What to know about skin care products

For you as a consumer in the billion-dollar skin care industry, lack of information about products is costly, and you have to bridge the gap between. Without accurate information, you are throwing your money away, because you are completely at the mercy of advertisers and marketers. Knowing more specific information about your skin needs, such as your true skin type, you can take control of your skin.

In 2001, the average American owned about five hundred dollars’ worth of cosmetic products, and this amount has surely risen dramatically as more and more expensive product lines have been developed since that time. Do you really need to spend that much to get quality skin care? No. What truly matters is not your skin cream’s price, but whether it’s right for your Skin Type. No matter how glamorous its packaging or delicious its feel, that four-hundred-dollar cream is not right for everyone. (In fact, some types don’t need to use any skin cream at all.)

Proper information – not hype - will save you the expense, trouble, and waste of buying the wrong products-while directing you to the right ones. Ingredients are the only thing that should drive your purchasing decisions and once you’ve learned what all the jargon and 14-syllable words mean, you too will be better able to read a cosmetic label and figure out if it’s appropriate for you.
Again, products should be chosen based on their ingredients first, manufacturing practices, and formulations.
Also try to research the clinical trial data of the products, when available, to choose wisely those that have proven effective.  Leading dermatologists recommend following these criteria before buying any skin care:

Make sure the product…

1. Contains the right ingredients for your skin type
2. Contains sufficient amounts of active ingredients to be effective
3. Do not contain counterproductive ingredients
4. Are formulated effectively for your needs
5. Are packaged to maintain stability of the active ingredients
6. Are cosmetically elegant (smell good and feel good)
7. Are Approved from those who’ve used them
8. Are easily available for purchase

FDA Agrees Labeled “Cosmetic” is a Drug

Las Vegas, NV-AZ (1888PressRelease) October 06, 2008 - The National Toxic Encephalopathy Foundation (NTEF) is pleased to announce that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has concurred that Clarins Expertise 3P (EP3) is a drug, not a cosmetic as advertised.

In February, the NTEF notified the FDA that Clarins EP3 was making drug versus cosmetics claims and requested an investigation into these allegations. As previously stated: “We are now requesting that the FDA verify the claims made by Clarins, in vitro testing versus in vivo testing, along with compliance, since this product is a new drug under section 201(p) of the FDCA, 21 U.S.C. subsection 321 (p), because it is not generally recognized by qualified scientific experts as “effective” for its intended use.”

On October 1, 2008, the NTEF received the following notification from Patricia A. Hansen, Ph.D. Sr. Advisor for Science and Policy at the FDA:

“The Office of Cosmetics and Colors has reviewed the information at the U.S. website, where products may also be purchased, and consulted with others in the Agency. We are of the opinion that the claims made are drug claims. We have referred the matter to the office that handles these issues, FDA’s Office of Non-Prescription Drug Products in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). “

“We couldn’t be happier with the FDA’s determination regarding EP3”, said Angel De Fazio, President of the NTEF. “Cosmetic companies have been skirting the drug versus cosmetics claims for too long. It is hoped that as a result of this action, cosmetic companies, such as Clarins, will stop their deceptive advertising. It is expected that in the future they will be forced to submit new drug applications for their products when making medical claims”.

“I extol the opinion of the FDA’s findings regarding EP3 and am confident that they will be of the same mind regarding the two dozen plus other drug versus cosmetic claims that we have submitted. As we will be just as aggressive in having those also being re-classified”, said Dr. Jack D. Thrasher, Ph.D., Toxicologist, Immuno-toxicologist, Fetal-toxicologist and technical director for the NTEF. “Clarins has pushed both the limit of believability and cosmetic references regarding this product. This is not the first time that the FDA has taken Clarins to task for drug versus cosmetic claims and we are highly confident that this will not be the last.”

The Skincare Industry

Many consumers are frustrated by skin care products that don’t do what they claim to. Worse still is investing in an expensive yet ineffective cream or treatment only to discover the cheapest drug-store brand would work just as well. In a world of hyper-consumerism, false advertising and a plethora of products from which to choose, how do you choose the good from the bad?

There are some great products on the market that can genuinely improve your skin’s appearance and help your skin look smoother, more radiant, and youthful. But, there are literally thousands of products to choose from and unless you spend hours a day researching beauty products, it’s difficult to find the one of the few that actually produces real results and eliminates years of aging from your face and body.

Not only should a quality skin product help reduce bags under, and fine lines around, the eyes, but it should even out coloration inconsistencies caused by age spots and other unwanted pigment concentrations.

In a marketing-rich world of super models and glamorous actors, many will understandably spend any amount of money to make themselves look better or younger. Cosmetic surgery and skin care is a multi-billion dollar industry.

As the law of supply and demand proves, the higher the demand for youth and beauity, the more manufacturers will rush to provide the solution. Many times this rush results in the creation of an inferior product with little to no research and development to back it.

All of the money goes into the marketing of the product. On the surface everything looks great. The bottles and jars that the creams come in look appealing. The magazine advertisements are glossy, complete with a youthful looking model or a well known celebrity who doesn’t even really use the products.

You can’t really blame these companies. When you are spending a fortune paying for marketing, whether it be on the product containers, magazine, radio, and TV ads, royalties paid to celebrities and models, you have to charge a lot of money for your products or you’re going to lose money.

On the other hand, this doesn’t mean you and I have to fall for these types of marketing schemes. After all, these companies aren’t going to encounter any shortage of people who will open their wallets and purses to purchase their products anytime soon. The reality is most people simply won’t take any time to research products and understand what ingredients work and what ingredients are actually bad for your skin!

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