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Guthy Renker Corporation


What Cosmetics Producers Forget to Tell You About Hypoallergenic Skin Care Products


Most of us have heard the saying hypoallergenic. Make-up, moisturizers, shampoos, and even jewelry put it on their labels and in advertisements. A product that causes less or no allergic reactions is what the majority of people think the definition of hypoallergenic is. But is this really what it means?

Cosmetics advertisers initially used the term in the 1960s. The word originates from the Latin prefix hypo, which translates to below or less. Less allergens is the literal translation of the word. Since it's creation the term has been commonly accepted and used by manufacturers, marketers, and advertisers to sell products that claim to be softer on the skin than other products basically the same. But is this really the truth?

The Food and Drug Administration tried again to regulate the use of the expression on June 6, 1975 by still requiring manufacturers to do scientific tests but the proceedings for the tests were changed to lower the cost to the manufacturers. This still didn't sit well with the manufacturers who apparently desired no regulations on what they were producing. Cosmetic companies opposed the FDA decision in the U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled that the law was not binding. The judges stated the definition of hypoallergenic the FDA gave was not fair because of such little evidence that people perceived the word in the way it is described by the organization. The end result? Companies can continue to advertise and label their products hypoallergenic with no guidelines or standard set forth by the government. People have no guarantee that a product that says hypoallergenic is any less reactive than other products. So really, a business could produce a product that is hypoallergenic that is full of poisons and allergens. The FDA tried to put regulations on products that claimed to be hypoallergenic in 1974. The FDA stated that a product could be proclaimed hypoallergenic only if experiments were done on test subjects and it showed a significantly lower reaction to allergens than products not making the claim. They then said the companies had to conduct these experiments on their own and (most importantly) at their own expense. This of course caused major problems and companies immediately filed lawsuits against the decision, claiming that the tests would cause an unjust economic burden on them. Clinique and Almay, two producers of hypoallergenic products, were the most prolific challengers to the FDA.

By definition the cosmetics said to be hypoallergenic are required to create fewer allergic reactions to the cosmetics than the products that are not hypoallergenic. Consumers with sensitive skin, and even users with regular skin, may think that these goods will be gentler to their epidermis than non-hypoallergenic cosmetics. There are no Federal standards or definitions that control the use of the expression hypoallergenic. A company can make the term mean anything they want it to. Makers of cosmetics that claim to be hypoallergenic are not required to submit substantiation of their hypoallergenicity claims to FDA. The word hypoallergenic has insubstantial meaning according to dermatologists even though it is a substantial marketing term.

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 customers, we must have a knowledge of ingredients in the goods we consume because obviously the manufacturers who make them aren't extremely concerned about our good health over their profit margins. There is undoubtedly some products out there that claim to be hypoallergenic really are, but if you are a wise consumer and concerned for you and your family's health, you will do the research yourself and not be reliant on unfounded companies proclamations .



Guthy Renker Corporation


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