02.14
Five Tricky Ways Companies Make You Buy More Skincare
I love the fabulous life just as much as the next girl. Luxury products, glossy packaging, and shiny promises leave my eyes glistening with want. There are a lot of great skin care companies with excellent products, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t stretching their marketing prowess to the limit to get us to stretch our wallets. It’s all about being a smart, savvy, well-informed consumer. Here are some sneaky maneuvers to look for during each and every trip to the store.
1. An “Ingredient Complex” Instead of an “Ingredient”
Companies do not have to reveal active ingredients in secret or patented formulas. Instead, they are merely required to submit an FDA application that lists the alias they use on the label in the place of naming the exact ingredients. For instance, a company could say their product contains “15 percent vitamin C serum” that’s really only 1 to 2 percent actual vitamin C and the rest mainly water and other fillers. That’s a lot different from “15 percent vitamin C.”
2. Deceptive Packaging
Beauty packaging is just like a potato chip bag—it often looks like you’re getting a lot more goodies than you really are. Many companies have a habit of selling product in large jars that are actually half solidified glass or plastic.
The key is to learn to recognize the amount of product listed, not the size of the container. The numbers don’t lie.
3. Complete Lines that Aren’t Worth It
Unless you’re purchasing a value set for a reduced cost of 10% or more, buying complete product lines is usually a waste of money for two reasons. The first is that many product lines will feature one or two stellar products with a high concentration of the most-advertised ingredient, but the rest of the products in the line typically will contain much lower concentrations of that same active ingredient.
The second reason is that buying a complete skin care line typically will only expose your skin to one highly beneficial ingredient over and over again in the form of a cleanser, scrub, toner, day moisturizer, night moisturizer, etc. If you were to select the best products from different lines, you could have a personalized array of concentrated products with an assortment of top-notch ingredients.
4. Selling Product that Expires Before You Can Use It
Studies in marketing research have shown that women are more likely to keep using a product if they don’t see results. The logic behind this is one of negative motivation—we tend to be persistent when we don’t get the intended result, failing, then trying, trying, trying again.
Companies know that certain antioxidant ingredients, like retinoids and vitamin C, tend to become less effective after frequent exposure to light or air. In fact, for daily use of these products, many dermatologists recommend buying only one month’s supply at a time, or only buying product in airtight pump containers. Large-size packaging gives us the results in the beginning, and less of an effect as the product degrades. As predicted by the studies, this only leads us to buy more. The solution? Buy small or airtight quantities of your antioxidants - and keep them tightly sealed as quickly as possible!
5. Remarketing the Same Product with a Different Name—and Price
There are quite a few drugstore brands that are notorious for this. For years, you’ve been buying Product X, only to find that it is no longer available. But there is this brand-new Product Y with a similar active ingredient and some kind of “new technology”—and it costs twice as much for half the size. The truth of the matter is that while some of these new technologies have been shown to have benefits, the overall effect is usually about the same for the average consumer. This can be disappointing, but it’s true: in a lot of these cases, the original really is the best.
Read more from Nick at her blog, FutureDerm, or to ask her a question about your own skincare issue, visit her Facebook page.
1. An “Ingredient Complex” Instead of an “Ingredient”
Companies do not have to reveal active ingredients in secret or patented formulas. Instead, they are merely required to submit an FDA application that lists the alias they use on the label in the place of naming the exact ingredients. For instance, a company could say their product contains “15 percent vitamin C serum” that’s really only 1 to 2 percent actual vitamin C and the rest mainly water and other fillers. That’s a lot different from “15 percent vitamin C.”
2. Deceptive Packaging
Beauty packaging is just like a potato chip bag—it often looks like you’re getting a lot more goodies than you really are. Many companies have a habit of selling product in large jars that are actually half solidified glass or plastic.
The key is to learn to recognize the amount of product listed, not the size of the container. The numbers don’t lie.
3. Complete Lines that Aren’t Worth It
Unless you’re purchasing a value set for a reduced cost of 10% or more, buying complete product lines is usually a waste of money for two reasons. The first is that many product lines will feature one or two stellar products with a high concentration of the most-advertised ingredient, but the rest of the products in the line typically will contain much lower concentrations of that same active ingredient.
The second reason is that buying a complete skin care line typically will only expose your skin to one highly beneficial ingredient over and over again in the form of a cleanser, scrub, toner, day moisturizer, night moisturizer, etc. If you were to select the best products from different lines, you could have a personalized array of concentrated products with an assortment of top-notch ingredients.
4. Selling Product that Expires Before You Can Use It
Studies in marketing research have shown that women are more likely to keep using a product if they don’t see results. The logic behind this is one of negative motivation—we tend to be persistent when we don’t get the intended result, failing, then trying, trying, trying again.
Companies know that certain antioxidant ingredients, like retinoids and vitamin C, tend to become less effective after frequent exposure to light or air. In fact, for daily use of these products, many dermatologists recommend buying only one month’s supply at a time, or only buying product in airtight pump containers. Large-size packaging gives us the results in the beginning, and less of an effect as the product degrades. As predicted by the studies, this only leads us to buy more. The solution? Buy small or airtight quantities of your antioxidants - and keep them tightly sealed as quickly as possible!
5. Remarketing the Same Product with a Different Name—and Price
There are quite a few drugstore brands that are notorious for this. For years, you’ve been buying Product X, only to find that it is no longer available. But there is this brand-new Product Y with a similar active ingredient and some kind of “new technology”—and it costs twice as much for half the size. The truth of the matter is that while some of these new technologies have been shown to have benefits, the overall effect is usually about the same for the average consumer. This can be disappointing, but it’s true: in a lot of these cases, the original really is the best.
Read more from Nick at her blog, FutureDerm, or to ask her a question about your own skincare issue, visit her Facebook page.
