What is the difference between eye creams that cost tens of dollars and thousands of dollars? Pay attention to these points when choosing eye creams →

As the saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Whether it is an eye cream that costs a few dozen or one or two hundred yuan, or an expensive eye cream that costs hundreds or thousands of yuan, it has its own loyal fans and "anti-fans". So, what is the difference between cheap eye cream and expensive eye cream? Why do consumers pay more for expensive eye cream?

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Before discussing today's topic, I hope everyone can at least have two general consensuses:

1. In terms of efficacy (such as reducing wrinkles, whitening, etc.), expensive products are not necessarily better than cheap products;

2. Similarly, in terms of efficacy, products containing "rare" ingredients are not necessarily better than ordinary products.

Next, let’s analyze in detail the difference between cheap eye cream and expensive eye cream.

Brand and market

Different brands have different pricing ranges. It can be said that a considerable portion of product pricing, especially the pricing of expensive eye creams, belongs to brand premium.

So sometimes we can see that eye creams from two different brands belonging to the same group may have the same core ingredients, the same concentrations, and similar formulas, but because the two brands are positioned as mid-range and high-end respectively, their prices can differ by several times.

In addition to the brand value itself, there are also product channels, publicity, celebrity endorsements, etc., and ultimately the sheep are the ones who pay for it.

Product Packaging

As mentioned above, the product packaging design and material selection are closely related to the brand's positioning and tone. Some packaging is also related to certain formulas and efficacy. Brands with higher-end positioning usually choose better (or more in line with the brand's positioning and tone) materials and production processes for the outer and inner packaging of their products.

Taking the inner packaging of eye cream as an example, there are actually many links involved, such as whether the bottom of the bottle is made of glass or plastic, hard or soft, whether the bottle should be light-proof, whether a dropper or a pump is used on the top, whether the bottle cap should be electroplated, etc. The choice of the material of the outer packaging box and the choice of production process (such as matte/mirror, flocking, lamination), etc., will ultimately lead to significant differences in cost.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Patented ingredients

Different patented ingredients are one of the most important features that distinguish different brands, and this part can be said to be one of the main sources of product price differences.

In order to develop ingredients that can produce specific effects, such as fading fine lines around the eyes, fading dark circles, reducing edema, etc., manufacturers often need huge investments in the early stages. And the investment is not limited to a single ingredient, but the investment of countless trial and error also needs to be included in the R&D cost. Therefore, after the successful development of an ingredient, patent applications are often filed and licenses are obtained. After all, if there is no sufficient return in the future, it will not be able to drive the initial investment in research and development. This normal market behavior will also lead to the pricing of patented ingredient raw materials not being too low, pushing up the price of the product.

Active ingredients and their concentrations

As far as eye products are concerned, the effects they pursue are nothing more than a few major categories, including moisturizing the skin around the eyes, relieving dry lines, fading fine lines (even dynamic lines), fading dark circles, reducing swelling, etc. When solving different problems, different brands and different formula ideas may choose different functional ingredients, and ultimately they can achieve similar effects, but the differences in the raw materials of different functional ingredients may be huge. Even if the same functional ingredient is claimed, the preparation cost of different purities is different, which will also lead to differences in the final product price.

In addition, regardless of whether the active ingredient is a patented ingredient of a specific brand, generally speaking, the higher the concentration of the main active ingredient in the product, the higher the corresponding product price will be, because generally speaking, within a certain concentration range, the higher the concentration, the better the effect may be (but not necessarily). For example, if we look at two eye creams with different prices, the active ingredients are claimed to be the same, but a careful comparison may reveal that the concentration of the ingredients is different. Even in the same series of eye creams of the same brand, there may be gradient products with different concentrations, and the pricing is also that the higher the concentration of the active ingredient, the higher the price.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

Product Formula

An eye cream does not only contain effective ingredients for its main function, but also contains many auxiliary ingredients. For example, some ingredients are responsible for whether the texture of the eye cream is more paste-like or oily, some ingredients are responsible for whether the product is fragrant or smelly, and some ingredients are responsible for whether it is easy to spread, etc.

In other words, the feeling of using a product/skin feel is closely related to the formula design. The combination of many ingredients makes it easy to spread, absorb, not rub into the skin, and not irritate the eyes. This is the result of careful design and adjustment of the formula, and part of the product price goes to this link. Although expensive products often fail, and cheap products can also be very useful, in general, relatively expensive products tend to do better in terms of skin feel.

In addition, the formula also requires consideration of fragrances and preservatives, and many of these safer and less allergenic raw materials are usually more expensive.

Special process

The preparation technology of skin care products has made very rapid progress and development in recent years, allowing the products to have better performance, which is undoubtedly also part of the cost.

Although the skin is not thick, the healthy skin barrier is very strong, so most skin care ingredients can only stay on the surface. Therefore, some products will use penetration-enhancing formula technology to allow specific ingredients to penetrate deeper through the skin barrier at a higher rate and better exert their effects.

In addition, some ingredients that can reduce wrinkles around the eyes are irritating and may cause stinging, dryness, peeling, redness, etc. after use. Therefore, some products use special packaging technology to wrap the ingredients microscopically, and slowly release them after applying them to the skin, reducing the adverse reactions caused by direct contact with the skin.

From the above content, we can see that if an eye cream uses patented effective ingredients with a high concentration, is combined with penetration-promoting technology or encapsulation technology, has an excellent formula design, good skin feel, and high-quality packaging, even if the brand and marketing costs are left out, its cost will not be too low. If it is also backed by a big brand, then its price is likely to reach several hundred or even thousands of yuan.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

At the beginning of recycling, since we have said that high prices do not necessarily mean good effects, and expensive rare ingredients do not necessarily mean good effects, then what should we pay more attention to than price?

According to current laws and regulations, commercially available cosmetics (including skin care products) are subject to the "Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics". Specifically for the implementation of the efficacy of skin care products, the National Medical Products Administration issued the "Standards for the Evaluation of Cosmetic Efficacy Claims" in 2021, which has been implemented on January 1, 2022.

Note: The blue indicators are related to eye cream

According to this regulation, all skin care products must submit corresponding evaluation evidence for filing when claiming specific efficacy, including human efficacy evaluation tests, consumer use tests, laboratory tests, and literature or research data.

Brands that are currently at the forefront and dare to claim the efficacy of their products generally choose to conduct the most powerful proof - human efficacy evaluation tests. This is also the best evaluation indicator that we consumers can refer to. These reports will include, for example, how much effect the product can produce on the skin after a certain number of weeks of use, such as how much fine lines around the eyes can be faded, how much the moisturization of the skin around the eyes can be increased, etc., and generally, products that have undergone corresponding human efficacy evaluations will display relevant data on the product details page.

Products with excellent human efficacy evaluations are not necessarily necessarily expensive.

Summarize

There are thousands of eye creams on the market. To accurately select a product that suits you, you must put in some effort, such as clarifying your needs, researching ingredients, checking reviews, checking human efficacy evaluation data, comparing cost-effectiveness, consulting doctors with relevant expertise, etc., and of course, a process of trial and error.

No matter it is expensive or ordinary eye cream, as long as it can meet your needs for efficacy, the skin feel is what you like, and it matches your payment ability, there is no absolute distinction between good and bad.

Finally, I hope everyone can choose products that satisfy them and avoid making mistakes.

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Dr. Zeng Xiangru, dermatologist

Review | Feng Jun, Deputy Chief Physician, Dermatology Department, General Hospital of Datong Coal Mine Group Co., Ltd.