Skin care is big businesses these days, with massive amounts of companies all competing for visibility and market share. There are now thousands of different offerings from various different companies, many of which have side stepped the expensive start up costs by being based completely online. This has caused a few issues in terms of quality control however, as experts from Norway claim that around half of skin care products available on the net have negative effects on the skin.

Over 400 products were sampled from a cross section of sellers across the net and included everything from supermarket brands, foreign products and even exclusive professional offerings. There were both facial care and hand care products sampled, and they were all tested extensively on various types of skin and measured on their effectiveness, ease of use and side effects. There was also a control group who used no products at all.

The results were a little alarming and should be an eye opener for anyone looking to buy this type of product. Firstly the study found that around 70% of the products did not give any benefits to the user, and what is more, over 50% of the products had negative side effects. The recorded side-effects included rashes, itching, tightness, dryness and even blistering.

Another finding, which may not come as so much of a surprise, was that those products at the top of the price range benefited the skin most. In actual fact, in term of price, those products that were in the top 25% showed only positive effects, with no negatives recorded. The overruling advice from this research has to be to do your research and only buy the highest quality skin care products possible. Also make sure you only buy from reputable companies such as this London spa.Lastly, before you use any skin care product on the face or on sensitive areas, make sure you test it first on the lower arm or leg, which is unlikely to cause you any risk if there are side effects.