Some products work and others don't. The products that DO work are classified as drugs or have drug ingredients in them that are approved by the FDA. For example, Proactiv does help to treat acne because it contains benzoyl peroxide which is a FDA approved ingredient for acne treatment.
On the other hand, wrinkle and anti-aging creams really don't do anything. That's because there is no approved FDA drug/ingredient that treats wrinkles for over-the-counter products. So what these companies do is simply claim that their products "reduce the appearance" of wrinkles. That's how they get around the FDA. If they claimed that their products ACTUALLY reduced wrinkles, the FDA would ban their products from the shelves because they have not received approval. In other words, if their products actually did do anything, the company would be required to get their product FDA approved as a drug which costs millions of dollars. So in the end, what companies do is just put out bogus products that don't do anything and just use loopholes in their marketing to avoid being fined by the FTC and FDA.
On the other hand, wrinkle and anti-aging creams really don't do anything. That's because there is no approved FDA drug/ingredient that treats wrinkles for over-the-counter products. So what these companies do is simply claim that their products "reduce the appearance" of wrinkles. That's how they get around the FDA. If they claimed that their products ACTUALLY reduced wrinkles, the FDA would ban their products from the shelves because they have not received approval. In other words, if their products actually did do anything, the company would be required to get their product FDA approved as a drug which costs millions of dollars. So in the end, what companies do is just put out bogus products that don't do anything and just use loopholes in their marketing to avoid being fined by the FTC and FDA.