Claims in Skincare Product Promotions - Too Good to be True?

Posted by Fernanda da Silva Tatley on July 25, 2024

5 minute read

I’m often approached to comment on natural skincare routines as well as on skincare adverts where claims are made about miraculous skincare benefits within days or even 24 hours of using the products.

Needless to say, I don’t believe in these types of statements, and I remind people to consider how it can be possible to see significant skin improvements such as decreasing wrinkles overnight, when we know that even a paper cut does not heal in 24 hours.

Besides, as I have explained in various Azurlis Articles over the last few months, in a healthy young body it takes 28 day for new cells to move from the forming layer, “Basement Membrane Zone”, to the top surface of the Epidermis, and the fact that as we age the 28 days cycle slows down, so it may take one and a half times longer to regenerate our skin cells. See figure below.

Surely this starts making 24-hour changes less credible… or rather, not credible at all!

Purchasing Products with that make Superb Skincare Claims

Interestingly, a few weeks ago my curiosity was piqued by a post I saw on Instagram, which looked too good to be true, and because I did not want to add “my IG name” to the Instagram algorithm, instead I looked for the product in the USA-based company website (I’m not disclosing the website).

Not much information was provided on the composition of the “Botox Face Serum”, but given the price shown, which again was too good to be true, and it was on special.

So, I purchased it, and I was really keen to understand how botox was being used in a topical serum, as no suggestion was presented of this being injectable.

A few weeks later a package arrived, not from the USA, but from China!... and the product did not look like what I ordered.

Instead, this was a “Skin Melanin Correcting Facial Serum” and nowhere was there a reference to “botox”. Was I sent this product by mistake?

But it gets more interesting…

Upon checking the ingredients, I found one that I had never heard of, it was “etc.”, listed under the ingredients shown as “Water, Retinol, Ascorbic Acid, Niacinamide, Aloe Vera Extract and Glycerin, etc.”

This product had a mixture of oil-based ingredients (Retinol) in a water base (the others mentioned).

Since oil and water don’t mix without an emulsifier how come one such ingredient was listed?

What preservatives were used as mixing oil and water without preservatives will lead to a wonderful microbial culture medium that will go off in no time.

Also, the consistency of this Serum was that of an “aqueous mixture”, so it was highly unlikely that oil-based ingredients such as Retinol could be present, without an emulsifier.

And then there were other nagging questions…

Where was the botox?

How would botox be included in a topical Serum?

Why advertise botox, then name Retinol and Niacinamide as the key ingredients?

I purchased the product because it was “supposed to be a botox serum”, not because it had Retinol and Niacinamide (Vitamin B3).

Giving the Company a Second Chance

I decided to give them some leeway as may be someone in dispatch made a mistake. So, I ordered again, and much to my surprise the promotional discount was even bigger, meaning, my additional investment was going to be quite minimal. What have I got to loose?

Well, a few weeks later another package arrived, now with a different product. Still no reference to “botox”, but instead it showed that it was a 15% Niacinamide Face Serum.

Once again, it got better... as I looked at the ingredients.

In this product, which has an ‘aqueous” texture, the ingredients consisted of Water, Niacinamide, “Collage”, Sodium Hyaluronate”… and this time there was no “etc.”, but clearly something was still very wrong with this composition.

Is “Collage” meant to be “collagen”?

How is this included in a soluble form without mentioning emulsifiers and preservatives?

And using 15% Niacinamide is not to be taken lightly. Is this high concentration meant to indicate that the results will be achieved faster? Possibly based on the logic that the more antioxidants we use, the quicker the reverse of the ageing or other processes. Really?

What about the potential that high ingredients concentrations may be toxic and interfere with other products people are using?

Again, these issues did indeed raise my eyebrows…

At this point I emailed the company who responded with an offer for the products to be returned to China at my cost or get a 20% discount for a future purchase! However, none of my questions on why the wrong products were sent or any additional information on the composition of any of the products.

Be Aware of Excessively Beneficial Skincare Claims

Two mistakenly sent products is a bit much, and neither referring to “botox”! I really wanted to see how they had used botox in a topical serum. Though by this stage it was evident that the "botox Serum" was not real.

Besides, the fact they the product showed 15% niacinamide raised alarm bells.

This is because although niacinamide is reasonably well tolerated it should not be used at more than 10%, and at this level there is potential for side effects in the treatment skin ageing and hyperpigmentation.

Besides recommended concentrations of Niacinamide to target some conditions as listed below, are way lower than 10%, let alone 15%.

Skin barrier repair: 2%
Acne-prone skin: 4%
Hyperpigmentation and ageing signs: 5%

For your interest, niacinamide can be applied during the day or nighttime, as it is not known to lead to sun sensitivity, and it can also be used in formulations with other antioxidants and other vitamins.

Take Home Message – Don’t Believe Everything You See Online

I’m sure this is by now obvious, but I feel I have to stress this because somehow the natural desire to get quick fixes for everything in life drives our choices and purchases.

And… As you have read, you get what you pay for.