Consumers are getting savvier these days thanks to the internet, but they seem more confused than ever even though the FDA limits claims that can be made on a cosmetic product.
Did you know a cosmetic or personal care product can't have ANY therapeutic purpose? Otherwise it is recognized by the FDA as a drug. There are some drugs that are OTC such as sunscreen or smaller percentages of retinols or salicylic acid, but they are labeled as such and the active ingredients must be prominent with their percentages and purpose at the top of the label.
Furthermore did you know that the word "cosmeceutical" is not recognized by the FDA? There's a lot of crafty marketing out there and because the FDA allows cosmetics to go to market before getting approval it's up to the customer to take their own precautions.
You should read up on all of the FDA bylaws HERE for more information.
Ingredients on a cosmetic label should fall in descending order. The greatest percentage of ingredients are at the top and the lesser ingredients are closer to the bottom. The exception is with Ingredients that are less than 1%. They can be listed in any order after the ingredients over 1% are listed. This can be confusing since there isn't a division between the ingredients above and below 1%.
In may products you will see water, alcohol and fillers at the top, especially with shampoo. Many times customers are paying a high price for water with a few ingredients that may or may not be in the formula.
The more water in the product the more parabens need to be in the product. Water breeds bacteria and shortens the shelf life of a product! Sometimes products will contain a lot of parabens because the product is intended to be used in damp places like your shower. It is safer to have parabens than to be exposed to harmful bacteria and mold.
Check out your beauty products tonight. Are you paying for a bunch of water? Are the key ingredients closer to the bottom of the list? Perhaps that's because you might just be paying for marketing!
