Blue Lake AestheticsA guide to the care questionChapter index

Skin claims and medicine rules

A cream and an injection need different questions.

Ask how the product is used and what it claims to do. Do not let a skin-care claim answer an injection question.

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What separates a cosmetic from a drug

As of September 26, 2026, most ingredients in cosmetics, such as skin creams, did not need US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

Color additives, ingredients added to give a product color, were an exception.

Under the rules checked on that date, a product meant to treat disease is a drug.

A product meant to change how the body is built or how it works is also a drug, even if the goal is appearance.

For example, a claim that a cream changes how much skin pigment the body makes is a drug claim.

Skin pigment is what gives skin its color.

FDA · cosmetics and medicines
Why this source matters

The purpose of a product matters when deciding which rules apply.

So ask whether the discussion is about a cosmetic, a medicine, or a product that falls into both categories.

Keep the cream claim with the cream

A peptide in a skin cosmetic follows different rules from that peptide proposed for injection, in the September 26, 2026 check.

FDA · how product use matters
Why this source matters

Keep the proposed use beside the ingredient name when checking a claim.

  • Is the evidence for this exact form?
  • Is the claim about appearance, a medical condition, or a change inside the body?

Recognising an ingredient gives you something to ask about. Ask for the explanation that fits the proposed use.