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!!!

LOOK FOR LAYMENS TERMS IN BRACKETS ON COSMETICS LABELS

Lets face it, reading cosmetic/body care ingredients lists these days is a bit like grappling with a foreign language, yet here is hidden vital information that can determine the safety of the products you use daily.

Under the cosmetics regulations in most countries, ingredients must be listed using the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients (INCI) format. Therefore a simple ingredient such as Lemongrass essential oil becomes Cymbopogon flexuosus oil using INCI…….confusing, isn’t it?

Ethical companies want their customers to be knowledgeable about ingredients, and understand that most people won’t know that Cymbopogon flexuosus is the Latin and INCI name for Lemongrass essential oil. Therefore look for products with the layman terms in parenthesis to help you understand what in in the product.

At Indochine Natural our ingredient labels are like this:

Sodium Palmate (palm oil), Sodium Cocoate (coconut oil), Aqua (water), Cymbopogon flexuosus (Lemongrass) oil, Curcuma longa (Turmeric) powder, Cymbopogon flexuosus (Lemongrass) leaf powder.

You would have to agree that this is 100% clear in what is in this product?

You can check out all of Indochine Natural ingredients lists on our website

And, if you are still unsure or have any questions, email Dr. Mike.

STRANGE SHAMPOO INSTRUCTIONS?

 

Have you ever noticed that the instructions on many shampoo products are along the lines of "Lather, rinse, repeat," or ""Wash, rinse, repeat." Lets face it, if taken literally this would result in an endless loop of repeating the same steps until you run out of shampoo.

Is this stupidity, a poor command of language, or an attempt to have you finish the shampoo quickly and buy another one?

The Indochine Natural shampoo instructions are "After wetting the hair apply a small amount and gently massage into the hair. Rinse thoroughly." You can check out the Indochine Natural range of shampoo HERE

Maybe we need to review this instruction to sell more shampoo???????