We received the following communication from the Dr. Hauschka company in response to our recent post on their Moisturizing Day Cream. We appreciate the clarification (pun intended) that their product does NOT make skin brightening claims as was mistakenly implied in our original article.
Dr. Hauschka’s Brightening Rebuttal
“Thank you for the work you do. Consumer education is absolutely vital to all of us who truly care about the health and wellbeing of people and the planet we share. We at Dr. Hauschka Skin Care pride ourselves on having some of the best-educated customers in the industry, thanks at least in some part to our policy of transparency. Of course, we can’t control everything that’s said about Dr. Hauschka products, but we are very careful about the claims we make in regard to our products’ efficacy.
That’s why we feel obligated to clear up some misunderstandings in the recent reader question regarding Moisturizing Day Cream. Rather than any claims that the product “brightens” the skin, the claims made in the link provided in your blog and on our own website are that Moisturizing Day Cream “enlivens” the skin. Neither page features any claims that Moisturizing Day Cream (or any Dr.Hauschka product for that matter) “brightens” the skin.
We feel that’s an important distinction to make. The word “brightens” is often associated with cosmetic products that make skin pigment bleaching claims. Code words like “brightens” are needed because fade creams that can actually bleach or reduce skin pigmentation are not cosmetics at all, but are considered drugs—and they are drugs the FDA is considering banning for over the counter use!
The fact is, there is not a single safe and effective skin lightening active ingredient currently recognized by the FDA. None of the various “active” ingredients found in cosmetics that claim to fade, lighten or brighten the skin have ever been proven safe and effective, either. We would never make such a claim, and would appreciate any effort you can make to help clarify that point for your readers.”
References:
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/9770968/detail.html
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/E6-14263.pdf
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Enliven vs. brighten. I am multi-lingual and it’s bs in any language.
I would love for the Dr. Hauschka representative to answer this question: when this product is used, and one’s skin is enlivened, what specific differences are produced in the skin? Does enlivening make an objectively observable difference in how it looks, or how it feels to the touch? Or some other difference?
I think that a dictionary definition of enlivens would not explain how that verb could be used with “skin.”
Maybe one of Dr. Hauschka’s best-educated customers can leave a comment explaining this.
Haha, its such an obvious marketing trick. Dr. Hauschka’s day cream does not “brighten” to any extend scientifically, so they had to use “enliven” instead, which does not need any scientific proof to back its claims but the average consumer would think it means the cream “brighten”. Come on…”enliven”? I think its time for them to look at the thesaurus again for a better word.
This cream enlivens the skin. Sounds perfect for zombies.
I don’t think “enliven” is any closely related to “brightening”. Enliven means something like “giving life”, giving life to the skin, and that doesn’t necessarily means that makes your skin looking bright. There are many products in the market, many that you also surely use, that seem to “enliven” the skin by giving a glow, toning the skin, make it feel plumped and moisturized, bring the skin back to life. I’m pretty sure that’s what they want to mean with “enliven”. Maybe you all need to use a dictionary once in a while.
You’re just blaming Dr. Hauschka with no reason, I’m pretty sure because it’s a natural brand, I don’t know.
When I heard the word ‘enliven’, I thought of someone with dry, ashy like skin. Then I pictured their skin, ‘enlivened’, and thought supple, smooth-looking skin. Just sharing my initial thoughts from when I read this.
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