Prohibit cosmetic efficacy

At the end of 2014, the State Administration of Food and Drug Administration publicly solicited opinions on the "Regulations on Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics (Draft for Soliciting Opinions)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"). The "Regulations" clearly stipulates the prohibition of labeling, including explicit or suggestive medical effects; exaggerating functions or easily causing misunderstanding or confusion to consumers. In particular, it was proposed that the efficacy of cosmetics should be supported by sufficient tests or evaluation data. If the product claims to have been tested by the efficacy verification agency and issued a report, the relevant verification information may be marked in the label; if not verified, the words “the above-mentioned efficacy has not been verified” shall be marked at the end of the description of the claimed effect.

The domestic drug and cosmetics market is booming

According to the requirements of the Regulations, cosmetics must not expressly or imply that they have a medical role in publicity. However, it is still unclear what standards should be followed for drugs and makeup based on “medicine”. Although the drug and makeup market has market potential in China, compared to its good performance in the European and American markets for many years, the current domestic drug and makeup market lacks uniform standards and sales channels.

The concept of cosmeceutical products originated in Europe and the United States. It was first proposed that cosmeceutical products are used to describe active or scientifically-based types of cosmetics. They are derived from the concept of medical skin care, and they also have the role of drug therapy and skin care. They are also It is called functional cosmetics or active cosmetics. In 1998, Vichy, the famous French cosmetics brand, first landed on the Chinese cosmetics market, bringing the concept of cosmeceuticals to Chinese consumers.

In our country, cosmeceuticals refer to natural ingredients that are highly efficacious cosmetic products. Their formulas are concise and must be fully disclosed. All active ingredients and safety must be certified by medical literature and dermatological clinical tests. It does not contain recognized sources of sensitization and is more effective than ordinary skin care products. Pharmacokinetics is very popular in the international arena, and there are also hotspots in some major cities in China. However, the quality of domestic medical and cosmetic products varies greatly, and there is a mixed mess. The level of consumption of medicinal skin care products is also very different from that of foreign countries.

It is worth noting that the drug and makeup market has always been a strong brand, P&G, Unilever, Parkis, Sofitel, and Shu Lei all have cosmeceutical products. This also led to fierce battles between manufacturers on the one hand, we are all fighting for the domestic market, the cost of manufacturers is increasing, brought direct pressure on the distribution agents, and now the profit space is compressed very small, and the distribution agent's payment The pressure is increasing day by day; on the other hand, the powerful attack of numerous first-line brands further strengthens the consumer's recognition and loyalty to the brand.

There is no uniform standard for cosmeceutical products

In our country, drug makeup presents several characteristics.

First of all, there is no argument about cosmetic products in the definition of cosmetics. At present, China does not have approval numbers for drugstores. In the national management regulations for cosmetics, the cosmetics used for hair dyeing, perming, freckle, and sun protection are collectively referred to as special-purpose cosmetics, and the lot number is “Weiwei Special”. Cosmetics batch number is "Wei Wei Zhun". The application procedures for special-purpose cosmetics are relatively strict. Before the product is put on the market, it is necessary to conduct product health and safety evaluations, including hygiene inspections, toxicology tests, human safety tests, relevant functional ingredients and use basis. However, the efficacy of domestic drug and cosmetic products promotion has obviously exceeded the scope of special-purpose cosmetics, such as propaganda, including whitening, moisturizing, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.

Domestic cosmeceutical products are mainly sold through pharmacies, but safety and efficacy evaluations lack legal supervision and there is no uniform standard. The label of the cosmeceuticals is mainly based on the word "Wei Wei Zhun", and very few are the words "Wei Wei Special", but there is no cosmetic "Prescription".

Secondly, in our country, the drug and makeup market is dominated by traditional drug companies. Due to the slowdown in the growth of traditional businesses, price cuts and other reasons, the space for the development of the pharmaceutical business is constantly being compressed. It is reported that as of now, listed drug companies including Tong Ren Tang, Baiyun Mountain, and Conneh have all set foot in the field of daily chemical. However, in the field of daily chemical, drug companies’ drug-lookup strategies are not optimistic.

Industry experts said that as a traditional pharmaceutical company, entering the drug and cosmetics industry is still robust and has certain advantages. There is a high risk of traditional medicine research and development. Cosmeceuticals are between cosmetics and medicines. Unlike drugs that are so strict and have a high risk, they have higher profit margins. They can also form certain related resources, and sales can be sold in chain stores. However, the most important thing for traditional Chinese medicine companies to make cosmeceuticals is how to cut in. It is not just the brand's influence that will allow consumers to recognize, because that may be counter-productive.