Gene-Targeting Anti-Aging Claims Aren’t Allowed, FTC Tells L’Oréal

The FTC announced today that L’Oréal USA has agreed to settle charges over the brand’s anti-aging and gene-targeting advertisements for the company’s Lancôme Génifique and L’Oréal Paris Youth Code skincare products.

In advertisements, L’Oréal claimed that these products provide anti-aging effects by boosting consumers’ gene activity and stimulating the production of proteins that lead to younger-looking skin.

“It would be nice if cosmetics could alter our genes and turn back time,” said Jessica Rich, director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a press release.

The FTC said L’Oréal lacks the required evidence to support these claims. The agency’s consent orders state that “L’Oréal is prohibited from claiming that any Lancôme brand or L’Oréal Paris brand facial skincare product targets or boosts the activity of genes to make skin look or act younger, or respond five times faster to aggressors like stress, fatigue, and aging, unless the company has competent and reliable scientific evidence substantiating such claims.”

Jennifer Grebow
Editor-in-Chief
Nutritional Outlook magazine jennifer.grebow@ubm.com