Consumer Reports on Anti-Aging Serums

There is an excellent article in the May issue of ShopSmart magazine by Consumer Reports. Part of it is available online to non-subscribers, and subscribers can read the detailed ratings. You can find the magazine at well-stocked newsstands and book stores (even saw it at Safeway tonight). I was fascinated by the test results and had to share a summary with you - with permission, of course.

Consumer Reports had a mission: to find out how well many anti-aging products actually work. Their testers examined anti-wrinkle serums for aging skin, dyes for gray hair, and baldness treatments for those without much hair to dye. I'm going to tell you about the anti-aging serum tests.

"Nothing betrays a woman's age more than wrinkles, according to the 12,699 online subscribers who responded to a Consumer Reports survey about aging. For the many Americans determined to vanquish wrinkles, the market overflows with anti-aging lotions, potions, skin-care regimens, and even body washes that manufacturers claim work magic on your dermal layers—in weeks!"

Consumer Reports purchased nine face serums, anti-aging products that are more fluid than creams and usually absorb quickly. The products they tested range from $20 to $65 and are available at drugstores, department stores, and specialty retail sites like Sephora. Most claim to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Do they really do that? Not very well - or at all - according to Consumer Reports. Hours in the testing labs revealed that the anti-wrinkle serums they tested fell far short of their claims. While some test subjects saw minor improvements, others saw no improvement at all. There's a lot of hype out there.

The test participants used the products for six weeks, longer than the duration the manufacturers said would yield noticeable results. "Trained sensory panelists" analyzed the before and after photographs and scored each one on the length and depth of any visible facial wrinkles. The ratings were surprisingly bad (but were similar to previous tests on face creams).

The two serums that were rated as slightly more effective than the others were DermaSilk 5 Minute Face Lift ($40 per ounce) and Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle ($20 per oz). "Slightly more effective" than the others is hardly a stirring recommendation! You can see a DermaSilk "improvement" in the photograph above.

How did Consumer Reports define "slightly more effective"? Some participants (out of 79 in total) experienced a minor improvement in the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. However, the same products that produced very minor improvements for some participants did absolutely nothing for others. Yikes!

Consumer Reports says that the dermatologists they consulted weren't surprised. The FDA, which oversees cosmetic safety and labeling, doesn't require manufacturers to test their products for efficacy. So, there are at least nine serums - a representative sample of well-known skin-care brands - that don't do much. Also disappointing, the natural product tested, Burt's Bees Naturally Ageless Intensive Repairing Serum, which was among the priciest products tested in terms of cost per ounce, didn't cut it at all.

You can read a summary of the test at this Consumer Reports link.

There's nothing like a real test to know where to spend your hard-earned money. Unfortunately, these test results told me a lot about what not to buy. The over-the-counter products tested so poorly, we don't know from the Consumer Reports' results what non-prescription products we should buy. So, I'll stick to the products I'm using. I think they work - for me. I'll keep testing too. Like many, I want that miracle product!

Photo at top courtesy of ShopSmart, a Consumer Reports magazine. You can subscribe at this link. I subscribe to ShopSmart magazine, and I have an online subscription to Consumer Reports. Love them both!

Rheology - How Product Flow Can Cost You Money

Liz Crenshaw, consumer reporter for NBC4 in the Washington DC metropolitan area, showed us how we lose product each and every time we toss a container that no longer pumps, squeezes, or otherwise dispenses product. I have been known to cut open plastic containers to get the last drop of product out. She demonstrated that on TV last night.

She cut into plastic containers of Cetaphil and Aveeno. Working with a scientist at Marymount University, she demonstrated how more than 10% of the product can be left in the container, basically inaccessible unless you are willing to cut. Her findings match those of Consumer Reports.

It all has to do with the ease of flow, which is where rheology comes in. It's the science of flow. It should be no surprise that liquids flow more easily than creams and gels, so the thicker your product is, the more likely it is that some will be left behind - unless you take "drastic measures."

If I like a product and want to get every last drop, I cut into the container if possible. The last time I did this was with a Sisley Supremya sample. At $750 for the full-sized product, Supremya is costly. I wasn't going to leave a drop unused!

Is this a manufacturer's conspiracy? Liz thinks not. Simply science!

Photo courtesy of The Society of Rheology

Consumer Reports on the Best Eye Creams

There is an excellent article in the latest ShopSmart magazine, and it's available online. Eye Creams that Work on the cover page of the magazine caught my eye. When I read Eye Buys in the Truth in Beauty section, I was mesmerized. I had to share the information with you.

Not only did Consumer Reports test eye creams and describe the results, with product recommendations, they provided great tips for preventing eye wrinkles and some brief descriptions of the many cosmetic procedures available for those who need more than a cream to "fix" wrinkles.

Consumer Reports took before and after photos of their test participants, men and women between the ages of 35 and 65, who used two eye creams (one on each eye) for six weeks. The most effective products produced what they called subtle changes, but changes nonetheless.

The top four? ShopSmart said two have to be ordered from companies outside the USA!

• L'Oreal Paris Dermo-Expertise Revitalift Double Lifting Eye Cream ($21 with shipping from a source is Australia) - it appears that Walgreens and other drugstores have something very similar at a lower price because of the shipping from Australia
• Nivea Visage Anti-Rides Q10 Plus Soin Contour de L'Oeil avec Filtres UVA/UVB ($34 with shipping from Amazon UK) - I found a product that looks very similar at Amazon US for $26.95
• Dr. Brandt Lineless Eye Cream ($60) available from Sephora or the Dr. Brandt Web site
• Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Booster Eye Transforming Cream ($20) available from drugstores, supermarkets, and Drugstore.com

It's great that Consumer Reports also provided readers with a list of "middle-of-the-pack" eye creams. It includes some very well-known products that didn't banish wrinkles. I agree with them that StriVectin-SD Eye Cream ($59) doesn't do much. I gave it a personal trial and found no benefits; in fact, I was a bit dry after using it for a few weeks.

Two pricey eye creams actually landed on their Not So Hot list - the least effective creams they tested - one from RoC and one from Perricone MD. It's also noteworthy that one moisturizer they tested and found to be as effective as some of their Smart Picks isn't even advertised as an eye cream. It's Simple Kind to the Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturizer, priced at $12 at ShopLondons.com.

This is great information - you have to read the article. There's nothing like a real test to know where to spend your hard-earned money.

Photo courtesy of ShopSmart, a Consumer Reports magazine. You can subscribe at this link.