“In order for the products to achieve dramatic results you must use all of them; the skin must be properly conditioned to accept all the products in the line in order for any of the products to work.”

This is one of my all-time favorites because its purpose is to convince you to buy all the products from one line. It is a classic sales technique. In essence, what you are being told is that the line’s wrinkle cream won’t work unless all the other products are used first, so don’t bother buying the wrinkle cream unless you are going to buy everything. In my years of reviewing skin-care routines, I have never seen a cosmetics line with products so unique that you couldn’t substitute a dozen other products for them, if not many that would work better. Further, every cosmetics line has products you should avoid because they contain irritating ingredients, or inadequate amounts of sunscreen, or moisturizers that oversaturate the skin. The term to note here is “dramatic results.” What the cosmetics company considers dramatic results may be dramatically different from what you would really like to see the products do—even if you do use all of them.

“Reading the ingredient list won’t really tell you about the product; it’s all about how the ingredients react to your skin.”

I couldn’t disagree more. The ingredient list is the only part of the product’s copy that you can and should rely on because it is the only part of a cosmetics label that is regulated by the FDA (Source: www.fda.gov). It’s true that knowing how to decipher an ingredient list is difficult, but even if you know how it doesn’t tell you exactly what percentage of each ingredient was used to create the formula; it is a far more reliable source of information than the product’s description and claims. Yes, the way the ingredients react on the skin is also important, but if a product has lackluster or irritating ingredients, or only minuscule amounts of helpful ingredients, then it is a waste of money, plain and simple. In contrast, an elegant product loaded with ingredients that can make skin look, feel, and function better will in all likelihood cause a noticeable improvement, and that has everything to do with what ingredients the product contains and how they react on your skin!

“Lavender is the most widely used and safest essential oil for sensitive skin. It does not cause irritation! I’m overwhelmed when people say things like that; they need to do their research.”

Lavender is indeed a commonly used essential oil, but it is by no means the safest one for sensitive skin. For someone with sensitive skin, it is best to avoid essential oils completely because of their volatile nature, not to mention the many fragrant compounds in them. However, lavender oil rarely causes contact dermatitis (Source: Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, Fourth Edition, 2002, page 795; and Contact Dermatitis, volume 43, issue 3, September 2000, page 157), but that does not mean its use should be green-lighted for someone with sensitive skin. Lavender oil contains more than 100 components, including linalool, camphor, and limonene, and is used primarily as a fragrance ingredient in cosmetic products (Source: Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients, Second Edition, 1996, pages 339–340). There is no definitive research to show that lavender extract or lavender oil have any benefit for the skin (Sources: Phytotherapy Research, June 2002, pages 301–308; and Healthnotes Review of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, www.healthwell.com/healthnotes/Herb/), yet there is research proving lavender to be a skin sensitizer (Source: Cell Proliferation, volume 37, issue 3, June 2004, page 221). Many people find lavender’s aroma pleasant, which is why inhalation, not topical application, is how this plant is best enjoyed.

Anti-wrinkle. There I said it. Well, to be completely direct and clear, what I’m talking about is that I can barely say the word without faltering or hesitating with a roll of my eyes and an exhausted gasp. Now here’s a term that has been used to death for decades with no learning curve. Ironically, the best and worst formulations all make the same claims. How galling and infuriating.

If a product claims it gets rid of wrinkles we want to believe it, and while there are no products that get rid of wrinkles, as I have written extensively over the past 10 years there are lots of products that can make an impressive change in the appearance of wrinkles. In fact, if you keep using them, you’ll see a big difference (think sunscreens, moisturizers or toners loaded with antioxidants, cell-communicating ingredients, and skin identical ingredients, and exfoliants such as AHA and BHA). So here’s the issue: if my products have the same “anti-wrinkle” benefits as the products I rate highly because the formulas are similar (or if I may brag a bit, often better) why can’t I utter the same word (anti-wrinkle) and get the attention of women the same way other companies do? I can’t tell you how many times I’m asked what anti-wrinkle products I sell (or why I don’t sell products making anti-wrinkle claims). Sigh.

For me to use the term anti-wrinkle to describe my products just hits me below the belt and takes my breath away. Is the term misleading, the way the industry uses it suggesting miracles and the fountain of youth? Absolutely. But without question, well formulated products can reduce lines and make skin look younger, there I said it, anti-wrinkle products do exist.

Back to my point, what am I willing to say or rather what am I not willing to say about my products? This struggle is a problem for my company, particularly my Product Development Manager, Kate, who frequently lectures me about this point. She insists that the ingredients we use in our moisturizers meet my standard for improving the appearance of skin, improving skin cell function, enhancing barrier function, restoring substances to skin that it needs to reduce damage, and yes, fighting wrinkles and make skin look better, which includes looking less wrinkled. What to do? For now, that’s a good question, we are talking about this extensively of late and may make some changes. In the meantime, your feedback is welcomed.