The spread of fake or counterfeit beauty product has become so problematic that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security launched a division called Operation Plastic Beauty, designed specifically to prevent its expansion. The results of one investigation revealed that 20 of 47 products purchased from third-party sellers were counterfeit. In each case, the seller had a customer rating of at least 90 percent, instilling misplaced trust that can hurt the end consumer.
The market is full of imitations and fake products and it’s quite probable that you too might have been duped at some point in time or the other by a product that appeared convincingly authentic. Fake products can be harmful for your skin as they are often made using relatively harsher chemicals, ingredients of a cheaper quality and haven’t passed any quality control measures.
What are E45 cream and lotion?
E45 cream and lotion are perfume free, dermatologically tested formulation for the treatment for dry skin conditions. E45 cream has been clinically proven to treat and soothe dry, itching, flaking, chapped, rough and calloused skin, sunburn and detergent hands. It’s non-greasy emollient formulation leaves your skin soft, comfortable and relieved. E45 Cream is also used for more serious dry skin conditions such as eczema, dermatitis, ichtyhosis and certain dry cases of psoriasis.
Moisturizers are helpful for all dry skin conditions, particularly eczema, which get worse when the skin is allowed to dry out. When used regularly, they help restore the skin’s smoothness, softness and flexibility by helping the skin retain moisture. This reduces redness, scaling and itching.
Dry skin results from lack of water in the stratum corneum, which is the outer layer of skin cells. When this layer becomes dehydrated it loses its flexibility and becomes cracked, scaly and sometimes itchy. The stratum corneum contains natural water-holding substances that retain water seeping up from the deeper layers of the skin, and water is also normally retained in the stratum corneum by a surface film of natural oil (sebum) and broken-down skin cells, which slow down evaporation of water from the skin surface.
The skin dries out when too much water evaporates from its surface. This increases as we get older, and is made worse by washing, because hot water and soap remove the layer of natural oil on the skin surface.
E45 cream and lotion contain light liquid paraffin, white soft paraffin and anhydrous lanolin (a waxy substance obtained from the wool of sheep and sometimes called wool fat). They work by providing a layer of oil on the surface of the skin to prevent water evaporating from the skin surface. SEE: Does E45 Cream Or Lotion Lighten Skin?
How To Spot Fake E45 Cream And Lotion
If counterfeit beauty products are such a problem, how do you tell the difference? As a general rule, if the product isn’t coming directly from the manufacturer or its authorized sellers (even if it’s from a giant online retailer) there is a high probability that it is fake. When purchasing our products.
Buy from a reputable seller: When you purchase E45 cream directly from a brand or an authorized retailer, you know what you’re getting. Elsewhere on the Internet, it’s not so clear. Websites that work with third parties—which many, many people turn to for their beauty products—are hotbeds for fakes, and if you think you’re getting a great deal on something that’s usually super expensive or sold out elsewhere, chances are it’s probably too good to be true. And if you’re coming across a sought-after palette by way of a street vendor, you’re going to want to steer clear.
Check the reviews: If you are going to buy E45 cream or lotion on Amazon, for example, which has many third-party sellers, it’s important to research by reading a seller’s reviews. “If a seller has repeated negative reviews, or reviews that your gut tells you are ‘staged’ or ‘fake’ because they all contain nearly the exact same language, do not purchase your product from that seller—even if the price is so compelling and attractive.
Don’t trust the packaging: Back in the day, you could spot a counterfeit based solely on shoddy packaging. Now, that’s a lot harder to do. When we first started looking into counterfeit products years ago, there were some obvious red flags—print would easily rub off, packaging looked haphazard, safety seals were missing. Now, the packaging can look almost identical. In other words, just because something looks legit doesn’t mean that it actually is, so it’s important to test the actual product or check out the retailer before slathering it all over your face.
Spot test: Testing new products on your arm or hand is always important, but it’s especially important in the case of counterfeits. If a product you’ve been using forever is suddenly giving you contact dermatitis when you try it on your wrist, it’s a good sign that it’s fake.
