Why Does it Pay to Promote a Product that is Backed by Science

Studies confirm the consumer fascination with personal skincare as a daily ritual for both men and women.  This trend is estimated to continue to increase at a consistent pace.

Global growth predictions indicate that the demand for personal care products is predicted to rise between 7-9% over the next five years. This is contributing to the constant surge of new boutique skincare brands, especially with products that utilize natural, botanical, and organic ingredients, with many of these brands boasting ethical and responsibly sourced ingredients and manufacturing practices.  

If you wish to introduce a smaller niche skincare brand as part of your product offerings, your obligation as a skin care professional will be to ensure these products will be able to support your treatment goals and also ensure that they have been tested for their proven safety and efficacy.  Do they provide independent studies that support that the end product is formulated to deliver the claims made by the company? 

While an ingredient may have good scientific validation for its action on the skin, when included in a formula the manufactured end product will need to ensure its stability and efficacy for its purpose.   

Preservation of the formula is also another important factor and companies that don’t get this right can contribute to both ingredient deterioration, as well as making the product unsafe for use if it is unable to maintain its preservative efficacy.  Although preservative testing is not mandatory in Australia, it is a very important requirement to mitigate the use of harming the user. 

Check the shelf life of the product and whether has it been tested to this end. 

While some of these requirements may not be mandatory from a regulatory perspective, if you are planning to introduce them to your clients you will need to have some clear evidence of the integrity of the formulation.

Here is a brief summary of some key questions to ask:

• Who manufactured the product?  Was it the owner of the product or an accredited skincare manufacturer with appropriate safety facilities?

• Do they have a Good Manufacturing Practice Certificate (GMP)?  This is not essential but it’s advisable.

• Has the product undergone a preservative efficacy test?

• What is the recommended shelf life of the product?

• Has the end product been tested (not just the ingredients) for its ability to deliver on its promises?

Safety refers to the prevention of unintentional contamination or spoilage of the final product.

On the other hand, the efficacy of the end product will allow you to confidently recommend a product knowing that it is able to deliver the results that it claims and intends to deliver. 

First and foremost, as a clinician or skin therapist, it is important to know if the ingredients themselves are backed by scientific evidence – this is your first priority.  Second, check the preservative efficacy. 

These tests are not expensive to do, so if the product you are considering has not conducted this test ask them to undertake this process and provide you with certified evidence. 

Third, it is also advisable to ensure that the end product is stable and able to deliver the outcome that the company promises. 

We now know that post-pandemic, skin manifestations are on the rise, your responsibility is to mitigate them by also being vigilant about the products you recommend your clients use.