How to Support Claims with Digital Imaging

Skincare products are a competitive, growing market. By 2025 it is predicted the global sector will be worth USD 189.3 billion.^[1] Skincare brands, must prioritize trust in order to build brand loyalty among your target consumers. When choosing a new product, they want to be sure it is safe, complies with market regulations, and will deliver on the claims that you have made.

Efficacy Claims

Your brand probably makes a wide variety of claims about your skincare products. Many of these claims relate to your consumers’ desire for smoother, better hydrated and more youthful skin. It is not uncommon to see claims such as, ‘giving the appearance of younger skin’, ‘anti-aging’, ‘anti-wrinkle’, or ‘reduces the visible signs of aging’.

To succeed in the marketplace, however, you need to do more than simply make these claims. Today’s consumers are better informed than ever before. Many will use online resources to research the different products that are available to them before making their final purchase. At the same time, online retail stores are giving them access to a much larger range of products.

Since much of this interaction is performed online, the consumer is only ever one click away from being able to check the validity of the claims being made about the product they are considering. If one of your competitors can clearly demonstrate that its product is effective, and that this has been independently validated, then the consumer is more likely to buy their product rather than yours.

Digital Imaging

It is often said we buy with our eyes and that pictures speak a thousand words. When making decisions about skincare purchases, your consumers want to see confirmation that the product has been independently verified as being performant. If they can then see, with their own eyes, visual evidence of this performance, then they are more likely to make the purchase because they will have trust in the product and they can imagine how it might work on their skin.

High resolution digital ‘before and after’ images have become an accepted way of demonstrating the benefits of using a skincare product. Taken during clinical tests, they can be used in advertising to demonstrate the product’s ability to improve the appearance of facial features, such as fine lines, wrinkles and brown spots. Experts at SGS Stephens can help clients select the best custom and commercial photographic options for achieving your digital imaging goals.  Examples of imaging equipment available include our custom photostation and lighting options, Canfield VISIA CR2,  Newtone ColorFace®, Canfield Intellistudio, Canfield Primos, and many more.

Digital imaging can also be used to quantify the levels of improvement. Using state-of-the-art image analysis software, data can be provided to substantiate claims related to hydration, youthfulness (lines, wrinkles, etc.), homogeneity, anti-under eye dark circles, pollution, and skin color and texture. In addition, we also use the technology to show improvements relating to body cellulite, dry and irritated skin, hair growth, and sun-damaged skin on the neck and décolletage areas.

Our Solution

SGS offers a comprehensive range of services to help cosmetics brands like yours demonstrate the efficacy of your products. Clinical tests utilize the latest technology, including high resolution digital imaging and analysis software, to show and quantify the improvements being achieved through use of your product.

SGS provides manufacturers and brands with a one-stop-shop solution for verifying efficacy claims. Your consumers can trust that one of your cosmetics products tested by SGS will conform to the claims that you have made. After all, it’s only trusted because it’s tested.

^[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/254612/global-skin-care-market-size/