8 Ways Companies Use Pseudoscience To Sell You Stuff
7. "Tested"
"Dermatologist Recommended" and "Clinically Tested" appear on everything from wrinkle cream to baby shampoo, but they're essentially meaningless.
Advertisement
To get that little money making badge, you give some of your product to a dermatologist, get them to hand it out to some customers, if nobody dies then, congratulations, you have just dermatologically tested your product. The dermatologist is not required to test whether the product achieves what it claims to, just that it doesn't bring anyone out in a rash.
The trick here is to get you to imply the meaning yourself. According to research in 2010, over 50% of women believed that dermatologist tested meant that the product was guaranteed to work
Advertisement