Professional Products -vs- Over The Counter Products.
Over-the-counter products (OTC's) are one of the largest industries in the world. Companies like Estee Lauder, Lancome, Clinique, Chanel, not to mention, Wella (Proctor & Gamble), Loreal, Clairol...OTC Products are making a killing on these products. The question is, is it all hype and glitz or is that eye cream at $90 for a 1/2 ounce jar or that cheep shampoo really that good???
OTC Skin Care companies produce products containing all the latest ingredients such as alpha-hydroxy acids and anti-oxidants such as Vitamin C...so whats the problem??
Here are some of the problems with some OTC's;
1.) They don't disclose the percentages of the active ingredients.
2.) These products must be benign enough for the average user to tolerate. They must not cause irritation in the most sensitive of skin types. If a consumer purchases a glycolic acid product in a department store, they may or may not be instructed on its proper use. They may or may not be assessed as to the correct product for their skin type. Or they may or may not be told about the proper use of AHA products and sun exposure.
3.) OTC mass produced products are buffered down to a neutrality level that a newborn baby could tolerate. Therefore many products are not even functional.
4.) These products are mass produced, literally thousands of a single cream can sit in a warehouse for a year or more before it reaches the retail shelf and is sold to the retail consumer.
**The consumer then takes the cream home and keeps it for 6 months to a year or longer.
**This adds up to the fact that most products you purchase over-the-counter are aged, neutralized, heavily preserved and, as a result, stand a good chance of being less effective than professional products.
5.) OTC's are not required to list product efficacy (i.e. 10% AHA glycolic at 3.4 pH) which to a professional would tell them qualitatively its' effectiveness, not quantitatively. The label just reads, "XYZ Moisturizer with Alpha Hydroxy." Just how good is it? It's anyone's guess.
6.) OTC's, especially those found in better department stores are far more expensive than professional "cosmeceuticals". The fancy packaging, primetime television advertising, magazine full page ads and high rent has to be recuperated somehow by these companies.
7.) Most Professional lines...Hair Skin or Nails...will also exchange a product for another one until we find the right product for you, if purchased in a salon.
8.) Many still contain ingredients like Parabens, Petrolatum, Lanolin (non-organic)
Persulfate salts
Synthetic Dyes
Synthetic Fragrance
PABAs
Acrylates
Mysterates
Mineral Oil
Formaldehyde...the following ingredients break down and release formaldehyde:
*diazolidinyl urea (or 3-diol diazolidinyl urea)
*2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1 (or bronopol)
*DMDM hydantoin
*imidazolidinyl urea
*quaternium-15
I will qualify by stating that not all OTC products are bad products.
