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Guthy Renker Corporation


What Manufacturers Do Not Tell You About Hypoallergenic Beauty Products


The word hypoallergenic is a term that probably most of us have heard before. It is used in advertisements and placed on product labels of shampoos, moisturizers, make-up, and even jewelry. A product that causes less or no allergic reactions is what the majority of people think the meaning of hypoallergenic is. But is this really what it means?

The term first appeared in the 60s from cosmetics advertisers. The term comes from the Grecian prefix hypo, which means below or less. Less allergies is the actual translation of the word. Since it's creation the word has been commonly adopted and used by manufacturers, marketers, and advertisers to sell products that claim to be softer on the skin than other products similar to it. But is this really how it is?

The FDA attempted to put guidelines on products that said they were hypoallergenic in 1974. The FDA said that a product could be proclaimed hypoallergenic only if tests were done on test subjects and it proved to be an obvious lower reaction to allergies than other products. The FDA then stated the manufacturers had to conduct these studies on their own and (most importantly) at their own expense. This obviously caused major problems and cosmetics producers instantly began suits opposing the choice, claiming that the tests would cause an unfair economic strain on them. Clinique and Almay, two manufacturers of hypoallergenic products, were the biggest challengers to the FDA.

The American Food and Drug Administration has stated, Hypoallergenic cosmetics are products that producers say produce less allergic reactions than competing products. Users with hypersensitive skin, in addition to people with ordinary skin, may be led to believe that these products will be gentler to their epidermis than non-hypoallergenic cosmetics. There are no Federal regulations or terms that regulate the use of the word hypoallergenic. A company can make the term mean whatever they want it to. Makers of beauty products proclaimed hypoallergenic are not required to prove substantiation of their hypoallergenicity claims to FDA. The word hypoallergenic has insubstantial meaning according to physicians even though it is a considerable marketing term.

On June 6, 1975, the FDA again tried to control using the term hypoallergenic by still requiring tests be conducted, but with alterations to cut down on costs of manufacturers. Manufacturers who evidently didn't want any standards on the products they made did not like this either. Cosmetic manufacturers challenged the FDA decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals, which judged that the regulation was invalid. The judges stated the definition of hypoallergenic the FDA gave was invalid because of a lack of proof that consumers perceived the word the same as it is described by the organization. The result? Cosmetics producers can continue to advertise and label their products hypoallergenic with no regulation or standard set forth by the government. Customers have no guarantee that a product that says hypoallergenic is any less allergic than any other products. A product could be maxed out with poisons and allergens and a company could supposedly still make it.

Requiring a list of ingredients the product has in it on the box seems to be the only victory the FDA had against the cosmetics companies. As consumers, we must know ingredients in the products we use because obviously the manufacturers who produce them aren't very concerned about our good health over their profit margins. There is no doubt that some products that exist that claim to be hypoallergenic actually are, but if you are a wise customer and concerned about you and your family's well being, you will do the research yourself and not be reliant on these companies proclamations Hypoallergenic? Lets try hypohonest.



Guthy Renker Corporation


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