-per-day rule
Bottle prices mislead. A $35 bottle that lasts ten weeks beats a $22 bottle that lasts two. We calculate cost per day for every product at the dose the human studies actually used (usually 1 to 3 grams of oil), and we print it in every comparison table.
Health content rules
Health claims get evidence grades: strong human evidence, moderate human evidence, preliminary research, or traditional use. We cite primary sources with PubMed links, and we publish results that went against the product category, including the 2022 meta-analysis that found no effect on blood sugar, blood pressure, or body weight.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the change with a date on the page. Send corrections to hello@seabuckthornworld.com.
What the scores mean in practice
A 9 or above is a product we would buy ourselves at the price. A 7 to 8.9 is good, with a specific weakness we will name, usually cost or a missing certificate. Below 7 does not get recommended, and if it appears on the site at all, it appears as a warning. The score travels with the product wherever it is mentioned, so a guide never quietly upgrades anything.
How to read one of our reviews
Start with the cost per day, because that is the number marketing hides. Then the score breakdown, which shows where a product lost points. Then the evidence grade on any health claim attached to the category. If a review says research-based, we have not had hands on that product yet, and the verdict leans on label data and certificates instead of use.
What we do not review
We skip products that will not say what they are. If a label hides whether the oil comes from the berry or the seed, or the brand cannot produce basic documentation, the product does not get a polite score. It gets excluded, and when it shows up in searches anyway, we would rather say why than pretend we missed it.
Updates and re-scores
Formulas change, prices move, and certificates expire. We revisit the money guides on a rolling basis and re-run the numbers when a product changes. The tools page runs the same math live, including the cost per day calculator, so you can check any bottle against our method in the meantime. Our research standards cover the evidence half of every score.
Frequently asked questions
Can a brand ask for a re-score?
Yes, but only with new evidence. A brand can send a new certificate of analysis, a reformulated label, or a corrected fact, and we will re-run the product against the same published rubric. What a brand cannot do is negotiate the score itself. The rubric decides, whoever asks.