What if You Couldn’t Trust Skin Care Claims?

By Darrin Reservitz

Do you go to the store looking for aromatherapy body lotion or other skin care products? And do you sometimes read the ingredients label to help figure out how your product of choice will affect your skin? Unfortunately, if you’re like me, you probably find that the ingredient names sound so foreign you can barely pronounce them, never mind determine their meaning. Your next course of action may be to read the claims on the package. Unfortunately, as this article will teach you, you can’t always rely on these claims as there are few, if any, government standards and enforcement associated with them, which can create a problem for you, the consumer, particularly, as you will learn, if you are buying an aromatherapy skin care product.

Claim 1: Dermatologist Tested
This is a frequently made claim. Its goal is to help you feel that the product won’t harm your skin. For example, the label might read, “Dermatologist tested on sensitive skin.” Clearly, this claim sounds nice, particularly if it was done on your type of skin. However, the claim has little meaning. To begin with, you wouldn’t have the faintest idea which dermatologist was responsible for the testing and analysis. Further, you most likely wouldn’t know the qualifications of said dermatologist. You could easily wonder, “Did this dermatologist have experience with testing? Was she well educated? “ Further, you wouldn’t know the parameters of the test. Finally, without a huge amount of research, if it were even possible, you couldn’t tell who funded the tests. If the consumer product company that manufactured the skin care product you are looking to buy paid for the testing, it would be difficult for it to be an unbiased test.

Claim 2: Hypoallergenic Product
A widely respected online dictionary, Dictionary.com, writes that hypoallergenic means, “designed to reduce or minimize the possibility of an allergic response, as by containing relatively few or no potentially irritating substances.” But there are no government stipulations or bar a company has to meet in order to claim its product is hypoallergenic. This is made more troubling with any aromatherapy skin care product. That’s because any such product contains essential oils, which, when applied to the skin, can cause severe reactions in certain people, assuming they have an allergy to the particular essential oil in use.

Claim 3: Laboratory Tested
As with Claim 1, Dermatologist Tested, this claim has little meaning. Not only would you not know the qualifications of the testing laboratory, but also you would have no idea what the tests entailed. For example, the laboratory might not have tested for an allergy that you have, which is, again, particularly troublesome when buying an aromatherapy skin care product. Further, once again, you couldn’t know who funded the test.
Unfortunately, given the complex ingredients found in skin care products, you often have to rely on the benefits and claims made by the manufacturer. But, as you learned, claims including Dermatologist Tested, Hypoallergenic, and Laboratory Tested offer little meaning for you. Consequently, it’s important that you not only research the product online, but also, if concerned, ask your doctor about it. Let’s face it, your skin is important, which is why you are willing to pay for expensive aromatherapy body lotion or other specialized skin care products. So, to keep your skin looking nice, research your products before you buy and apply.


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