THE CURSE OF FAKE SKINCARE PRODUCTS

There is always a certain level of excitement and joy bubbling somewhere associated with opening new skincare products! It feels like getting presents at a festival and you just can’t wait to open them up. I’ve never met someone who wasn’t excited to get new skincare products! But with new products, there’s sometimes a meek voice in the back of your head saying, “God, I wish they’re not fake skincare products”, “God please let it be a real product.” This instance is especially true in the case of online shopping where it is hard to tell whether something’s real or not.

But even when people are not shopping online, and directly from the aisle in the market, they fall victim to counterfeit products which is a total waste of their money, and it isn’t just about money. The arc of damage counterfeit and fake products inflict is huge. Yes, counterfeit and fake are two different terminologies, denoting different things by definition but they can be considered the same.

A counterfeit product is an intimation of any original product. This product is designed to deceive the victim into believing what they’re using is authentic and original. A fake product is something that is not real. Generally speaking, a counterfeit product can also be called a fake product as it is ‘Not original/real’. While we’re on this topic, let us also clarify what the term ‘Dupe’ means. In the cosmeceutical and skincare industry, a dupe is an alternative to a high-end product at half the price.

But why are counterfeit products illegal and what difference do they make? Here’s why we think fake products are a curse on mankind.

Why is fake skincare such a big NO NO!?!?

Suspicious Ingredients

Counterfeit products are not registered. This roughly translates to the fact that no one knows anything about these products such as the ingredients they use, the conditions they’re made in. Anything that can’t be traced back to where it came from or what it contains, is always suspicious. These questionable ingredients in skincare products are the last thing anyone needs.

Quality of Ingredients

These fake products have no standard of quality they maintain since they’re not even registered. So, no one knows what quality ingredients they’re using on your face and what they might do to you. It is particularly dangerous because these ingredients can cause serious health issues such as life-threatening allergies, swelling, etc. They also make your skin extremely sensitive.

Claims

There is no way of checking whether the claims or the ingredients list on the products is correct or not. For counterfeit purposes, the ingredient list is often not very different from the original product’s one. However, there is no guarantee to their claims since there is no check and balance. For instance, they could have a very impressive list of ingredients mentioned but there’s no telling if it’s true or not. Almost in all cases, it is NOT true. Moreover, these products also contain high amounts of illegal ingredients that may give results initially but they’re very damaging in the long run. Such ingredients are mercury and hydroquinone.

Lack of Trust

Such products and the experiences users have with them create a gap between users and authentic brands. This is especially damaging in the case of small, emerging brands which can face a huge blow in their reputation because of these experiences. This kind of behavior also discourages people to try out something since they’d much rather have no skincare product on their shelves than a fake skincare product. This is how the illegal sellers of counterfeit products break the consumer base of well-reputed brands.

How To Distinguish The Fake Products From Real Products

It is heart-breaking to have a bad experience with such fake products, however, we can’t just stop buying skincare products altogether. Here are a few tried and tested tricks you can try before your purchase to make sure you’re getting an original product

Buy from official Retailer/ Store

If you’re looking for products from a certain brand, they’ve likely their own store (online or physical outlet). Always buy those products from the official retailers. Often, brands mention where we should reach out to them on their products, and if any website or official handle is mentioned, it is best to purchase directly from them or it is worth it to verify whether a product is fake or real, from them. When it comes to online shopping, never buy a product from anyone other than an official retailer. We at Jenpharm can verify our products for you if you reach out to us at www.Jenpharm.com or our official handles on Instagram ‘@myjenpharm’ and Facebook ‘Jenpharm life Sciences’. Fake profiles can be distinguished by their number of followers, sketchy details of content, etc.

Buy From Reputed Departmental Stores/ Pharmacy

Some research before your purchase about the store is always encouraged. Google the reviews of the store. Generally, big departmental stores sell original things since they can not sell fake/counterfeit products by license so they get these products directly from the distributor. Also, in case of any fake product, they are more likely to take strict action upon your complaint since they have a reputation to maintain.