Best Way to Avoid Making Mistakes When Buying Cosmetics

Let’s face it, when dealing with cosmetics companies, inflated advertising claims seem to come with the territory. It appears as though nearly every marketeer has come up with a product that was “designed” to “help” wipe out the “effects of aging” by “smoothing away” and/or “prevent­ing” wrinkling. These ads are carefully designed to influence you, the skin care consumer.

Since I definitely want to belong to the smooth-faced generation, I guess if it wasn’t for the money involved I would want to buy and try everything. But I can’t afford to do that, and I don’t know many women who can. Skin care products are simply too expensive for us to risk many mistakes.

Nonetheless, I have found that the typical consumer does make mis­takes primarily because she wants to believe in miracles. She tends to go off to buy the newest advertised skin care products without even a rudi­mentary understanding of what the ads are selling, what the products are promising, or what she wants. When this happens, the woman more often than not becomes discouraged because the product doesn’t seem to be doing what she hoped for, and she goes back to her old stand-by, which often is a less expensive product that has served her in good stead for many years. I call this “hit and miss” shopping. The only problem with this approach is that a woman’s skin care needs change not only as she ages, but also with the seasons, and sometimes she is not taking this into consideration.

In my opinion, looking for miraculous results is one of the primary reasons for hit and miss cosmetics consumerism. Buying skin care prod­ucts should be a totally practical matter. Here are some of the kinds of things you should ask yourself before heading for the store:

• Skin type changes as we age. Are you absolutely certain about your skin type or are you assuming that it is the same as it was five or ten years ago?
• Most, if not all, skin care products are designed with specific skin types in mind. Do you know how to determine which products are appropriate for you?
• Skin care advertisements toss around a lot of fancy words. Do you know the difference between an emollient and a humectant? How about dermis and epidermis?
• Sunscreens are given numbers to indicate their SPF (Sun Protection Factor). Do you know which number is right for you?
• Sunscreens have traditionally protected against ultraviolet B, but new evidence indicates that ultraviolet A is also implicated in skin damage. Do you know how, and are you using a product that screens out both ultraviolet A and B?
• Many scientific experts believe that something called the free radical is implicated in the aging process. Do you know what a free radical is? Do you know which skin care ingredients help protect against the free radicals?
• Cell turnover is a phrase that is used in many skin care ads. Do you know what it means, and how much or how little skin care products affect it?
• Women in their twenties with normal skin often precipitate their own skin problems by purchasing products designed for mature dry skin. If you have normal skin, do you know which ingredients are too “rich” for your skin type?
• Cleansing products, including scrubs and masks, can sometimes cause more harm than good. Do you know why?
• The “look” of aging skin often appears because skin cells of a mature woman do not retain as much moisture. Do you know which ingredients are more effective in binding water to your skin and help give the skin a more youthful appearance?
• Advertisements and labels for expensive anti-aging products often , refer to different types of ingredients. Do you know, for example, anything about the following: hyaluronic acid, mucopolysaccha­ride, NMF, retinyl palmitate, ascorbic acid?
• When you go to buy cosmetics, the salesperson often suggests that you buy several products from the same line. Is it preferable to stick to one skin care program or can you mix and match?

• Many skin care consumers are brand loyal. If this is the case with you, do you know why you have these feelings?
• Certain masks and cleansing-type products achieve good results. However, the same results can be achieved for pennies using ordi­nary household ingredients. Do you really believe this, and do you know what to do?
• Most of the women I talked to told me that money was a big factor in how they purchased skin care products. Do you have a skin care budget as well as an effective plan to get the best value for your cosmetic dollar?