Redditors concerned about what people are putting on their skin are warning people not to buy beauty products from Amazon.
Redditor u/cyclingE wrote in their post on the r/30PlusSkinCare subreddit, “I have been begging my friends and family for years to stop shopping for things they put on or in their body on Amazon. It’s an absolutely unregulated Wild West of counterfeit products. I’ve had some success but many people just can’t get past the convenience factor.”
“Anyway, I see posts here often of people wondering if they got a counterfeit product or who have had a bad reaction to a product. And 90% of the time they bought it on Amazon. I understand that many items are cheaper on Amazon and budgets are tight right now, but please consider changing your habits for the sake of your personal health.”
In an edit to the post, the Redditor added, “To the people who say it’s fine to order as long as it’s from the official seller – any product that is shipped by Amazon can have this issue. Products from both the official seller and resellers are mixed together at the warehouses.”
Another Redditor reiterated OP’s comment, explaining that it is called “commingled inventory.” In other words, product from multiple vendors ends up in the same bin together because they’re allegedly the same product. “Problem is, one of these shippers has sent 100 units of counterfeit units. Everything in that bin has the same product code. Amazon retrieves products out of the same bin to sell,” u/HulaButt said.
Redditors claim development of skin problems after ordering on Amazon
Many folks in the comments of the Reddit post claimed to have developed severe skin problems after ordering skincare on Amazon.
u/Callme-risley wrote, “I developed perioral dermatitis from La Roche Posay cleanser purchased on Amazon. Took a visit to the dermatologist and a prescription for tacrolimus to clear it up. While I was there, she also prescribed clindamycin and 15% azelaic acid for some persistent hormonal acne and redness I had been struggling to treat for my entire adult life.”
“Good news is, my skin has now NEVER LOOKED BETTER. I probably would have continued self-treating my acne issues at home with limited success for years if that rash hadn’t kick started me into finally making a derm appt,” they added. “Moral of the story is…don’t buy from Amazon, and get your a** to the dermatologist!!”
TikToker Eviba Carter (@evibacarter), an M.D./Ph.D. candidate and “skin innovator,” shared his own experience with a counterfeit sunscreen product. The product didn’t have the UV protection it claimed, which he proved by showing it under a UV light. The legitimate UV protection sunscreen shows up black on camera, while the counterfeit is barely visible.
The boxes and packaging, he explained, are also a dead giveaway. He shared comparisons between the counterfeit and real products in the video.
@evibacarter Fake SPF on scAmazon Prime #sunscreen #spf #spftested #sunprotection #antiaging #health #healthtips #skincare #skincareroutine #beautyhacks #beauty #beautytips #roundlab #beautyofjoseon #anthelios #eltamd #larocheposay #supergoop #neutrogena #kbeauty #asianbeauty #darkspots #science #evibacarter #eviba #mdphd #medicine #scam #scammeralert #fake #skincaretips #uv #hyperpigmentation #CapCut ♬ original sound – Eviba Carter
Amazon’s improved policy against counterfeit products
Redditor u/BoxFullOfSuggestions commented that OP’s statements about Amazon being an “unregulated Wild West” were misleading, citing sources from CNN and Amazon.
According to Amazon’s most recent Amazon Brand Protection Report, published in May 2024, over 99% of counterfeit products were caught before a brand had a chance to report the listing. Additionally, over 7 million counterfeit products were seized and destroyed worldwide, and there was an over 30% “decrease in total valid notices of infringement submitted by brands since 2020.”
According to a 2024 WIRED article, while commingling does sometimes occur in Amazon warehouses, buying from the retailer themself—via Amazon or their own official website—is safer than buying from some big box stores, which also have commingled inventory.
Among WIRED’s list of recommendations: always check the manufacturer and product to make sure they are the real deal, see if the product is marked as “Fulfilled by Amazon,” check the full list of sellers for the product you want to purchase, and then finally just be sure that the item you’re ordering is the correct product.
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