Who checks skin care claims in Canada?

A moisturizer says it “repairs the skin barrier”. A cleanser says it “treats acne”. Somebody, somewhere, must be checking these, right? Sort of. In Canada, three bodies share the job, they check different things, and for most skin care products none of them looks before the product hits the shelf.

First question: is it a cosmetic, a drug or a natural health product?

Health Canada makes the sorting decision. Under the Food and Drugs Act, a cosmetic is anything “manufactured, sold or represented for use in cleaning, improving or altering the complexion, skin, hair or teeth.” A drug is anything represented for “the diagnosis, treatment, mitigation or prevention of a disease, disorder or abnormal physical state” or for “restoring, correcting or modifying organic functions.” A natural health product (NHP) is a drug made from listed natural ingredients, such as plant extracts, minerals or probiotics, represented for a therapeutic use.

Health Canada’s guidance on the cosmetic-drug interface says the sorting depends on “the definition and the representation for sale”, in other words on what the product claims, on its label, in ads, in pictures and even by implication. The same cream can be a cosmetic if it says “moisturizes dry skin” and a drug if it says “treats eczema.”

The claim decides the category, and the category decides how much scrutiny the claim gets. That single fact explains most of what follows.

Cosmetics: notified, not approved

Health Canada is candid about its role with cosmetics: it “does not have legislative powers to approve cosmetics before they are sold in Canada.” What companies must do instead:

• Notify Health Canada within 10 days of first selling the product, with a list of ingredients and their concentrations. Health Canada states plainly that this notification “is not a product evaluation nor approval of the cosmetic.”
• Avoid ingredients on the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist, a list of roughly 500 entries that are either prohibited outright or restricted to certain concentrations or uses.
• Make and store it under sanitary conditions, and label it under the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act with the full ingredient list.
• Sell only a product that will not “cause injury to the user” when used as directed or in the customary way. Safety is the manufacturer’s responsibility.

Nowhere in that list does anyone read the performance claims. Health Canada says claims “must be accurate so they do not mislead people”, but it acts on complaints and market monitoring, not pre-clearance.

Drugs and natural health products: reviewed first

Cross into therapeutic territory and the rules flip. A non-prescription drug, say an acne treatment, needs a Drug Identification Number (DIN) before it can be sold. Health Canada’s fact sheet describes a DIN as an eight-digit number that “lets the user know that the product has undergone and passed a review of its formulation, labeling and instructions for use.” A natural health product needs a Natural Product Number (NPN) the same way.

The industry guidelines issued by Ad Standards with Health Canada explain what that review covers: therapeutic claims “are reviewed by the Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate in advance of a product receiving its DIN or NPN,” and only the authorized wording can be used. A DIN or NPN on a tube means someone at Health Canada has looked at the evidence behind its therapeutic claim. That’s the one place in the system where pre-approval exists.

Many familiar products live on this line: anti-dandruff shampoos, sunscreens, antiperspirants, acne washes, diaper rash creams. Health Canada’s guidance lists them as products “at the cosmetic-drug interface” that can fall on either side depending on their claims and ingredients.

What a cosmetic label can and can’t say

The Ad Standards and Health Canada guidelines give a side-by-side list. On the cosmetic side, claims that need no prior authorization but must still be true and verifiable:

• moisturizes, hydrates, protects or soothes dry skin
• cleanses, deep cleans pores, removes oil
• reduces the look of wrinkles, dark circles or age spots
• “dermatologist tested”, “recommended by dermatologists”

On the therapeutic side, claims that require a DIN or NPN:

• heals, repairs damaged skin, repairs the skin’s moisture barrier
• treats, prevents or clears acne; anti-blemish
• reduces redness due to rosacea, or any reference to rosacea
• any reference to action at a cellular level, or to preventing photoaging

Notice how fine the line is. “Heals dry skin” is cosmetic; “heals” on its own is therapeutic. “Replenishes the skin’s moisture barrier” is cosmetic; “repairs the skin’s moisture barrier” is a drug claim. The guidelines say each claim is judged by its “net impression” in context, and that they don’t have the force of law; the law behind them is the Food and Drugs Act, the Cosmetic Regulations and the Competition Act.

The Competition Bureau: the after-the-fact check

The Competition Act, enforced by the Competition Bureau, governs what a company says to sell anything. Two provisions matter here.

The first prohibits representations that are “false or misleading in a material respect.” The Bureau notes that courts consider “both the literal meaning of the information and the general impression it makes,” and that it is “unnecessary to show that someone was deceived or misled.”

The second requires that any claim about a product’s performance be based on “an adequate and proper test” done before the claim is made, with the burden on the company to prove it.

Penalties are real: for a corporation, up to $10 million for a first violation, or three times the benefit gained, whichever is greater. But note the timing. The Bureau doesn’t review ads before they run. It investigates complaints, and a claim can sit on shelves for years before anyone asks for the test behind it.

Ad Standards: the industry checking itself

Ad Standards, an industry body, administers the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, set up in 1963. Its first clause requires that “all advertising claims and representations must be supported by competent and reliable evidence,” judged by the general impression. Its clause on scientific claims says ads must not “distort the true meaning of statements made by professionals or scientific authorities.”

Anyone can file a complaint. A Standards Council (or the Conseil des normes in Quebec) reviews it, and if the ad breaks the Code, the advertiser is asked to change or pull it. There’s no fine; the lever is public reporting and the cooperation of media that follow the Code. Again, it works after the ad has run.

What this means when you shop

A DIN or NPN on a product means someone reviewed its claims and evidence before sale. A cosmetic has been notified, not evaluated, and its claims are checked only if someone complains. That isn’t a scandal; cosmetics are lower-risk products, and a lighter touch is deliberate. But it does mean the marketing on a cosmetic is the company’s word until challenged.

If you see a therapeutic-sounding claim (“treats”, “heals”, “repairs the barrier”) on a product with no DIN or NPN, that’s a claim its category doesn’t permit. You can report a safety concern to Health Canada, a misleading claim to the Competition Bureau, and an ad to Ad Standards. And if the problem is your skin rather than the label, eczema (atopic dermatitis, the itchy inflamed rash), acne or a rash that won’t settle, if it isn’t better after two weeks, see your doctor or pharmacist.

What to remember: Health Canada sorts products into cosmetics, drugs and natural health products, and only the last two get their claims reviewed before sale. The Competition Bureau and Ad Standards handle false or unsupported claims after the fact, on complaint. Look for a DIN or NPN when the claim sounds medical; when there isn’t one, the claim is a promise nobody has checked yet.