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Testing effectiveness of cosmetics at home
I’m trying to find some ways people can test the effectiveness of cosmetics at home. I have seen other people doing the following stuff:
- pH testing: using pH strips
- oiliness: using blotting paper
- stickiness: using scraps of paper
- skin moisture: using skin moisture analyzers, which are available cheaply online for something like $30
- checking for antioxidant properties: one used iodine, another simply applied the product to a cut appleI think testing for oiliness and stickiness are pretty reliable as they only check physical properties. Using pH strips should also give at least a rough idea if the product is not too harsh. But the antioxidant thing, I’m not sure how useful it is? I guess it can tell you that there is some antioxidant in it, but not the concentration (unless you measure it professionally). Do people have any other ideas how products can be tested at home?
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2 Replies
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There is no better test than trying a product. The tests you suggest are interesting but I doubt they will really help anyone. A better test for a consumer is to try a product and see if they like it.
This test could be improved by running a blinded comparison with a standard product versus a test product. However, to properly blind something you would have to prevent yourself from both seeing the product and smelling it.It is not worth testing for antioxidant properties since there is no real benefit to having them in cosmetics except to stabilize formulas. It’s mostly just a marketing gimmick. If you used a product for a week with and without antioxidants you wouldn’t notice a difference. -
Hi Ric, listen to Perry. I think his answer is really correct. Best way to know if a product is good “try it at home”. I would just add one thought. Let a woman do the trials. They are much better at this than we males. They use cosmetics much more than us, and are much more sensitive than we are to sensorial changes etc
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