How much do you believe of a product’s claims? Do you go in believing what the packaging says about the product? Are you immediately skeptical? Does it depend on the brand or the claim?
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I’m usually skeptical about nearly all the products, especially anti-aging and moisturising! If the brand is very high-end, then I tend to disbelieve the claims slightly lesser, but nearly all products claim much more than they can deliver!
I agree that claims are always more than what is true!
Hmmm, I suppose certain products I’m skeptical about, mostly the anti-aging (like ilovecheese) and the cellulite products. For the anti-aging products, I think most results are just temporary and require you to keep using the product to maintain those temp. results.
I have very oily skin and am still looking for the product that actually helps reduce the oil. I suppose there are probably some do work, but I don’t want to wait 4 weeks to see results. lol. I’m quite impatient and want results now!
Did you always have problems wih oily skin?
If not, maybe it´s your cleanser or another of your skincare products..
Many of the cleansers contain ingredients that strip your skin of its natural barrier and that can cause the skin to react by producing more oil than necessary…and that happens even with the so-called “gentle” or ph-neutral” cleansers. If it contains SLS or something similar, it *could* be a cause for your skin problems.
Not everyone is affected by that.
I switched last year from Avene cleansers (for sensitive, dry skin, no less!) to the oil cleansing method and I am using meadowfoam oil to moisturize..my skin has never looked better and clearer. It took a few weeks for the effects to show (and that wasn´t a pretty sight..), but I now have more balanced skin. It´s still on the dry side, but nowhere near as dehydrated as it was.
Unfortunately, oily skin is just in my genes. I use a cleanser from Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea line that works wells, but the oiliness just comes back in a few hours. I’ve accepted it and just always keep some translucent powder or blotting papers on hand.
Ah, okay…if it´s genetic, there´s really not much you can do.
Aww 🙁 Don’t you hate genes sometimes?
Cellulite products… I’m with you. I wish they were true claims, but unfortunately, science still says no! 🙁
i try to water everything they say down, and if its too ott, then i dont trust the brand/product at all.
Hey Calico, that’s a good philosophy!
I don’t believe anything a product says! I always read reviews from real people instead of the stuff that some writer put on a box or a bottle to make a product sound absolutely flawless.
I’ve gotten myself into trouble before by not doing this, so I will definitely not make that mistake again! Besides, it’s hard for me to believe that anybody looking to make money through beauty products are really interested in whether or not their stuff works. As long as they have a deceiving description, they know they’ll make money.
-conspiracy theories- haha. I’m not crazy. ):
Hey Sarah!
LOL, interesting! I believe some of what a product says – it’s just the degree of effectiveness that I’m skeptical of! It’ll also depend on the history of the brand: are they consistently good? Do they live up to their claims or do they always fall really short?
I’m with Sarah.
I see cosmetic companies as little better than the stereotypical used car salesman. They want to sell their product, and they will try anything … stretching the truth, misdirection, and absolute lying.
I’ve got a bottle of cleanser that says fragrance free on the front, guess what the ingredients list says … fragrance.
Ouch, Kira, LOL. Sorry, I totally hate car salesmen to no end! Wow, what cleanser is that?!
Since I got into researching skincare a little (and learning a lot from a very helpful friend), I have basically stopped believing in what ads tell you..
With most, you pay the name, not the actual effectiveness of the product you buy.
I used to think that something expensive *had* to be good..just because it was expensive.
Now I go by ingredients and that usually makes me put the creams or shampoo or whatever back in the shelve.
For example: petrolatum in skin care…it actually dries your skin out, but it is a common ingredient in body lotions and even face creams..
I could go on and on, but I am going to stop rambling now. :o)
Hey Eva!
Keep rambling, I know that both myself and other readers would find your knowledge helpful 🙂
Okay then.. :o)
But you´ve been warned!
1. mineral oil/paraffin oil and wax/petrolatum (mineral oil jellly) – widely used in creams and especially in chapsticks; they coat the skin like plastic and make it almost impossible for the skin to eliminate toxins, interferes with the skin´s natural moisturizing system…ever used a chapstick and found that you were feeling the need to apply more and more frequently, because your lips felt dry and cracking? Check the ingredients, chances are, there´s petrolatum in it that´s causing the problems.
Sad thing is that products containing these ingredients are the ones you are referred to to battle dry/extremely dry skin, even by many dermatologists…and while it will relieve the skin of that tight feeling, it does nothing to help battling the cause and actually getting moisture into the skin. It simply feels better because there´s a coat on your skin. Silicones have a similar effect in shampoos and conditioners. Makes your hair feel silky smooth, but actually just coats them and dries them out.
2. SLS/SLES – used in shampoos and cleansers as a cheap foaming agent; can cause eye irritation, hair loss, scalp scurf, stripping the skin of its natural lipid barrier, can cause acne, skin rashes; leads to very oily skin on some and dry, patchy skin on others. Is often an ingredient of so-called gentle cleansers for sensitive skin… *sigh*
3. Methyl and Propyl and Butyl and Ethyl Paraben – used as preservatives in most products, even though they are known toxics; cause of skin rashes, allergic reactions for many people; methyl paraben has been found in concerous breast tissue and tumours…
4. Imidazolidinyl Urea, Diazolidinyl Urea – most commonly used preservatives after the parabens, but have to be combined with other preservatives, since neither of them actually works as an antifungal; highly toxic; well established as the main cause of contact dermatitis (American Academy of Dermatology)
5. Propylene Glycol – a synthetic petrochemical mix anti-freeze compound (for real!); used as a humectant, known as a cause of many allergic and toxic reactions
That´s it for now, but there are many more.
Thank you for all the insight, Eva! I think it’s SO great when people share this information, because a lot of us don’t have the time or the patience to learn about a lot of these ingredients and why they’re not good to find in products!
I’m always a little bit skeptical, but willing to try, especially anti-aging creams, because some do work. Of course that also depends of the brand and my previous experience with it. As for anti-cellulite products I don’t believe a WORD they say. lol
LOL, yes, anti-cellulite claims are quite high in the sky from my experience (unfortunately, really, I’d love one that worked as it said it did!!).
I believe what I want to believe and dont trust anything or anyone else….seems so silly!
I give no credit to anti aging creams, cellulite stuff, weight loss drugs, blah blah blah….BUT market the right anti acne product to me and I will buy it…not because I think it will work but because I WANT it to work 🙁 Its what makes the beauty industry so profitable. I hate myself for being such a sucker but after living so long with acne I still pray and hope for the solution in a bottle, even though I “know” it wont happen.Its what keeps me coming back…my own willingness to believe that maybe just maybe there is a chance that this time it will work.
Acne is such a huge problem of mine, as well. I’m currently using just about every natural/home remedy I can to hope that it’ll clear it up. Right now I’m starting up the yogurt mask and aspirin as a spot treatment. I’ll probably start adding some lemon juice, too.
Getting desperate here!
I had a major acne problem too and started using Patricia Wexler’s line…I can’t believe how much better my skin looks! It doesn’t dry me out at all and my acne is totally gone.
I also do an at-home facial every Sunday night with the following: Biore Pore Strips, Eminence Sour Cherry Mask, Aquatanica’s Mud Mask, and Korres Yogurt Mask. I finish off with toner and a night cream because I do it all in the evening before bed.
Sounds nice! I wish that my skin was clear and I can’t tell you how many products I’ve used to try to get it that way. I’m currently eyeballing TESS skincare’s ‘skin with attitude’ kit, because of all the natural ingredients, but I’m not too keen on ‘kits’ in the first place.
I’m going to be trying my natural approach first, but pretty soon I’ll probably get fed up enough to purchase this kit! Oh well.
Let me know how that works, Sarah!!
I’m about ready to try the natural solution myself.
Aww, Tanya!! I am with you… sometimes you just crave a solution and want it to work so badly 🙁
I don’t believe anything til I’ve used it for 2 weeks…. then we’ll see how moisturized my face feels or how “youthful” it looks (hah, I’m 23….)!
lol, Vee! You do know that you’re giving anti-aging products a run for their money by using them at 23? Harder to work when the aging process has hardly started, lol.
It depends on the brand/price. Call me crazy but I always thought that jars of creams and moisturizers that cost a lot obviously had to work, and the cheaper brands would just make your skin worse. I tried out this theory and learned that it does not matter the brand or price.
I think that at certain level that price can mean better quality (or LOW price means low quality), but it’s not always true, and I think it tops off at a certain point. Like $300 cream will not work significantly better than a $100 one, y’know?
I tried Bare Minerals and it didnt like me but it likes everyone else 🙁 sniff sniff…lol I really wanted to believe that TV lady
Aww, Kristine! You know, you’re not the first one that it didn’t work on, at least. A lot of people who tried migrated over to Everyday Minerals.
I believe none of it! They are obviously trying to sell the product.
I buy things very warily, or if a friend reccommends it. :p
Hey Rise! LOL, that’s true. I like to think that their claims are what they are trying to do, and it is only a matter of how WELL they do it that’s left to figure out.
Gotta check Makeupalley.com
But the salespeople always ge tme…
OMG, salespeople get me at grocery stores, lol.
I don’t believe anything until I have tried out samples – some claims are downright ridiculous these days and I am quite skeptical about them. First I read the ingredients list and make sure the product doesn’t contain anything I am allergic to, then I read reviews of the product before ultimately buying it.
I know, right? Especially since anti-aging is such a huge market these days, everybody claims so much!