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.
