As the beauty industry grows faster than ever before, counterfeit cosmetics are becoming highly appealing to criminals looking for a way to make quick cash. Unfortunately, counterfeit cosmetics come at a huge price for consumers, with side effects ranging from allergic reactions to fertility issues. The demand for counterfeit cosmetics arose due to a variety of issues, from the fear of missing out on popular products that are quickly sold out to the lack of funds to purchase authentic products. There is low regulation around cosmetics crossing borders, as it is impossible for officers to examine the high number of cosmetics crossing borders on a daily basis.
Due to the unsanitary production of counterfeit cosmetics and lack of ethics by the manufacturers, research shows that counterfeit cosmetics often contain harmful bacteria and ingredients that definitely should not be in cosmetics, such as rat droppings and urine.
This sounds scary, but don’t fear! There are steps you can take toward ensuring that your products are authentic:
- Only buy products from authorized retailers.
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Avoid buying products from mall kiosks and marketplace sites, such as eBay and Amazon, unless the seller is authorized. There is very little regulation around products sold on marketplace sites, so it is necessary to double check the seller to ensure that they are an authorized retailer of the product. Authorized retailers must abide by government regulations, ensuring that products are safe for consumer use.
- Be suspicious of excessively low prices.
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If it’s too good to be true, it likely is. Low quality ingredients, unethical business practices, and unsanitary workplaces are all ways that criminals save money on producing counterfeit cosmetics. If products are sold at excessively low prices while enabling the sellers to make profit, the quality of the products should be questioned, with the exception of products on sale sold through authorized retailers.
- Check the packaging of the products.
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For starters, look for spelling errors; it’s unlikely for an authorized company to make those mistakes. Counterfeit products also usually don’t have the exact same packaging as their respective authentic versions; there is usually a slight difference, such as a slightly lighter or darker shade. As technology becomes more advanced, the process of replicating packaging becomes easier, making it more difficult to identify fake packaging.
- Don’t trust all online reviews and do your research.
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It’s very easy for companies to fake reviews, so make sure that you check multiple sites and pay attention to the authenticity of the reviews. There are companies and individuals that specifically get hired to write fake reviews on products. When trying to identify a fake review, look for reviews that use similar language, spelling and grammar mistakes, and the time of posting. If there are multiple reviews posted at the same time followed by a period of silence, it is likely that the reviewer faked multiple reviews at once instead of spreading them out.
The demand for counterfeit cosmetics is the driver of supply. If consumers stop purchasing counterfeit cosmetics, they will no longer be on the market. Take action now to avoid the countless side effects associated with counterfeit cosmetics and to support authentic retailers that work hard to provide you with safe cosmetics.