The Aliexpress scam, this is what Hugo Clément denounces in a video broadcast on June 23 on Tiktok. In the company of the researcher Laurence Coiffard, the journalist warns against counterfeit sunscreen, indistinguishable at first glance but completely ineffective. In a laboratory of the University of Nantes, two tubes stamped La Roche-Posay Indice 50+ were analyzed. Was bought in pharmacies, the second on Aliexpress.
What reveals the analysis of the sunscreen ordered on Aliexpress
It is in a laboratory specializing in cosmetics that the tests were carried out. Laurence Coiffard, teacher in pharmacies, explains: “We wanted to determine the SPF, and we realized that it was not 50+ but 0, no protection“. A second analysis, chromatographic this time, confirms the total absence of solar filters in the composition.
According to her, the false cream is satisfied with a mixture of excipients, fatty substances and water. “”Nothing that ensures a photoprotection“, She specifies. The tube is therefore a visual compliant copy of the real, but without any effectiveness against ultraviolet rays.”It is a false, a counterfeit. There is zero UV filter inside“Adds Hugo Clément in the video.
These results highlight a sophisticated deception strategy: visually, everything seems to be in conformity. The trap is closed as soon as you rely on the label, without guarantee of product traceability.
Why these counterfeit products are so difficult to spot
The danger is that a average consumer has no simple way to identify a counterfeit before use. Between perfectly imitated typography and similar texture, even informed users can fall into the trap. This type of fraud is all the more worrying since it affects a public health product, the primary mission of which is to prevent skin cancers and sunburn.
Buying on foreign sites like Aliexpress is often accompanied by a total lack of quality control. The products are sometimes sold there at very low prices, without any authority checking their compliance with European standards. In the specific case mentioned by Hugo Clément, it is impossible to know what the product really contains, apart from what laboratory analyzes reveal.
Here is what the false sunscreen contains according to the researchers:
- Water;
- Fatty substances;
- A basic excipient;
- No anti-UV filter.
It is therefore a simple moisturizing mixture that does not protect the skin, despite a promise of SPF 50+ displayed on the tube.
Where to buy your sunscreen without risk according to the specialists
Faced with this invisible scam, the experts’ recommendations are unequivocal. “”In order not to be fooled, you have to buy your sunscreen in pharmacies or supermarkets, but certainly not on the internet and especially not on sites like Aliexpress“, Harts Hugo Clément in his video.
While summer is in full swing, this affair recalls the importance of vigilance in the face of offers that are too beautiful to be true. The price should never take precedence over safety, especially when it comes to health products.