The LA Times is reporting that not only do many anti-aging skin creams not work, but the FDA has a "watch list" of companies who are making "drug claims." Cosmetics companies are generally not allowed to state that their product alters the structure or function of the body or treats or prevents disease, as that is a "drug claim."

The FDA's list includes more than 80 companies, including beauty giants L'Oreal, Avon, and Revlon, that the agency believes may be importing, manufacturing, or shipping skin creams with drug claims. The FDA also has sent a handful of warning letters to cosmetics companies, mostly small ones, for making drug claims, a spokeswoman for the agency said.

The problem is that none of the companies boasting "cell growth factors" or "skin plumpers" or other scientific-sounding claims have actually completed studies that have been published in peer-reviewed journals (the scientific standard). While some companies do cite scientific evidence that anti-aging ingredients work, but they don't have evidence that the anti-aging ingredients in their products, with their concentrations, work. 

We've talked before about the lack of FDA regulation on cosmetics. It's pretty controversial. But a watch list feels like nothing more than a slap on the wrist. How do you feel about FDA regulation of cosmetics?