Do skin care products really work?

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.

Freddy said:

That doesn't mean that they don't work.

Salicylic acid in facial wash works to unclog pores. Glycolic acid works to remove the top layers of the skin. They're both products that are proven to work and aren't considered drugs. By the way the FDA's definition isn't as clear cut as you put it, supplements which do alter and definately change the body aren't even covered by the FDA.

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Salicylic acid IS classified as an approved drug by the FDA. It is allowed to be used in products to a certain percentage. Look on the back of your products that contain Salicylic acid, you'll see that the label says "DRUG FACTS". Companies are allowed to use FDA approved drug ingredients without having to get their entire product approved.

A product/ingredient doesn't have to be approved by the FDA to work.... BUT, if it DOES work and the company has not received FDA approval to sell it, then the FDA has the right to pull the product from the shelves. Think about it.. do you really want companies to be selling products that change/alter your skin's structure without knowing that the product has gone through extensive safety testing by the FDA? Most companies do not want to go through the time (or have the money) to get new ingredients/products approved, so they will simply either sell products that contain drug ingreidents which have ALREADY received FDA approval (ie salicylic acid) OR they will sell 'cosmetic' products that dont' contain ANY proven active ingredients and make vague claims that their stuff "reduces the appearance of"... in other words, they have 3 options:

1) Develop & patent a new ingredient/product that actually works and have it approved by the FDA so it can be legally sold.

2) Use a proven ingredient that has already been approved by the FDA and include it in their product (benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, etc)

3) Use only dormant and ineffective ingredients and avoid going through the FDA approval hassle and then make vague claims to avoid being sued by the FTC.

That's the reality of skin care products. Unfortunately there is no FDA approved OTC (over-the-counter) ingredient for wrinkles. RetinA is a FDA approved drug for wrinkles, but its not allowed in OTC products, only prescription. That's why OTC anti-aging wrinkle creams are mostly all junk. Now in response to your point about supplements, just do a google search for the number of supplement products that the FDA has pulled. the FDA is cracking down on these products.

Quote: Originally Posted by Margie Berman

Yes they do. I have for years tried to find something for my large pores and oily skin and sebaceous glands and finally, finally I have found something that actually helps. This Dr. Hauschka products and they are amazing in my bath too. If anyone has any better ideas out there please let me know. Thank you


Hi Margie. It's funny you mention Dr. Hauschka products. I bought this line at a local beauty salon last year and I quite frankly I was not too impressed. The products themselves are nice looking and smell great. But for the price, I saw very little difference using their products for mature skin. Their prices are also quite steep. Some of their creams are extremely thick and left my skin oily. I bet their products are great for some skin types, but frankly I think there are better lines out there for cheaper.

What is the difference between Retin A and Retinol? Skinceuticals and Neutrogena both have retinol in some of their products and as a result come highly recommended by the dermatologist I've talked too. The claims on Retinol is that it's the strongest and 'a proven' over the counter wrinkle reducer.

What is the difference between Retin A and retinol? Retinol became very popular after Retin A made headline news as a prescription wrinkle cream. The active ingredient in Retin A is tretinoin, which is also called all-trans retinoic acid, an acid form of vitamin A. Retinol is the technical name for vitamin A and is an over the counter skin care item. The names sound pretty similar, don't they? And both are related to vitamin A. But, there is limited evidence that retinol can exert the same activity as tretinoin on skin. Tretinoin is already in acid form and available to do itâ€2122s job on cellular turnover. Retinol has to become tretinoin in the skin to do the same thing. Depending on the formulation, it may or may not be able to do this effectively. Simply put, Retin A is much stronger (and works better) than retinol. The advantage to retinols (if you can find a formula that does a decent enuf job) is that they donâ€2122t irritate the skin as much as retinoids like Retin A do.