As with many things we purchase there is always a question regarding cost versus quality. Many of us have learned long ago that just because something costs more it doesn’t necessarily mean it is better. At other times the cost of an item is directly associated with the quality of the product.
Outlined in an upcoming article within this series are five of the most expensive anti-aging products in the world. What makes them so expensive is a variety of things from the rare or hard to obtain ingredients contained in the creams and serums to the diamond studded packaging. One would hope that for thousands of dollars per milliliter of product that the product could all but cook us dinner.
For the majority of us spending that kind of money is not an option! So how do we figure out which anti-aging products are high quality without breaking the bank? While it is true that the ingredients in the products play a part in the overall cost, what really drives the price up is the product testing.
Testing can take years, many research studies, the opinions of experts in the field as well as actual use studies. Use studies is a fancy term used in the industry to say “we test these products on women world-wide over a specific period of time.” Most highly reputable anti-aging and beauty product companies will test and study one specific product for at least one year and sometimes up to five years before they have enough information to determine whether or not the product will achieve its stated goal.
Products are also frequently developed by dermatologists, chemists, biochemical engineers and additional personnel who are highly trained and qualified to mix and/or combine various ingredients until the desired effect is achieved.
It is this development process, the type and amount of testing and the length of use studies that can make one product cost so much more than another with the same ingredients. Just because two products contain the exact same ingredients it doesn’t mean they are identical.
Various proprietary trade secrets are used to develop the perfect formula for each company. What that means in layman’s terms – each company has their own ‘secret sauce.’
I like to compare it to a chili-cook off. There are specific ingredients that almost everyone uses when they make chili, but what separates yours from your best friends chili is how much of which ingredients you use – as well as what that secret item is that nearly every woman puts in her chili to make it special.
Mixing cosmetics and anti-aging products works the same way. It isn’t necessarily the type of ingredients in the product but exactly how they are measured out and mixed that makes the difference. Another factor for the cost is the name recognition and reputation of the company.
Sometimes you really are paying for the name or brand. When that happens, it is usually because the brand has a tried, true and proven reputation of doing what it claims it will do.
