Cosmeceuticals: How To Navigate The Legal And Regulatory Hurdles Of A Growing Market

By Stephanie Munroe, Ph.D.

The cosmeceuticals market continues its steady climb upward—a rise in disposable income plays a role, as well as the introduction of new ingredients that promise anti-aging, photoprotective, redness-reducing, and other skincare enhancing benefits.

Are those claims clinically proven? Product manufacturers should know what constitutes a legitimately clinically proven cosmeceutical, as well as what the FDA has to say about these cosmetic-drug hybrids.

What is a cosmeceutical?
The cosmetics industry uses the term cosmeceutical to refer to a cosmetic product with medicinal or drug-like benefits according to the FDA. The FDA recognizes, however, that the term has no legal meaning under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (FD&C Act).