Anti-aging product

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Anti-aging creams are predominantly moisturizer-based skin care products marketed with unproven claims of making the consumer look younger by reducing, masking or preventing signs of skin aging. Anti-aging supplements are ingestible products promoted to diminish the effects of aging, including vitamin supplements, powders, and teas. [1]

Contents

Anti-aging cream. The manufacturer of these products received an FDA warning letter in February 2015 for falsely advertising its cosmetics products as drugs. Anti-aging cream.jpg
Anti-aging cream. The manufacturer of these products received an FDA warning letter in February 2015 for falsely advertising its cosmetics products as drugs.

False health claims

In the United States, anti-aging products are commonly marketed with false health claims, and are deemed to be among various scams on consumers. [3] [4] Since 2007, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued dozens of warning letters to manufacturers of skin care products with false marketing including supposed anti-aging effects about the benefits of such products, which are not authorized to be marketed as drugs that would require FDA approval to be safe and effective for treating the aging process. [4] [2]

Audience marketing

Social media marketing has been effective at getting children and teenagers to buy anti-aging skin care products. [5]

Traditionally, anti-aging creams have been marketed towards women, but products specifically targeting men are common in the 21st century. [6] Marketing of anti-aging products has been criticized as reinforcing ageism, particularly against women. [7] Anti-aging promotions specifically reinforce the belief that older people should look like middle-aged people, and that old age comes with a loss of gender identity. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Food and Drug Administration</span> United States federal agency

The United States Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, caffeine products, dietary supplements, prescription and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), cosmetics, animal foods & feed and veterinary products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical uses of silver</span>

The medical uses of silver include its use in wound dressings, creams, and as an antibiotic coating on medical devices. Wound dressings containing silver sulfadiazine or silver nanomaterials may be used to treat external infections. The limited evidence available shows that silver coatings on endotracheal breathing tubes may reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. There is tentative evidence that using silver-alloy indwelling catheters for short-term catheterizing will reduce the risk of catheter-acquired urinary tract infections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cosmetics</span> Substances applied to the body to change appearance or fragrance

Cosmetics are composed of mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes, including personal and skin care. They can also be used to conceal blemishes and enhance natural features. Makeup can also add colour to a person's face, enhance a person's features or change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature, or object.

Controversies regarding the use of human growth hormone (HGH) as treatment method have centered on the claims, products, and businesses related to the use of growth hormone as an anti-aging therapy. Most of these controversies fall into two categories:

  1. Claims of exaggerated, misleading, or unfounded assertions that growth hormone treatment safely and effectively slows or reverses the effects of aging.
  2. The sale of products that fraudulently or misleadingly purport to be growth hormone or to increase the user's own secretion of natural human growth hormone to a beneficial degree.
<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nootropic</span> Compound intended to improve cognitive function

Nootropics, colloquially brain supplements, smart drugs and cognitive enhancers, are natural, semisynthetic or synthetic compounds which purportedly improve cognitive functions, such as executive functions, attention or memory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goji</span> Fruit of Lycium barbarum

Goji, goji berry, or wolfberry is the sweet fruit of either Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense, two closely related species of boxthorn in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. L. barbarum and L. chinense fruits are similar but can be distinguished by differences in taste and sugar content.

Nutraceutical is a marketing term used to imply a pharmaceutical effect from a compound or food product that has not been scientifically confirmed or approved to have clinical benefits. In the United States, nutraceuticals are considered and regulated as a subset of foods by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938</span> Acts of the United States Congress

The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is a set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics. The FDA's principal representative with members of congress during its drafting was Charles W. Crawford. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. senator from New York. In 1968, the Electronic Product Radiation Control provisions were added to the FD&C. Also in that year the FDA formed the Drug Efficacy Study Implementation (DESI) to incorporate into FD&C regulations the recommendations from a National Academy of Sciences investigation of effectiveness of previously marketed drugs. The act has been amended many times, most recently to add requirements about bioterrorism preparations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Velvet antler</span> Fuzzy vascular coat on antlers

Velvet antler is the whole cartilaginous antler in a precalcified growth stage of the Cervidae family including the species of deer such as elk, moose, and caribou. Velvet antler is covered in a hairy, velvet-like "skin" known as velvet and its tines are rounded, because the antler has not calcified or finished developing.

Cosmeceuticals are cosmetic products with bioactive ingredients purported to have medical benefits. In the US, there are no legal requirements to prove that these products live up to their claims. The name is a portmanteau of "cosmetics" and "pharmaceuticals". Nutricosmetics are related dietary supplement or food or beverage products with additives that are marketed as having medical benefits that affect appearance.

Natural skin care uses topical creams and lotions made of ingredients available in nature. Much of the recent literature reviews plant-derived ingredients, which may include herbs, roots, flowers and essential oils, but natural substances in skin care products include animal-derived products such as beeswax, and minerals. These substances may be combined with various carrier agents, preservatives, surfactants, humectants and emulsifiers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lotion</span> Skin treatment preparation

Lotion is a low-viscosity topical preparation intended for application to the skin. By contrast, creams and gels have higher viscosity, typically due to lower water content. Lotions are applied to external skin with bare hands, a brush, a clean cloth, or cotton wool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skin care</span> Range of practices that support skin integrity

Skin care or skincare is a range of practices that support skin integrity, enhance its appearance, and relieve skin conditions. They can include nutrition, avoidance of excessive sun exposure, and appropriate use of emollients. Practices that enhance appearance include the use of cosmetics, botulinum, exfoliation, fillers, laser resurfacing, microdermabrasion, peels, retinol therapy, and ultrasonic skin treatment. Skin care is a routine daily procedure in many settings, such as skin that is either too dry or too moist, and prevention of dermatitis and prevention of skin injuries.

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition is the branch of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that regulates food, dietary supplements, and cosmetics, as opposed to drugs, biologics, medical devices, and radiological products, which also fall under the purview of the FDA.

Selmedica is a Washington, DC corporation and an FDA registered drug and dietary supplement manufacturer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration</span> Governmental regulation of food quality

The regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a process governed by various statutes enacted by the United States Congress and interpreted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"). Pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and accompanying legislation, the FDA has authority to oversee the quality of substances sold as food in the United States, and to monitor claims made in the labeling about both the composition and the health benefits of foods.

The Food and Drug Administration is a federal agency of the United States, formed in 1930.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994</span> 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation

The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 ("DSHEA"), is a 1994 statute of United States Federal legislation which defines and regulates dietary supplements. Under the act, supplements are regulated by the FDA for Good Manufacturing Practices under 21 CFR Part 111. The act was intended to exempt the dietary and herbal supplement industry from most FDA drug regulations, allowing them to be sold and marketed without scientific backing for their health and medical claims.

Consumer Health Laws are laws that ensure that health products are safe and effective and that health professionals are competent; that government agencies enforce the laws and keep the public informed; professional, voluntary, and business organizations that serve as consumer advocates, monitor government agencies that issue safety regulations, and provide trustworthy information about health products and services; education of the consumer to permit freedom of choice based on an understanding of scientific data rather than misleading information; action by individuals to register complaints when they have been deceived, misled, overcharged, or victimized by frauds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Proxmire Amendment</span> US legislation related to dietary supplements

The Proxmire Amendments were a series of legislation that prohibited the Food and Drug Administration from monitoring and limiting the potency of vitamins and minerals found in dietary supplements. The Proxmire Amendment also made it so that food supplements could not be classified as drugs, making their sale possible without a prescription from a doctor. According to a study done, "dietary supplements fall into the following categories: vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, animal-derived products, hormones and hormone analogues, enzymes, and concentrates, metabolites, constituents, or extracts of these." They can be used by anyone wishing to purchase them as much or as little as they desire. Dietary supplements can be used to increase productivity, treat illness, help mental health such as depression and anxiety, enhancing mental abilities, building muscle, or losing weight, among many other uses. William Proxmire, a Senator for Wisconsin, was instrumental in influencing the passing the Proxmire Amendment. The Proxmire Amendment is also known as The Rogers-Proxmire Amendment of 1976, and The Vitamins and Minerals Amendments. This amendment became section 411 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

References

  1. Ganceviciene R, Liakou AI, Theodoridis A, Makrantonaki E, Zouboulis CC (July 2012). "Skin anti-aging strategies". Dermato-Endocrinology. 4 (3): 308–19. doi:10.4161/derm.22804. PMC   3583892 . PMID   23467476.
  2. 1 2 "Warning Letters Address Drug Claims Made for Products Marketed as Cosmetics". US Food and Drug Administration. April 1, 2022. Retrieved June 1, 2023. products are not generally recognized as safe and effective for the above-referenced uses and, therefore, these products are "new drugs" under section 201(p) of the Act [21 U.S.C. § 321(p)]. New drugs may not be legally introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce without prior approval from FDA.
  3. "Common health scams". Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Inspector General, US Government. January 1, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2023. Despite claims about pills and treatments leading to the fountain of youth, there's nothing you can buy that has been proven to slow or reverse the aging process. And many companies selling these lotions, creams, and supplements don't have sufficient scientific evidence to show they work.
  4. 1 2 "Are Some Cosmetics Promising Too Much?". US Food and Drug Administration. March 23, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2023. products are being marketed with drug claims—indicating that they are intended to treat or prevent disease, or change the body's structure or functions. The agency tells companies that they need to remove any drug claims from their products' labeling or seek FDA approval to market these products as drugs.
  5. Gecker, Jocelyn (August 31, 2024). "Which skin care products should young girls use? Dermatologists recommend this simple routine". AP News. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  6. "Drawing a line under men's wrinkles". BBC News Magazine. April 19, 2005. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
  7. Global report on ageism (Report). World Health Organization. March 18, 2021. p. 11. ISBN   9789240016866.
  8. Calasanti, T. (September 1, 2007). "Bodacious Berry, Potency Wood and the Aging Monster: Gender and Age Relations in Anti-Aging Ads". Social Forces. 86 (1): 335–355. doi:10.1353/sof.2007.0091. S2CID   144181351.