laboratory. No one bothers to tell us whether a sufficient number of participants was involved. (Most
studies are done in vitro, in a glass tube.) If people were involved, how many participants were
there? Most studies involve thirty to eighty volunteers, of whom “67 percent reported firmer skin”
after a few applications. Did they apply the cream to clean skin? Did they sleep well? Did they drink
lots of water? We will never learn, but these factors are important. We never know who conducted
the study—the company itself or a laboratory, or whether this laboratory was founded by the company
to substantiate this and many other marvelous claims, such as “makes you look ten years younger.”
What would happen if an eighteen-year-old started using it? Will she suddenly look like a
preschooler? Such claims look impressive in press releases and ads, but they are never published in
scientific journals and validated by the scientific community.
Pseudoscientific blabber and impressive sales pitches aside, none of these so-called tests gives
any information that is helpful for your skin and for a good reason: no one tests the skin care product
to find out if it is making skin truly healthy—or at least not hurting it. All that matters is instant
cosmetic effect. Beauty products are evaluated for safety after they are released to the marketplace.
Beauty products are evaluated for safety after they are released to the marketplace.
In most countries, it’s up to the manufacturers to ensure that their personal care products are safe.
In the United States, the cosmetic industry-funded Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) evaluates the
safety of cosmetic ingredients and products. It is very unlikely that a group of cosmetic manufacturers
would voluntarily question the safety of the ingredient they buy in hundreds of tons and use in
thousands of products. Neither cosmetic products nor cosmetic ingredients are reviewed or approved
by the government health agencies before they are sold in stores.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) employs a hands-off approach to cosmetics: there
is no harm until harm is proven. Instead of testing beauty products before they appear on the market,
the FDA regulates products only after they are sold, investigating health complaints when and if
complaints are filed. At the same time, the FDA estimates that only 3 percent of the 4,000 to 5,000
cosmetic distributors have ever filed reports on injuries to consumers with the government agencies.
If there is a safety problem with a cosmetic product—for example, a number of allergic reactions
arising in many people—the FDA can take action to obtain the manufacturer’s safety data on the
product and ask for detailed safety testing results. Most of the tests are performed to ensure that the
product is effective in delivering the promise. Human studies conducted by manufacturers often focus
on overall appeal—such as a pleasant smell, silky feel, or a light texture—or short-term results, such
as an “instant lifting effect.” The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds us that label claims of a
product being “dermatologist tested,” “sensitivity tested,” “allergy tested,” or “nonirritating” carry no
guarantee that it will not cause those reactions. Such tests only prove that the product is effective
against wrinkles, dandruff, or sunburns, and the results can be visible in a matter of minutes, days, or
at least a few weeks.
All safety-related tests are performed on animals. Since there is not yet enough information on
alternatives to animal testing ensuring human safety to validate the use of certain chemicals, the FDA
at this point will only accept animal safety data. While the European Union (EU) has banned animal
testing of cosmetic products since 2000, elsewhere beauty products are most often tested on
genetically modified mice or rabbits whose lifespan is much shorter compared to that of a human
being.
Even if a complaint is filed, sometimes it takes decades to come up with a sizable body of