{"name":"Vanity or Vice \u2014 Register of Unproven Claims","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/","method":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/","licence":"CC BY 4.0. Reuse it, cite it, link the entry.","generated":"2026-09-03T22:12:10+00:00","inclusion_threshold":"A human study, published and peer-reviewed, with a comparator \u2014 placebo, vehicle, or an active with its own evidence \u2014 reporting the endpoint the claim is actually about. In-vitro work, animal models, uncontrolled before-and-after series, consumer-perception surveys and unpublished supplier data are read and reported, but they do not clear the bar on their own.","count":12,"claims":[{"slug":"medical-grade-skincare","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/medical-grade-skincare\/","title":"\u201cMedical-grade\u201d skincare is a regulated tier","subject_area":"Labels & language","claim_as_made":"Medical-grade formulations, available only through licensed professionals \u2014 pharmaceutical-strength actives that over-the-counter products are not permitted to contain.","claim_as_tested":"Does any cosmetics regulator in the United States, the United Kingdom or the European Union define \"medical-grade\", set a standard for it, confer it on a product, or attach any consequence to using it?","verdict":"No regulator in the US, UK or EU defines, confers or enforces \"medical-grade\" for cosmetics. There are cosmetics and there are drugs.","evidence_position":"Not established","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-not-established","absence_type":"True absence","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-true-absence","regulatory_status":"Cosmetic. In every one of these jurisdictions a product is a cosmetic, a drug, or both, decided by what it is intended to do.","databases_searched":"FDA cosmetics guidance; Regulation (EC) No 1223\/2009; Commission Regulation (EU) No 655\/2013 and its retained UK equivalent; the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013.","search_strings":"\"medical grade\" and \"medical-grade\" across FDA cosmetics guidance and the EU and UK cosmetics regulations; \"cosmeceutical\"; the definition of \"cosmetic product\" in 1223\/2009; the six common criteria in the Annex to 655\/2013.","records":"No definition, standard, certification or enforcement mechanism for the term found in any of the four instruments.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"at-home-led-mask-dose","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/at-home-led-mask-dose\/","title":"At-home LED masks deliver a clinical dose","subject_area":"Injectables & devices","claim_as_made":"Clinic-strength light therapy at home \u2014 the same wavelengths professionals use, delivered in ten minutes a day.","claim_as_tested":"Do consumer facial LED masks deliver an irradiance and total dose comparable to the in-clinic devices whose results they invoke \u2014 measured independently, at the distance and duration the instructions specify?","verdict":"We found no published independent measurement of what a consumer facial LED mask actually delivers. The dose is the claim, and it is unverified.","evidence_position":"No adequate source found","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-no-adequate-source-found","absence_type":"Characterisation failure","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-characterisation-failure","regulatory_status":"Generally a general-wellness consumer product. Some devices carry regulatory clearance for a specific indication; most do not, and clearance where it exists is not a finding about dose.","databases_searched":"PubMed.","search_strings":"(LED mask OR light-emitting diode mask OR home-use photobiomodulation) AND (irradiance OR dosimetry OR output OR characterisation); photobiomodulation AND consumer device AND measurement.","records":"No published independent characterisation of consumer facial LED masks identified. The nearest published measurement study is of hand-held and intra-oral devices, not masks.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"beef-tallow-skincare","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/beef-tallow-skincare\/","title":"Beef tallow as a skincare base","subject_area":"Skincare","claim_as_made":"Ancestral skincare \u2014 tallow is bio-identical to human sebum, so it heals acne, eczema and psoriasis where lab-made creams cannot.","claim_as_tested":"In people with acne, atopic dermatitis or psoriasis, does topical beef tallow, compared with an ordinary emollient, improve a validated severity score over at least four weeks?","verdict":"Claims for acne, eczema and psoriasis are common on social video and largely uncited; a 2025 analysis found most promoting posts showed financial bias.","evidence_position":"No adequate source found","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-no-adequate-source-found","absence_type":"True absence","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-true-absence","regulatory_status":"Cosmetic, or an unregulated home preparation. Much of what is sold is made and shipped by small sellers outside any cosmetic-manufacturing framework.","databases_searched":"PubMed.","search_strings":"(tallow OR \"animal fat\") AND (skin OR acne OR dermatitis OR eczema OR psoriasis); tallow AND (topical OR moisturiser OR emollient); restricted to human studies.","records":"No controlled human trial of topical beef tallow for any dermatological indication identified. One cross-sectional analysis of the claims themselves identified.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"screen-blue-light-skin","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/screen-blue-light-skin\/","title":"Blue light from screens ages your skin","subject_area":"Skincare","claim_as_made":"Screen time is ageing you. Blue light from your phone and laptop penetrates deeper than UV, driving pigmentation and collagen loss \u2014 protect against digital ageing.","claim_as_tested":"In adults with typical daily screen use, does blue light emitted by consumer electronic devices, compared with no such exposure, produce measurable hyperpigmentation or collagen loss \u2014 at the intensities screens actually emit, over a realistic period?","verdict":"Visible light from the sun does cause pigmentation. That evidence belongs to sunlight, not your monitor, and was carried across without a trial.","evidence_position":"No adequate source found","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-no-adequate-source-found","absence_type":"Claim transfer","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-claim-transfer","regulatory_status":"Cosmetic. In the UK and EU, claims about it fall under the six common criteria of Regulation (EU) No 655\/2013.","databases_searched":"PubMed; Truth in Advertising (TINA.org) published analyses.","search_strings":"blue light AND (skin OR melasma OR hyperpigmentation OR photoaging) AND (screen OR device OR electronic); visible light AND pigmentation AND phototype.","records":"One randomised human study of screen-emitted blue light identified, published as a two-page research letter. No trial of screen exposure and collagen or photoageing endpoints identified.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"daily-sunscreen-photoageing","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/daily-sunscreen-photoageing\/","title":"Daily sunscreen prevents visible skin ageing","subject_area":"Skincare","claim_as_made":"Prevents premature ageing. Daily use protects against fine lines, wrinkles and loss of firmness caused by the sun.","claim_as_tested":"In adults under 55 in a high-UV climate, does applying broad-spectrum sunscreen daily, compared with using it at your own discretion, reduce measured skin ageing over several years?","verdict":"Randomised, in people, over four and a half years, measured on skin rather than in a survey. It holds.","evidence_position":"Established","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-established","absence_type":"","absence_type_uri":"","regulatory_status":"An over-the-counter drug in the United States. A cosmetic in the UK and EU, governed by a sun protection labelling recommendation.","databases_searched":"PubMed, and the Cochrane Library for reviews.","search_strings":"sunscreen AND (photoaging OR photoageing OR skin aging); sunscreen AND randomized AND wrinkle*; limited to randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews in humans.","records":"One long-run randomised controlled trial with an objective endpoint identified, plus a small number of shorter open-label and manufacturer-run studies that add little to it. The trial is the entry; the rest are consistent with it and would not carry it alone.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2028-09-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"topical-exosome-skin-rejuvenation","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/topical-exosome-skin-rejuvenation\/","title":"Exosomes rebuild skin after treatment","subject_area":"Injectables & devices","claim_as_made":"Billions of regenerative exosomes delivered into the skin \u2014 the next generation of cellular rejuvenation, dramatically accelerating recovery and remodelling.","claim_as_tested":"In adults having a resurfacing or microneedling procedure, does an exosome preparation applied to the treated skin, compared with the same procedure without it, measurably improve recovery time or skin quality \u2014 using a product whose contents are specified well enough for another clinic to reproduce?","verdict":"No exosome product is FDA-approved, and the published studies do not describe what was in the vial well enough for anyone to repeat them.","evidence_position":"Thinly supported","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-thinly-supported","absence_type":"Characterisation failure","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-characterisation-failure","regulatory_status":"In the United States, unapproved. The FDA states plainly that there are currently no FDA-approved exosome products, and maintains both a consumer alert and a public safety notification on them.","databases_searched":"PubMed; FDA consumer alerts and safety notifications; ASA rulings database.","search_strings":"exosome* AND (skin aging OR rejuvenation OR wound healing) AND (clinical trial OR systematic review); extracellular vesicle* AND skin; \"exosome\" across FDA regenerative-medicine consumer guidance.","records":"Three syntheses identified, the largest a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of 39 human clinical trials. One upheld UK advertising ruling identified.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"microneedling-atrophic-acne-scars","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/microneedling-atrophic-acne-scars\/","title":"Microneedling erases acne scars","subject_area":"Treatments & spa","claim_as_made":"Collagen induction therapy. Resurfaces and remodels the skin to erase acne scarring and restore a smooth, even surface.","claim_as_tested":"In adults with atrophic acne scarring, does a course of microneedling, compared with another resurfacing treatment or with no treatment, improve scar severity on a published grading scale?","verdict":"It moves scars a grade, reliably, in small trials. It does not erase them, and nobody has shown it holds past a few months.","evidence_position":"Partially established","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-partially-established","absence_type":"","absence_type_uri":"","regulatory_status":"The devices are regulated, the treatment is not. In the US, microneedling instruments above a certain needle depth are Class II devices cleared through the 510(k) route; in the UK and EU the pen is a medical device and the treatment sits under local licensing that varies by council.","databases_searched":"PubMed, and the publisher record for the pooled analysis.","search_strings":"microneedling AND (atrophic scar OR acne scar); percutaneous collagen induction AND randomized; restricted to randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews and meta-analyses in humans.","records":"Two systematic reviews of randomised trials identified, pooling twelve and nine trials respectively. Both clear the threshold; both are built from trials whose median size is around thirty-five people.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-06-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"oral-collagen-skin-ageing","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/oral-collagen-skin-ageing\/","title":"Oral collagen supplements reverse skin ageing","subject_area":"Supplements","claim_as_made":"Clinically proven to rebuild collagen from within \u2014 visibly firmer, plumper, more hydrated skin in eight weeks.","claim_as_tested":"In adults with visible skin ageing, does daily oral hydrolysed collagen, compared with placebo, improve instrument-measured skin hydration, elasticity and wrinkle depth over eight to twelve weeks \u2014 in trials nobody selling collagen paid for?","verdict":"Oral collagen's measured benefit for skin disappears once pharmaceutical-company-funded and low-quality trials are separated from the rest.","evidence_position":"Not established","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-not-established","absence_type":"Supplier-generated only","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-supplier-generated-only","regulatory_status":"A dietary supplement in the United States; a food supplement in the UK and EU.","databases_searched":"PubMed.","search_strings":"collagen supplement* AND skin aging; collagen peptide AND (wrinkle OR elasticity OR hydration); restricted to systematic reviews, meta-analyses and randomised controlled trials.","records":"One systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 randomised trials (n=1,474) identified. It sits above the individual trials it pools and is treated here as the strongest available evidence.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"polynucleotide-injections-skin-regeneration","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/polynucleotide-injections-skin-regeneration\/","title":"Polynucleotide injections regenerate the skin","subject_area":"Injectables & devices","claim_as_made":"Not a filler \u2014 a regenerative treatment that repairs the skin from within, stimulating your own fibroblasts to rebuild quality, tone and hydration.","claim_as_tested":"In adults with age-related skin laxity or under-eye hollowing, does a course of injected polynucleotides, compared with saline or with no treatment, improve instrument-measured skin elasticity or hydration at three months \u2014 in trials large enough and well enough conducted to conclude?","verdict":"Nine studies, all rated low or moderate quality, covering 219 patients between them. Real signal, and nowhere near enough of it to conclude.","evidence_position":"Thinly supported","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-thinly-supported","absence_type":"Characterisation failure","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-characterisation-failure","regulatory_status":"Varies by market and by product. Most polynucleotide preparations reach the aesthetic market as medical devices rather than as medicines.","databases_searched":"PubMed.","search_strings":"polynucleotide* AND (aesthetic OR skin OR rejuvenation); PDRN AND skin; restricted to systematic reviews and clinical studies.","records":"One systematic review identified, covering nine studies and 219 patients in total, quality-appraised with the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklists. PROSPERO CRD42024588712.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"rosemary-oil-hair-growth","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/rosemary-oil-hair-growth\/","title":"Rosemary oil works as well as minoxidil","subject_area":"Haircare","claim_as_made":"Clinically proven to match minoxidil for hair regrowth \u2014 the natural alternative, without the side effects.","claim_as_tested":"In adults with androgenetic alopecia, does topical rosemary oil, compared with placebo, increase hair count at six months \u2014 and separately, does it match minoxidil 5%, the concentration most people actually buy?","verdict":"One 2015 trial compared rosemary oil with minoxidil 2%, not the 5% most people buy, and had no placebo arm. Nothing has replicated it.","evidence_position":"Thinly supported","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-thinly-supported","absence_type":"Claim inflation","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-claim-inflation","regulatory_status":"A cosmetic, or an essential oil sold as one. Minoxidil is a licensed over-the-counter drug.","databases_searched":"PubMed; ClinicalTrials.gov.","search_strings":"Rosmarinus officinalis AND (alopecia OR hair growth OR hair loss); rosemary oil AND minoxidil; restricted to human studies. ClinicalTrials.gov searched for registered trials of rosemary in alopecia.","records":"One human randomised comparative trial identified, from 2015. Everything published since is in vitro (HaCaT cells), animal (Wistar rat, C57BL\/6 mouse), or narrative review. No second human trial.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"skin-cycling-protocol","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/skin-cycling-protocol\/","title":"The four-night skin cycling sequence","subject_area":"Skincare","claim_as_made":"Exfoliate, retinoid, recover, recover. The four-night cycle that gets you retinoid results without the irritation.","claim_as_tested":"In adults using a topical retinoid, does the specific four-night sequence \u2014 exfoliating acid, retinoid, two nights of barrier recovery, repeated \u2014 produce less irritation or better outcomes than nightly retinoid use, or than any other schedule, over at least eight weeks?","verdict":"The ingredients in skin cycling have evidence behind them. The four-night sequence, which is the actual product, has never been tested as a sequence.","evidence_position":"Untested as claimed","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-untested-as-claimed","absence_type":"Protocol untested","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-protocol-untested","regulatory_status":"Not a regulated thing at all. It is a schedule, and schedules are not products.","databases_searched":"PubMed (all fields and title\/abstract).","search_strings":"\"skin cycling\" in all fields; \"skin cycling\" in title\/abstract; retinoid AND (alternate night* OR intermittent) AND (irritation OR tolerability).","records":"Two records returned for the exact phrase, both false positives \u2014 one on seasonal gene expression in cashmere goat skin, one on baboon uterine transplantation. Neither has anything to do with this. No trial of the sequence identified.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"},{"slug":"topical-nad-nmn-serums","url":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/register\/topical-nad-nmn-serums\/","title":"Topical NAD+ and NMN serums","subject_area":"Skincare","claim_as_made":"Restore the cellular fuel your skin loses with age \u2014 topical NAD+ to switch repair back on at the mitochondrial level.","claim_as_tested":"In adults with visible skin ageing, does a topical NAD+ or NMN preparation, compared with vehicle, produce measurable change in any skin endpoint \u2014 and does the molecule reach living skin from a topical application at all?","verdict":"No controlled human trial of topical NAD+ or NMN with skin endpoints has been published. The formulation literature exists because the molecule penetrates poorly.","evidence_position":"Untested as claimed","evidence_position_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#grade-untested-as-claimed","absence_type":"Plausibility gap","absence_type_uri":"https:\/\/vanityvice.blog\/how-the-register-works\/#absence-plausibility-gap","regulatory_status":"Cosmetic, in every market where these are sold on the shelf.","databases_searched":"PubMed; ClinicalTrials.gov.","search_strings":"(NMN OR nicotinamide mononucleotide OR \"NAD+\" OR nicotinamide riboside) AND (topical OR cutaneous OR cream OR serum) AND (randomi* OR placebo OR split-face); ClinicalTrials.gov searched for registered topical NAD-precursor trials with skin endpoints.","records":"No published controlled human trial with skin endpoints identified. Published work is in vitro, or formulation and delivery research. One relevant registered trial found, recruiting, not reported.","last_searched":"2026-09-03","next_review_due":"2027-03-01","published":"2026-09-03","modified":"2026-09-03"}]}