Often, based on everything written on the product's packaging or website, you might get the impression that the product will work miracles.

But often, we quickly realize that this is not the case, and this can be linked to several different reasons: a lack of effectiveness, a product not suited to our skin or hair, a poor understanding of the benefits of the product, etc.

In short, between marketing messages and the actual action of the product, it's sometimes easy to get lost! So, in this article, LAO reveals 3 surefire ways to know if a cosmetic is truly effective and good for you. After reading this, you'll never be mistaken!

Is the product healthy? Scanning apps are your friends!

Before buying a cosmetic product, we increasingly wonder if it will be good for us, or for our children. But it's often very difficult to decipher the INCI list (list of ingredients) unless you're a cosmetics expert or research the ingredients one by one on Google. So, how do I know if a cosmetic product is good for my health or that of my children?

To easily understand what's in your cosmetics, the simplest solution is to use a scanning application!

Scanning apps include INCI Beauty , Yuka , and Mireille . All three apps work the same way: simply open the app and scan the product's barcode with your phone. However, each has its own specific features:

• The Yuka app specializes primarily in food products, but it can also be used for cosmetics. It rates products from 0 to 100 based on their composition and provides ingredient details, including risky and safe ingredients. The app explains why certain ingredients are considered health risks.
• INCI Beauty is an app designed to analyze the composition of cosmetic products. It rates products out of 20 based on their ingredients and categorizes them into four categories: Controversial or Risky, Not Great, Satisfactory, and Good.
• The Mireille app is also designed to scan cosmetic products and analyze their composition to identify ingredients that are good or bad for our health. With this app, you can also read expert advice.

It's up to you to choose the one that best suits your cosmetic products and guides you in your purchases!

The best proof of effectiveness: tests and patents

The most important thing to know in cosmetics is that everything that is said must first be proven. For example, you can't say that a shampoo makes your hair softer if it hasn't been tested and proven. So the best way to know if a product is as effective as the brand claims is to look at the tests that have been done by the brand, or to ask for the test results if they haven't highlighted them on the website.

In cosmetics, there are two types of efficacy tests: clinical tests and usage tests.

Clinical tests, or instrumental tests, are tests conducted by scientists in specialized laboratories. In the case of cosmetics, the experts who perform the tests are often dermatologists.

Usage tests are tests carried out on different people who have volunteered to become testers. These tests are therefore not carried out by scientists but by typical consumers who will test the product under normal usage conditions. The condition of the patient's skin or hair, depending on the cosmetic product being tested, will be assessed before and after the testing period. This allows us to see the evolution and to know the effectiveness of the product.

Another thing to know about hair cosmetics is that some claims are not allowed, yet they are often used. For example, "restore hair life" or "rebuild hair" are not allowed phrases to describe the product's benefits because hair is dead matter. It therefore cannot be revived or repaired.

Ultimately, the best way to recognize truly effective cosmetics is to first educate yourself and find out about the subject, as you have just done by reading this article.

We're lucky enough to have access to a huge amount of information on the internet, so don't hesitate to do some research before deciding to buy a product. It's often quite difficult to decipher product labels and determine whether or not a product is suitable for our needs, so scanning apps can be very useful for this.

Finally, if you can't find the information you're looking for, the best way to find out is to ask the brand directly, on social media, or by email.