placebo facial products

I was just doing my daily pre-sleep routine of brushing teeth, washing face, and I thought of something that was in my mind for a long time but I never gave it proper thought. I have a theory:

Most facial products are placebo products.

(Definition of placebo: an inactive substance or other sham form of therapy administered to a patient usually to compare its effects with those of a real drug or treatment, but sometimes for the psychological benefit to the patient through his believing he is receiving treatment)

 Read on to find out more...




I use Mentholum (probably spelt that wrong) facial wash(supposed to use daily), facial scrub(supposed to use 2-3 times a week), and a moisturizer. I'm not very religious in my facial care though, some days I don't use it.

Like all normal people who don't have flawless skin, I've been using facial care products since I was a teenager. Of course, at that point it was all pimple/acne care products, creams, lotions, funny stuff that you smudge on your face in a desperate bid to get rid of that pimple outbreak.
They may also be just facial washes to try to 'cleanse your skin' or 'clear blocked pores' as advertised on those products.

However, do they really work?

I mean, there are also many people who DON'T use facial products and have pretty good skin! And even if you use the products, how do you know that they are working? Do you really see a marked decrease in pimples? A definite increase in complexion quality?
You must understand that even without these products, your pimples WILL disappear on their own. And a good complexion is obtainable from drinking lots of water, avoiding chocolate, etc.

My theory is that these facial products are so popular NOT because they work, but because they make you think they are working. You think that scrubbing that 'special formulated extract with coco beads' facial scrub (do you even know what the ingredients are half the time?) on your face SHOULD have some kind of cleansing effect. After all, your skin does feel more refreshed. (which is probably the effect of water and your self-massage when you are rubbing the facial wash on)
Plus, it's a known fact that the mere believing that a 'treatment' has an effect CAN cause an improvement in the symptoms it is treating. (i.e. the placebo effect)

Thus, most facial products are just playing on this placebo effect.

Of course, there may be some medicinal products that DO have some effects, such as those antibiotics prescribed by the doctors or special cream which they give. Those are not the products I am referring to; I am talking about those over-the-shelf products which we always purchase, the Gatsby facial wash, the Clean and Clear, the Oxy, etc.



So, don't be too extravagant in your facial products, as I think just the average cleanser will do, the rest of it is in your head. Ok, gonna go sleep early, I heard that's good for skin too.