If you’re wondering WHY you need to know about the difference between cosmetic and therapeutic claims, it’s because it’s against the law to make therapeutic claims about cosmetic products.
Therapeutic claims for skincare products usually involve mentioning the treatment of a skin condition or physiological changes to the skin. But therapeutic claims can only be made for products listed or registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG) , which is a database run by the Therapeutic Goods Association (TGA).
So you need to stick to making cosmetic claims about your skincare products. However, there's much more to it than making sure you don’t say on a label that your product treats a skin condition, such as eczema.
For example, did you know you can’t even say an ingredient has been traditionally used for any kind of therapeutic use? And that customer reviews on your website shouldn’t contain therapeutic claims either?
I know you want to do the right thing by making compliant claims while still making your products sound appealing to potential customers.
Which is why I've written Can I Say That? Demystifying cosmetic versus therapeutic claims - to relieve your pain and save you hours of research and stress.
It’s a must-read guide for anyone in the cosmetics industry.
This 12-page PDF is presented in an FAQ format that answers these questions plus more:
Perhaps you’re just starting your skincare brand and aren’t even sure what a therapeutic claim is. Or perhaps you’ve had your skincare business a while but still aren’t 100% sure how to make creative but compliant claims about your products.
Either way, this easy-to-read guide will increase your knowledge about how to avoid making therapeutic claims and give you confidence to make compliant cosmetic claims.
Because if you make any therapeutic claims when you’re not allowed to, you could end up having to reprint your labels at best, or at worst, be subject to a TGA investigation which could result in substantial fines.