Cosmetic vs Pharmaceutical Ingredients: Do You Know the Difference?

Your skin care routine includes products that are most suitable for your skin type and needs. But do you actually know what ingredients do you use?

It’s what inside that counts, and it’s not really about money or quantity. The ingredients in your favorite products can be cosmetic grade, pharmaceutical, or even cosmeceutical grade. Should this matter to you?

As a fact, yes. Not all products are created the same. So, there are inexpensive products, but very ineffective. Others might cost more, and well, do more. Learn the difference now between pharmaceutical grade and cosmetic grade ingredients and shop for skin care products wisely.

Here is what you need to know.

Cosmetic vs. Pharmaceutical vs. Cosmeceutical Ingredients: What’s the Deal?

Cosmetic-grade products are almost everywhere. They can be purchased from your local department store or drugstore, so they’re more known.

On the other hand, pharmaceutical-grade products come with some instructions. They have to be FDA-approved, meaning their ingredients must be undiluted and pure.

If you don’t know, FDA regulates all foods and cosmetics and determines all skin care products as, well, cosmetics.

Okay, but what’s the deal with cosmeceutical products?

They’re nothing but a hybrid formula based on pharmaceutical and cosmetic-grade ingredients.

Unfortunately, the cosmeceutical products are still not FDA-approved. However, some might believe that this class of products is better than the average cosmetic.

What’s in Your Skin Care Products?

Does your skin care product really comprise pharmaceutical-grade ingredients? How can you verify?

Ingredient manufacturers are always providing a certificate of analysis from an approved and qualified lab. This process is mandatory because it can verify the accurate composition of the material present when the ingredient was offered to the mass spectrometer.

The mass spectrometer provides essential details about the contents of any substance. Finally, the certificates of analysis will end up at the skin care product manufacturer.

That information will be available on your products’ labels, so you’ll know that you’ll use pharmaceutical-grade ingredients.

Unfortunately, cosmetic-grade ingredients are not verified for ingredient quality or total content. Their effectiveness is sometimes lower and the price, too high.

Verifying the label for pharmaceutical-grade ingredients is the best thing that you can do for your health and skin care routine. And even if the costs are a bit too much, the results are always guaranteed.