Navigating the Cosmetic Jungle
Not ALL Cosmetics Are Created Equal: What The Differences Are

In today's world, it is impossible to escape elaborate advertising campaigns for beauty products. Each ad promises to be the best, with claims of using the most active ingredients, or telling you to say goodbye to wrinkles, get younger, firmer looking skin. We spend billions of dollars each year in the vain search for the fountain of youth packaged neatly in a pretty jar. Yet with each new purchase, we become more disillusioned. In some cases, we find ourselves suffering from what is called "Buyers Remorse", wondering why we have wasted so much money on something that only smells good.

How can we avoid the cleaver traps created by skilled marketing?

How do we determine if a product is effective?

Does cost play an important role in the quality of cosmetics?

Not all beauty products are created equal. Marketing promises are not always honest and can be misleading. FDA Regulations are lacking in their legal language, yielding a weak law that does not totally protect the consumer.

Cosmetics can be broken be broken down into three categories:

Over the Counter (OTC)

Professional and Cosmeceuticals found in spas & salons

Pharmaceuticals and Prescriptions available only from doctors

Over The Counter (OTC) products are sold in a multitude of venues. They are everywhere from discount houses to high - end cosmetic specialty stores. The variables in quality are vast and can be analyzed along these lines:

1) Discount to grocery stores tend to sell low-end product lines. It is even possible to find counterfeits of high end or professional lines in these places. Remember, you may not be getting the real product. It could be a look - a - like in packing or
past the manufacture's expiration date. Diversion is a multi - billion dollar business and is the cosmetic industries black market. Here the rule is definitely buyer beware. You truly do not know if you are getting the actual safe product. Most counterfeits are coming out of Asia and some have been found to be dangerous. Many salon lines are now doing holographic identity labels to help track diverters for prosecution as diversion is illegal. Low end cosmetic companies use mass marketing in order to generate high level sales. Manufacturing cost added to advertising expenses must be absorbed into the retail cost. This means lowest quality level of cheap ingredients are used.

Low levels of active ingredients are put into the final product for marketing appeal, but never enough to render a change in the skin. Containerization can occur, such as break outs and irritation. Low end products, despite their claims, can not do anything to alter the skin. Do not expect to see any improvement in the skin's appearance. There are no long term benefits either. These products simply can not deliver, no matter what the ad says. Example: We all see the mascara ads showing long lush thick lashes if we buy that mascara. Watch closely and you can see the lash extensions or false lashes used to create the image they are selling. Get the picture? It is unfortunate for the consumer, but the FDA regulations concerning cosmetics claims are lame. This allows all OTC companies, regardless of price range, to make unbelievable statements about their products. By the time the FDA steps in concerning false claims, the product line is introducing the new improved product that you can't live without.

2) Multilevel Sales: These are products sold out of people's homes or on the TV or off the internet. Manufacturing cost of these products are at the industries lowest level. In multilevel marketing, the high cost of catalogues, employee and representative incentives and packaging must be paid. Everyone in the company is paid on a percentage of sales generated, making these products costly to sell, not make.  All cost are absorbed in retail mark - ups of 500% and more. Training and protocols vary too. By law, these companies can not perform hands - on techniques or demonstrations. This means they legally can not touch you with their hands. They are not allowed to make a skin analysis for product recommendation. If convicted, fines can be high and in some instances, included jail time. Violations are numerous and hard to prosecute unless written complaints are received by the FDA or the state cosmetology regulation board legal division. This becomes unfortunate. The unsuspecting consumer allows the violations to continue, not realizing they are hurting themselves. Not only in matters that may effect their health, but also by giving the cosmetic industry permission to continue their deceptive practices. Again, you can be assured product quality is low and not always safe. With multi - level companies, you are purchasing something that only smells and feels pleasant. A special note to think about is that low - end cleansers are unable to remove make - up, much less clean or treat the skin.

3) Department and Cosmetic Specialty Stores: these stores carry lines that are highly advertised in high end magazines and on TV, all of which are extremely expensive. (Many of these lines have a more expensive retail price point than professional or pharmaceutical lines.) In justifying these high ticket prices, these companies offer wonderful ingredients defined by skilled research and development departments. Products are sold in beautiful packaging with polished sales methods. These lines have retail - trained salespeople  behind elaborate counters. These salespeople can not, by law, analyze your skin, do hands on techniques or legally touch you with their hands. Think back to the last time you visited a department store cosmetic counter. You were asked a series of prescribed questions including "what kind of skin do you have?". Skin analysis and diagnosis is reserved for the licensed professions of licensed aesthetics and doctors. Violations are rampant and difficult to prosecute once again due to an uniformed public. Complaint's must be in writing to your state cosmetology regulatory board's legal department. The stores as well as these companies do not want the consumer to be educated about ingredients, laws and regulations. World to the wise, free facials in department and specialty stores are not legal in most states unless the store has a Facial Salon Specialty License for the room and a licensed aesthetician performing the facial. Even if it is free! "Free" is always a good signal that something is not quite right or may be illegal. Violators look at exploiting loop holes in the law as a cover up for improper business practices. Stores get away with this type of dangerous deception due to the public being fed misinformation about cosmetic regulations. Law Enforcement can only act when they receive a written complaint or notice. Now consider cost versus quality. High - end cosmetic companies do use better grades of ingredients. The problem here is FDA regulation constitutes that these ingredients can't alter skin metabolism. They can give a cosmetically improved appearance on a temporary basis. How temporary? Maximum of four (4) hours. So are their claims real or myth? Mostly fantasy in truth, but you are less apt to develop problems such as break - outs or getting irritated. Don't expect changes in your skin's appearance or texture. Wrinkles will not disappear. Houdini isn't hiding inside like a magic genie to erase signs of age! If high - end cosmetic companies had the real answer to skin care, they would not be changing or adding new products every time we turn around.
Better products do protect your skin, so it is better to use these lines than low - end companies. Specialty stores are equally misleading. Most don't hire licensed aestheticians, and if they do, you can't be sure that he/she will be working during your visit. These professionals are what the industry refers to as 'licensed dressing'. By having one on staff at various locations, the store can sell what are considered to be professional only product lines (that means a license is required by law for these products to be sold.) Be careful! Getting a sales representative without training and proper education can lead to unimaginable skin problems. Retail clerks are not professionals, knowing little or nothing about skin analysis. They tend to focus on features and claimed benefits instead of what is best for your skin. The potential for damaged skin is high here, if the products are the same as sold in spas and salons. Specialty stores carry the best, most expensive of lines. Yet still you have no guarantee as to any given product's effectiveness. Some professional companies have started to sell  through these types of retail outlets. Be warned! In order to avoid potential damage and law suites, with the approval of the FDA, the lines have developed a less active product legal for  OTC sales, or have tweaked the formula of the products going to OTC stores. According to current law, labels and packing can stay the same, but the amount of water or carrier agents are increased. This dilutes the product and prevents skin responses to ingredients such as AHA"s and BHA's, but legally the product is the same. The pH factor can be raised to prevent irritation and allow the product to be sold over the counter without changing the label. This can lead to problems also. Try asking for an anti - aging cream and getting something for oily skin. This is becoming more common than you might think.

4) Take to heart all you have learned thus far when watching that infomercial or browsing the internet. It is all to easy to get the wrong product and cause damage or waste your money on really cool marketing. Billions of dollars are spent on flashy ads in this media; all designed to get your money. The companies are not interested in you skin's health. They are businesses created to make lots of money. The old cliche', 'Buyer beware', could not be more true than in the infomercial or internet sales world.

5) Salons and Spas offer a wide range of quality products that are effective. The reason is simple, these companies, by choice and in agreement with the FDA require a license to use and sell. These are referred to as protected lines. These companies are the fuel that drives research in the cosmetic industry. Here is where most of the clinical trails and testing occur. These are the lines the OTC companies buy their research from and attempt to copy. Products that are in this category of quality can effect the skin to a point. You will see results. How long will these results last? As long as you continue to use the product! But is there more? Is there better? Yes!

6) Medical spas and doctors offices are the only locations where pharmaceutical and prescription strength products are available. Products manufactured for the medical skin care industry focus on changing the skin by improving metabolism. These products incorporate the highest quality, most active ingredients, and can penetrate deep into the epidermal tissue, stimulating cellular responses. This is  where the benefits become real and not illusion. Ingredients used are pharmaceutical, not cosmetic grade quality. Higher, professional concentrations of active ingredients with lower pH values render the desired effects. Physician only products are able to change skin texture, stimulate collagen, elastin, ceramide, amino acids and protein production. Results are truly younger, healthier looking skin with better texture and appearance. Acne, Rosacea and others skin disorders are treated at the cause, not just attempting to eliminate the symptoms. Sun damage can be reversed. Hyperpigmentation can be treated with lasting results. Expect to see what is promised! Remember, even with professional strength products, change is progressive. Once the desired change is achieved, it will be long lasting. Professional companies, unlike mass marketing companies, do not spend billions of dollars on consumer advertising. Instead they focus on better research and development, in depth education for aestheticians, nurses and doctors. If you see the product at a store or on the internet, be shy! There is no guarantee you are getting the real McCoy or the right product for your skin. Health history is necessary so that damage may be prevented, allergies avoided and precautions followed.

All this adds up to better value for the consumer. Professional brands, when used correctly, last longer and do more. The old cliche: "got what you paid for" is generally true in life; especially  true in the world of cosmetic skin care. Knowing the comparisons between beauty products can provide a valuable tool when making a decision about what to buy. Examine your goals and what you hope to achieve. Consider what you have learned, then have fun shopping!  

References:

FDA Title 21: Cosmetic & Toiletry Rules and Regulation Association Of Cosmetic & Toiletry

Manufactures Aesthetic Buyer's Guide for Physicians

Cosmetic Surgery Times

Anti - Aging & Cosmetic Surgery Times DermaScope Skin Inc.

les nouvelles Esthetiques

Consumers Guide To Cosmetics

Milady's Skin Care & Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary   

Written by Karen Perry
Texas Board Certified & Licensed Medical Aesthetician
Texas State Board Of Medical Examiners Certified Laser Technician
2007