Fake news and counterfeit products
A major challenge for the beauty industry (even the advanced industry) is fake news and counterfeit products.
Wandering around the web, on popular ‘easy shopping’ sites such as Amazon or eBay, you will certainly have come across counterfeit products. It is easier for professionals not to be misled, but to the eye of an end-user, it is more difficult to distinguish between a fake beauty product and an original one.
According to the IPI, the Federal Institute of Intellectual Property, cosmetics are the third most counterfeited sector, right after fashion and jewelry. And it also happens that more and more women consciously buy counterfeit products. But why are fakes gaining in popularity?
Use of toxic ingredients
Toxic ingredients found in cosmetic products can also include cyanide, lead, arsenic, and mercury. “Quite surprisingly animal urine may also be present within these products as it is a particularly common substitute for particularly expensive stabilizers used to prolong fragrances in the original products,” continues Phil Lewis.
The counterfeit industry is damaging the beauty and aesthetics sector on many fronts. It undermines the credibility of brands with low-quality and potentially dangerous products hidden under famous brand names, damaging their reputation and profits.
So what can we do to stop the production of fake products?
First, you can educate yourself and your customers to recognize fake products.
How to spot fakes
Beauty products are made to be indistinguishable from the genuine article, but however few, there are ways to recognize them according to Cosmetics Europe, the European association for the cosmetics and personal care industry.
– strangely low prices: if something looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t;
– low-quality packaging: take a good look at the boxes and labels, and see if there are typos or ungrammatical phrases;
– differences in the product or packaging: this is the hardest to spot, but look closely at the colors, shapes, and fonts used to see if they match those of the original products.
Clearly, the place where you buy is also a key indicator. Reading reviews helps to see if other buyers have complained, as does buying from official retailers.
Fake devices for body and facial treatments
The other side of the beauty industry coin is that of the advanced aesthetics’ technology, and in particular, body and facial treatment devices, which is equally under attack.
There are methods that only manufacturers guard and manage to recreate in their products leading to the results that are promised… In fakes, there is no guarantee and security of an original product.
Not only the Endospheres, but other devices of famous brands are constantly subject to copying, putting the buyers, who risk penalties, but also the end customer, who risks health and safety.
It’s like the Endospheres…no!
Compressive Microvibration® is the exclusive method on which the Endosphères device and treatment are based, so you cannot talk about Compressive Microvibration® without being able to use the device for which it was created!