What types of claims can be made about a cosmetic product?

Claims take the form of texts, images and symbols used by brands to highlight the properties of a cosmetic product. However, there are regulations against making claims that could mislead consumers.
Every claim must meet a certain number of criteria determined by the Commission, in cooperation with Member States. The following is an overview of the 6 common criteria established by Regulation N°655/2013 on 10 July 2013 that claims about cosmetic products must meet to be legally used.

Criterion No. 1: Legal Compliance

What do the regulations say?

• “Claims that a product has been authorized or approved by a competent authority in the European Union are not permitted.
• The acceptability of a claim should be based on the image it gives of the cosmetic product to the average end user, who is normally informed and reasonably observant and circumspect, taking into account the social, cultural and linguistic factors specific to the market concerned.
• Claims that imply that a product provides a particular benefit when it merely meets the minimum requirements of the legislation are not permitted.”

What to remember

Where an ingredient is prohibited by the Cosmetics Regulation, a brand cannot claim that its product does not contain that ingredient, because in this case it is self-evident that it should not be used.
Furthermore, it cannot be claimed that a cosmetic product has not been tested on animals since this has been banned since 2013 for both ingredients and final products.
In other words, this type of claim is illegal.

Criterion No. 2: Truthfulness

What do the regulations say?

• “It cannot be claimed that a product contains ingredients that it does not in fact contain.
• Claims referring to the properties of a specific ingredient must not imply that the finished product has the same properties if it does not.
• Commercial communications must not imply that any opinions expressed are verified claims unless those opinions reflect verifiable facts.”

What to remember

It is strictly forbidden to make claims that are misleading to consumers. For example, saying that a product is “paraben-free” when it does, in fact, contain parabens, is a misleading claim.
As another example, a product cannot claim to contain a moisturizing ingredient (such as aloe vera) if the ingredient in question:

• Is not on the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic ingredients) list,
• Is not present in the finished product in sufficient quantities to have real moisturizing properties

Criterion No. 3: Evidential Support

What do the regulations say?

• “Any claims made about cosmetic products, whether explicit or implicit, must be supported by sufficient and verifiable evidence regardless of the type of this evidence; if need be, this evidence may include expert assessments.
• Evidence supporting a claim should take into account the most recent practices.
• Where studies are used to substantiate claims, these studies must be relevant to the product and benefit claimed, have been carried out using methods that were properly formulated and implemented (that are valid, reliable, and reproducible) and must be ethical.
• The level of evidence or substantiation should correspond to the type of claim being made, especially if the user’s safety could be compromised if the claim is not justified.
• Clearly exaggerated statements which should not be taken at face value by the average end user (hyperbole) and statements of an abstract nature do not require substantiation. 6. A claim attributing (explicitly or implicitly) the properties of one ingredient to the finished product must be supported by sufficient and verifiable evidence, such as data demonstrating an effective concentration of the ingredient in the product.
• The acceptability of a claim should be based on the weight of evidence from all available studies, data and information in relation to the nature of the claim and the general knowledge of end users.”

What to remember

When a brand claims that a cosmetic product has a beneficial effect such as being “anti-wrinkle”, “anti-cellulite” or “moisturising”, etc., it must be able to prove this.
For this reason, the PIF (Product Information File) must include all evidence for these types of claim by providing test results, for example.

Criterion No. 4: Honesty

What do the regulations say?

• “The claimed effects of a product cannot go beyond those effects demonstrated by the available evidence.
• Claims cannot attribute specific (i.e. unique) characteristics to a product if similar products have the same characteristics.
• If a product’s effectiveness is subject to specific conditions (it must be used in combination with other products, for example), this information must be clearly indicated.”

What to remember

Manufacturers are not allowed to exaggerate certain claims by saying, for example, that their product has unique properties that it does not in fact have or that it has beneficial effects that are greater than it can actually deliver.
Furthermore,“before and after” type claims using photoshopped images are insincere, and mislead the consumer by exaggerating the effectiveness of the product.

Criterion No. 5: Fairness

What do the regulations say?

• “Claims about cosmetic products must be objective and must not denigrate competitors or legally used ingredients.
• Claims about cosmetic products must not create confusion with a competitor’s product.”

What to remember

This is about not denigrating the competition. For example, if competitors are using an ingredient that is permitted by the regulations and a brand claims that its product is “without that ingredient”, it is denigrating the competition that is using that ingredient legally.

Criterion No. 6: Informed decision-making

What do the regulations say?

• “Claims must be clear and understandable to the average end user.
• Claims are an integral part of products and must provide information that enables the average end user to make an informed choice.
• Marketing communications should take into account the ability of the target audience to understand them [the population of the Member States concerned, categories of people (end users of a given age or gender)]. Marketing communications must be clear, precise, relevant, and understandable to the target audience.”

What to remember

Consumers must have access to clear, concise, and unambiguous information about a product’s characteristics. Vocabulary must not be abstruse or only understandable to a minority of people (scientific jargon for example). Because ultimately, each consumer must be able to choose their product with full knowledge of the facts.