This is scientific Americans 60 second science. I'm Erica Barris. Got a minute?

Clinically proven breakthrough technology, 10 years of genetic research.

These are phrases you might expect to find

in the pages of Scientific American.

But these descriptions also show up in commercials

and print ads for cosmetics. Now a study finds at some, well make that a lot,

of those science sounding claims are simply not true. Researchers looked at nearly 300 ads in magazines such as Vogue.

They analyzed claims in the ads and ranked them on a scale ranging from acceptable to outright

lie.

And they found that just 18% of the boasts that the researchers looked at were true.

23% were outright lies and 42% were too vague to even classify.

The study is in the Journal of Global Fashion Marketing.

The Food and Drug Administration regulates what goes into your

cosmetics and what goes on the label. If a claim is blatantly untrue, the FDA can take action.

Vague language on labels may be a way to keep the FDA at bay.

Meanwhile, ads are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.

Just last year, they charged L'Oriel for deceptive advertising of its Genofique products,

which the company said were clinically proven to boost genes activity that would lead to the production of proteins causing visibly

younger skin in just seven days. A settlement agreement forced L'Oreal to back off

on the claims. So take those cosmetic ads with a grain of salt scrub.

After all, if scientists had really come up with a product that reversed your wrinkles or grew your eyelashes,

it would sell itself.

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