Testing in the beauty industry can be a little murky. Photo: Getty Images
With few regulatory standards in place to monitor the claims cosmetics companies are making, the success of the product often comes down to the talent of its marketing team.
But that's slowly changing, as more companies are investing in proving the merits of their products with clinical trials.
"The landscape is starting to change and it is moving more towards what we see in the pharmaceutical industry," Professor Christopher Griffiths, a dermatologist at the University of Manchester told The Telegraph. "Products have to do what they say they will, rather than using some sort of sleight of hand."
In 2007, Professor Griffiths and his team carried out one of the first large-scale clinical trials in the U.K. for Boots, showing that their No 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum -- which is marketed as a "facelift in a bottle" -- does actually restore the skin's structure. The product subsequently became a smash hit, with lines forming whenever a new shipment hit the shelves.
"The general public seemed to really appreciate the science," Griffiths said.
But while clinical trials are informative, they can also be confusing, and vary dramatically in their scope. There are many different types and levels of clinical testing, ranging from asking a few friends to test a product and report back on results, to large scale studies that test the results on thousands of people with standardized measurements.
The cheapest -- and most popular -- level of testing is qualitative testing, where the companies ask people what they think about the product. Participants are often given a product to test for a given amount of time, and then report back on its benefits via a survey. If a product claims "87% saw a significant improvement in wrinkles," it means that 87% of the people who tested the product say it reduced their wrinkles.
Quantitative testing is more tangible, as it uses industry-approved devices to measure the product's efficacy -- like the depth of wrinkles before and after product use. This more expensive form of testing is less common, but yields more concrete results, since it's based on actual measurements, and not on what people think. If the same product example used above had undergone quantitative testing, it could claim "wrinkles were reduced by 87%," meaning that, after using the product for a prescribed amount of time, testers' wrinkles were measured and their depth had decreased by an average of 87%.
So when you're thinking about purchasing a product that highlights clinical trial results, it's important to note this distinction in labeling language. Quantitative testing is more trustworthy than qualitative testing. But it's also not as common.
And it looks like it may even get more confusing with the emerging field of Cosmeceuticals, which are cosmetics that are marketed to deliver the benefits of a drug.
Right now, anything that's a "cosmetic" is not allowed to say that it will make an actual physical change to your body. For example, companies can say that their product "improves the look of wrinkles," or "visibly improves wrinkle," but not "improves wrinkles," because that wording would suggest their product is making a physical change to your skin.
Anything that makes a physical change to the body is considered a drug, and must be regulated in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration, along with obtaining a drug license and undergoing even more expensive and time-consuming clinical trials.
But the lines are beginning to blur.
"Both P&G and L'Oreal are now carrying out clinical trials on products that could allow them to make medical claims about their effects. L'Oreal has been carrying out trials on an anti-cellulite lotion, while P&G has been testing a cream that counters the effects of aging from sun exposure," Professor Griffiths told The Telegraph.
In the meantime, how do you know if the wrinkle cream you're buying is backed by solid science or just moisturizer in nice packaging?
Choose your skin treatments carefully, by doing a bit of homework on the products -- read their packaging language closely, and check their website for further information -- to see if the brand has really put their lotions and potions through their paces.