Have Your Body Care Products Been Angel Dusted?

 Dr. Mike Thair

 Co-founder & Managing Director
 Indochine Natural Sdn Bhd



What is Angel Dusting?

This is how it works.... a very small amount of an active ingredient is added to a body care product that is not enough to cause any measureable benefit. This active ingredient then becomes the focus of advertising and promotion for this product.

By adding a touch of a popular and easily recognisable ingredient, consumers feel positive about the product and are more likely to buy it. But in practice there is so little of this ingredient in the product that it is unlikely to have any cosmetic effect.

Angel Dusting with Vitamin C

Angel dusting with vitamin C in skin care products is common. There are good vibes around this ingredient and you don't have to go too far to find products boasting Vitamin C Skin Boost, etc. etc.

But did you know that a skin cream must contain at least 10% vitamin C for it to have any possible impact on the skin? Also, Vitamin C is not very stable in skin care products and can become oxidized when exposed to air and light, which will cause it to lose its efficacy.

Angel Dusting  with Collagen

When products suggest that collagen can penetrate the skin and work miracles, we need to be skeptical. The fact is that collagen molecules are too large and too well bound to penetrate the stratum corneum.

If however they can somehow pass into the underlying tissue, they would be unable to participate in the complex biosynthetic activities that are required for collagen deposition in tissue. The fact then is that while collagen is structurally important for the integrity of our skin (this is the marketing focus), what the advertising fails to mention is that the molecule itself in creams is far too large to pass through the skin.

 More Angel Dusting Trickery

Manufacturers must list ingredients in descending order of concentration on product labels. But what some manufacturers are doing is listing in large font in front of the main ingredients list what they call “Key Ingredients” or “Active Ingredients,” and of course these include attractive ingredients such as citrus fruit extracts, honey, cucumber, Aloe Vera, etc. This is to create the illusion of the product being packed full with these wonderful natural ingredients.

In reality, these ingredients are usually of such miniscule quantities in the product that any beneficial effect is virtually impossible. 

Lets Look at an Example of Angel Dusting

 

This label is from a Goats Milk shower cream. The Goat Milk is way down on the ingredients list behind “Fragrance,” which usually would have a concentration of 1.5 to 2.0%. It can be assumed then that the Goat Milk concentration is less than 1.5 – 2.0%, and at this concentration unlikely to provide any cosmetic benefits.

How to Avoid Angel Dusting Trickery?

It is very simple – READ THE INGREDIENTS LIST.

By law, manufacturers must list ingredients in descending order of concentration on product labels.

You can avoid buying products that have been angel dusted by carefully reading the ingredients list. If the popular ingredient (for example vitamin C or collagen) that caught your eye is near the bottom of the ingredients list, chances are that this ingredient doesn't provide the therapeutic benefit it claims to.

Check out our products at Indochine Natural.......we promise.....no angel dusting!!!