Warnings have been issued over reportedly false “hypoallergenic” and “fragrance-free” claims for huge volumes of skincare products. According to recent research, the ingredients of the top 100 best-selling moisturisers sold by vendors like Amazon were examined, and the results were surprising.
According to the studies, over 80% contained a potentially allergenic substance, and almost half of the products tested did actually contain some form of fragrance.
Not so “hypoallergenic” and “fragrance-free” after all…
The upshot of the studies indicates that the majority of these “hypoallergenic” and “fragrance-free” products can still put consumers at risk of adverse reactions. The news that “hypoallergenic” and “fragrance-free” claims are often false is particularly worrying for consumers who use them specifically for skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis. Consumers often pay more for these kinds of products, meaning the study results indicate that a large number of people are essentially being conned.
On top of that, products labelled as “dermatologist-recommended” may be of little or no benefit to consumers at all. Unless you know how many dermatologists are recommending the product, and what kind of dermatologists we are talking about here, consumers cannot be assured that such a claim is of any benefit to them at all.
When we live in an age where companies have been investigated for dodgy payments that have seen healthcare professionals push specific products in exchange for what can be described as bribes, we may be facing the same situation here as well. A dermatologist who is prepared to accept some form of payment for their recommendation means the benefit to the consumer is a potentially false claim.
Again, paying more for such a product where the actual benefits are questionable is bad for the consumer. In an industry like this that isn’t particularly well-regulated, consumers need to beware that there are some companies making more money off the back of false claims that could adversely affect people using the products for managing skin conditions