I recently bought myself hair care products on Amazon. My favorite Extra-Hold hair gel was available on Amazon Prime, at a discounted price, plus free shipping. Sold from a 3rd party vendor, it arrived quickly, and from the outside packaging, appeared to be the same product that I have been using for years, normally purchased from my local hair salon.
Other than the convenience of having the product shipped to my door at a discounted price, that was the only benefit that I discovered. The product consistency was watery. It didn’t feel or work like my normal hair gel. After a few days, I threw it away, and chalked up this experience to buying something on the internet, that was fake, and was a deal too good to be true.
The skin care and hair care market is a 145 billion dollar industry. This allows for the shucksters and thieves to attempt to profit illegally from consumers that are looking for a good deal, only to discover that the products purchased on the internet, are fake and phony. Internet sites such as EBay, Amazon, and Walmart are notorious for selling patients their beloved skin care products, at discount prices, duping patients into purchasing elaborate counterfeits.
Sally, an experienced cosmetic patient, recently brought in a bottle of topical Vitamin C for a refund to our skin care Shoppe, because she thought the product seemed a bit off. The bottle and packaging were correct, but the product seemed more sticky, and had a different smell than previously purchased bottles.
It just so happened, that our SkinCeuticals® representative was in the office that day, and was perplexed by the product. Upon quizzing her, she learned that Sally also purchased the product on the internet, from an unauthorized vendor. Our SkinCeuticals® representative offered our patient a free bottle of Vitamin C/E Ferulic, to replace the suspect bottle, and the patient left happy.
The illegal product was submitted to the laboratory, and was found to be mainly comprised of molasses and water, with food coloring added. A clear fake, designed to fool patients. I hope Sally is more careful about her choices in skin care purchases in the future.
A recent study by New Beauty, found that over 40% of internet purchased products from 3rd party vendors were fake or counterfeit. Be careful what you put on or in your body.
Colorado Springs Dermatology Clinic and the Rocky Mountain Laser Center offer the highest quality of professional grade skin care products available. Patients can come in any time to see our skin care specialist, Krista, for a free skin care consult in our Shoppe, to find the best products to improve your skin. Best of all, our products are authentic, medical grade, physician dispensed products, and are free of molasses. 😉