It’s all fun and games—until it’s your face, your skin, or your health on the line. Such is the case with unlicensed and unauthorized health hacks and beauty bargains sold online, where the promises are dazzling, but the results are anything but. At worst, what seemed like a money-saving deal—a weight-loss drug at half the price, or makeup for less than P100—could end up costing you far more to undo the damage.
Recently, Dr. Winlove Mojica (@skinsensei on X) reported how one of his patients got a severe reaction to a whitening cream that a relative had encouraged her to use and had purchased from an online platform. As it turns out, the FDA had an advisory against it, calling it an unauthorized cosmetic product. “Since the abovementioned unauthorized cosmetic product has not gone through the notification process of the FDA, the agency cannot assure their quality and safety,” the memo read. “The use of substandard and possibly adulterated cosmetic products may result in adverse reactions including, but not limited to, skin irritation, itchiness, anaphylactic shock, and organ failure.”
These could easily happen with any bogus or unauthenticated beauty product we discover online. In our attempt to save money, we end up wasting it as we don’t get the effect that we paid for in these products and treatments. In fact, we might even have to spend more mitigating potential harm and damage to our looks and overall health.
Easy Access
It’s never been easier to get your hands on beauty products. The Internet has supercharged the intensity and velocity of beauty and wellness trends, as well as making products widely available online. Not only are brands creating and investing in their own online stores, but they are meeting customers where they are and ensuring and increasing availability in popular, high-traffic e-commerce platforms like Lazada, Shopee, and the emerging player, TikTok Shop. These are slowly becoming the modern-day, virtual malls where people end up spending most of their time browsing and buying. Here in the Philippines, Shopee was the 12th most visited website in 2023, while Lazada was 15th, according to Datareportal’s Digital 2024 report on the Philippines. The same report revealed that TikTok, Shopee, and Lazada were also among the top 10 apps visited in the same year.
Customers have no qualms about buying beauty products online. In 2023, Filipinos spent US$850 million on beauty and personal care, the fourth biggest category after electronics, fashion, and food. In the United States, Nielsen IQ reports that the health and beauty category can contribute up to a whopping 85 percent of sales in TikTok Shop, comprising face care, supplements, fragrance, whitening kits, and lip cosmetics.
A report on Filipino consumer behavior shares that 62 percent of Filipinos believe that affordability comes first when it comes to making purchase decisions, and when they search for solutions to their health, beauty, and wellness concerns.
People readily and willingly share their opinions and recommendations on health, beauty, and wellness products in group chats and social media, and when these are also available online (and conveniently linked for access), it becomes much easier to browse and buy for yourself. Search any beauty product, and you’ll find links from several sellers, usually ranging from original stores, local distributors, or independent resellers.
But Filipinos, especially known for their diskarte (a Filipino trait of being strategically resourceful) and love for discounts, are known for finding ways to avoid spending—or at least, scoring a good deal. A report on Filipino consumer behavior shares that 62 percent of Filipinos believe that affordability comes first when it comes to making purchase decisions, and when they search for solutions to their health, beauty, and wellness concerns, there are often several products similar to popular brands that offer lower prices. Unfortunately, these cheaper price tags don’t always lead us to good deals, but something more dangerous and damaging instead.
A Sea of Counterfeits and Copycats
Take Ozempic, an incredibly popular diabetes drug that has become more known for its weight loss side effects. Hollywood has been hit with a wave of jaw-dropping transformations from people, who have historically had a hard time losing weight, after taking it or other drugs with the same active ingredient called semaglutide: Oprah Winfrey, Kelly Clarkson, and Rebel Wilson, to name a few. Ozempic has definitely piqued the interest of those who want to experience their benefits, intended or not.
Semaglutide drugs are available here in the Philippines, but are very expensive and have to be prescribed by a doctor. But if you search for “semaglutide” in e-commerce platforms, you’ll find a few links offering vials and pens, with varying costs ranging from P5,000 to P20,000. Most of them have zero purchases and reviews, low-quality product photos, and limited descriptions. And if they look sketchy and suspicious, it’s because they are most likely fake. Platforms like Lazada and Shopee have hard rules against selling counterfeit products, prescription-only medicines, beauty devices that require a license, and even used cosmetics, and often will delete entries or ban accounts that go against their standards when they are reported. But sometimes, a renegade one will make it through, quietly hiding with a carefully rephrased name and product description.
It is hard to ascertain the veracity of products sold online, despite the sellers often putting “KOREAN OFFICIAL PRODUCT” or “100% GENUINE” on their labels—somehow, that even becomes a clearer sign that it’s not authentic.
Rejuran is a popular skin booster made from concentrated polynucleotide (PN) extract from salmon DNA. This injectible drug is often used for antiaging, improving skin elasticity, and repairing skin damage. It’s best to have a dermatologist or aesthetician review your skin concerns, then diagnose and inject this for you. A session at a reputable clinic in Manila, depending on which area you’re treating, can cost between P20,000 to P30,000.
Compared to a search on semaglutide, searching for “Rejuran” on e-commerce platforms shows several products labeled with the brand name, from serums to injectibles. Most stores are from Korea (probably because the brand Rejuran was founded in Korea), and looking closely through the different links, some of them have a handful of purchases and five-star reviews—despite the limited photos and descriptions. It is hard to ascertain the veracity of these products, despite the sellers often putting “KOREAN OFFICIAL PRODUCT” or “100% GENUINE” on their labels. (Somehow, that becomes a clearer sign that it’s not authentic.)
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) reported that out of all customer complaints in 2022, perfume and beauty products were the 2nd most counterfeited category after apparel.
This is sadly an all-too-common story in searching for and sourcing beauty and wellness products online and goes way beyond injectible drugs and treatments. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) reported that out of all customer complaints in 2022, perfume and beauty products were the 2nd most counterfeited category after apparel. Most of them are found online; by the first half of 2023, 91 percent of customer reports about counterfeits have involved products sold online. Despite safeguards and standards set by e-commerce platforms, it is quite shocking to find out how prevalent it actually still is, from popular perfumes to trending K-Beauty brands, and even vials of “Ozempic.”
It’s not even just fakes that people have to worry about. There is also a wealth of low-priced products and treatments made by generic, indistinct “brands” or sources that seem to want to capitalize on consumers searching for more affordable alternatives. There are eyeshadow palettes for less than P50. Packets of marine collagen powder on a perpetual buy one, get one promo. An electronic face and neck massager that claims to firm and lift skin with LED (light-emitting diode) therapy and high-frequency vibrations for less than P400. Bottles of “pure” sunflower oil for multipurpose beauty needs. Generic kojic acid soap (often marked “original”) is available in bulk, from a large block carefully wrapped in plastic or just several pieces piled into a mini plastic sack.
So many of these types of products are on e-commerce platforms, and now even in live selling videos on social media, especially with Facebook and TikTok setting up Live Shop platforms and making it easier for sellers to interact with customers. On live selling, it’s easier to get convinced when you see someone real and relatable, instead of a celebrity or a model, interacting directly with you and talking about the product’s benefits. Most people are quite familiar with the results these products claim to deliver anyway, and because of the incredibly low prices, they are happy to ignore the fact that they don’t know the brand—or sometimes, that these products don’t even have a brand.
Dangers of Beauty Dupes
Discovering these deals and dupes is alluring. While beauty products and treatments are thankfully becoming more available in the Philippines, they often still come with a hefty price tag. Sometimes, they are even more expensive here compared to other countries due to logistical costs that local distributors and resellers have to bear.
And yet, there are still products we see online that are not available here yet. Green powders have had their moment with wellness fans online in the past few years, but top brands like AG1 by Athletic Greens are unavailable here. Medicube’s Age-R Booster Pro, which is a 6-in-1 wand that combines electroporation, microcurrent, EMS, electric needles, LED, and sonic vibration, is currently popular on TikTok, but it is also not available in the Philippines. You can order it from Amazon, and while shipping is free (as it reaches the US$49 minimum spend for free shipping), the estimated import fee is a whopping US$79.23, pushing the cost to over US$300.
The biggest misconception about these items, however, is that they are the same products and treatments, only at a lower price.
For many people, these counterfeits or generic products allow them access to the beauty trends and treatments they are interested in. They want to indulge and engage in trends, as well as find solutions to many of their beauty and wellness concerns with a price tag that they are willing to pay—or, ideally, even cheaper than that! Meanwhile, there are also vulnerable customers who don’t intend to buy fakes or dupes but are less savvy (or too busy to review details) in online shopping and immediately add to their cart when they come upon good deals.
The biggest misconception about these items, however, is that they are the same products and treatments, only at a lower price. In fact, unlike original products and authentic brands, these are created and sold without assurance of effectiveness, hygiene, and safety or quality control. The best-case scenario is that the products don’t work, and are simply pretty placebos.
Fake products were tested and revealed that many alarmingly contain carcinogenic ingredients such as beryllium oxide, harmful heavy metals (arsenic, lead, and mercury), and even rat urine and equine feces.
The unfortunate (and more likely) alternative is that they were made with ingredients that simply aren’t meant to be applied or used on humans. Early in 2024, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) launched the “Choose Safe not Fake” campaign, an anti-counterfeit awareness campaign focusing on beauty and hygiene products. Because consumers think that counterfeits are similar enough to the real products, the IPO tested the fake products and revealed that many alarmingly contain carcinogenic ingredients such as beryllium oxide, harmful heavy metals (arsenic, lead, and mercury), and even rat urine and equine feces. Often, these heavy, toxic metals are included to create appealing colors, consistency, and textures. According to a report by Red Points (a platform against counterfeits, piracy, impersonation, and distribution abuse), sometimes it’s not always an ingredient directly added, but an unintended by-product from mixing chemicals together. Counterfeits or dupe creators have no reason or incentive to test for these toxic products. Meanwhile, the urine and feces are obviously signs of poor or non-existent sanitation and storage practices.
Recently, The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned consumers against fake Ozempic (or semaglutide), after detecting falsified batches in the United States, the U.K., and Brazil. They warned that the use of falsified drugs may be contaminated with harmful substances, packed with unknown or substituted ingredients, or have an incorrect dose declared. These could lead to ineffective treatment of patients, or worse, pose other serious risks to one’s health. Reuters reported three people sought medical treatment for hypoglycemia in the U.S. after taking suspected fake Ozempic last year, as well as several others in Austria and Lebanon.
Aside from the substandard drug itself, there is also concern about its administration. Doctors and specialists are trained to administer injections subcutaneously, but when these drugs are available online, many people just YouTube how to do it themselves to save having to pay additional doctor’s fees. Improper injections can cause pain and bruising, and worse, potential infection, nerve ending or tissue damage, which can result in more serious health emergencies.
Why You Should Trust A Real Brand
Some people think the high costs behind beauty brands and products are “just marketing,” and while brands do have a budget for that, they also invest a lot of resources to ensure the efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of their treatments. After careful and thorough research, they start with sourcing proper and high-quality raw materials and active ingredients. These are then manufactured in systemized and sanitized factories, and go through rigorous testing, from stability testing to microbial testing.
Most brands also adhere to regulatory bodies and strictly follow guidelines set for the health and beauty industry. Here in the Philippines, cosmetics and health products fall under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which licenses, monitors, and regulates these products to ensure its safety, efficacy, and quality. Permits and certifications also require brands to follow their strict protocols, as well as invest costs for getting the certifications regularly.
For professional brands, these aren’t optional steps but basics to deliver the best quality product to their customers. This is why it’s worth it to take the extra time, effort, and resources to choose products and treatments from legitimate and trusted brands. With treatments that need prescription or professional administration, it’s also always best to seek out a professional to assess, diagnose, and treat you.
As beauty and wellness products continue to become more available and accessible online, we should understand that innovation always moves faster than legislation and regulation. As platforms continue to learn and fortify the standards for our protection, we must educate and equip ourselves to discern and demand the quality and safety we deserve before we add to cart.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A COUNTERFEIT OR A COPYCAT WHEN BUYING ONLINE
Price
The first thing that draws your attention is often the first indicator of its authenticity! Prices that are unusually low or supremely discounted, especially outside of a mega sale, are very suspicious. While not always true, fakes or copycats put lower prices to attract more customers. Because the products are cheaper to manufacture, sellers can afford to drive down their prices. If you’re shopping on an e-commerce platform, research first and try to look for the original or recommended retail price from the brand’s website or its official channels.
Title and Description
It’s usually the most obvious as well. Check the title if it’s the correct and official title of the product or treatment (once again, it pays to research), then check the description. Often, genuine products come with a complete description and full details that are properly written. Suspicious products look like they’ve copy-pasted whole swaths of text, while others have extremely clipped lines. (Funnily, there’s usually also the overemphasis on “REAL” or “AUTHENTIC.”)
Check for misspelled words, random words are thrown in the title (for better search engine optimization, most likely), grammar mistakes, inconsistencies in capitalization, or informal phrases like “hello, welcome to shop” or even “thnkz 4 buying.”
Pictures and Packaging
Pictures from fakes are low-quality and limited (usually just a single image), most likely just pulled or screenshot from a website. Brands will also usually have proper and professionally taken product shots. For unverified products, it often looks like someone just took a photo of the items in their factory or their office. Packaging is also usually very amateur. Meanwhile, some products try to use stock photos and generic clip art and graphics.
Seller and/or Store
If possible, always buy from the store’s official website directly. Don’t just quickly look at the store’s profile—as official logos are easy to find online and upload. First, check if it’s verified or marked official by the e-commerce platform, like LazMall or Shopee Mall. Check the name and how it’s written, as well as the store URL. Sometimes, bogus sellers put the logo and the name but will put a very slight deviation in the spelling, or maybe add an underscore, or an extra space, to make you think it’s the original store.
If you are not buying directly, look carefully in the About Us of the retailer or seller. Check their ratings, followers, and recent activity, and then browse their product list to see what they are usually selling. Do they focus on a certain segment of beauty? Are their products all too random? Are they just selling one product?
Reviews and Feedback
Reviews of the store and products can be very helpful in identifying their authenticity and credibility. Watch out if there are constant warnings from past customers about the quality or veracity of the products. Reviews can also be generated, so be wary and careful of canned or copy-paste reviews, especially those that were published close to each other, are similarly worded, and use the same photos.
You can also try to message sellers directly to ask if they are selling genuine products and if they can provide proof.
Collage by Dannah Valdezco. Laptop keyboard by © Yosi Azwan. Hand holding phone by © Sinergi Marketing. Used makeup kit by © Roberto. Broken compact highlighter by © pictures_for_you. Broken lipstick by © Ericlefrancais via canva.com
