ASA ruling on online beauty club

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint that a poster for Beauty Pie, seen on the London Underground Network, was misleading as a stated that it was “clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in 4 weeks”. 

The advertisement featured the text, “SKIN TECH THAT’S LIGHT YEARS AHEAD […] C-WAVE FACIAL LED TREATMENT MASK […] CLINICALLY PROVEN TO REDUCE WRINKLES IN 4 WEEKS”. With smaller text towards the bottom of the poster stating, “Results from a 4-week study of 28 people aged 30-65”. 

When contacted, Beauty Pie Ltd stated that the C-Wave Light Facial LED mask was manufactured by a separate company and that they believed the  claim “clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in 4 weeks” was substantiated by two product-specific clinical studies on the C-Wave Light Facial LED mask (the FaceLITE device) and a body of evidence comprised of six peer-reviewed clinical studies on equivalent technology. The study showed there was a 38.7% reduction in wrinkle smoothness and a 37.6% reduction in wrinkle number and width. At the conclusion of the treatment, 92% of subjects either agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that their “fine lines appear less visible”. 

ASA considered that consumers would understand the claim “clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in 4 weeks” to mean that the LED mask could visibly reduce the appearance of wrinkles within four weeks of use and had been scientifically proven to do so. Further, it was considered that the study referenced consisted of only a small sample size and the methodology was a significant limitation. Using these, it was concluded that, as the studies were unpublished, they were insufficient to substantiate the claim that the C-Wave Light Facial LED mask was clinically proven to reduce wrinkles in four weeks.