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Budget Skincare Horror Stories: Scary But Not Surprising?

James Welsh

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Two viral stories, two devastated teenage girls — and one big question: is cheap skincare unsafe?
From Kmart’s $2 hyaluronic cleansing balm that reportedly landed a girl in hospital with severe eye pain, to a £1 watermelon cleanser from Home Bargains that caused another teen to develop facial blisters, these incidents sparked fear and a flood of comments like, “What did you expect from cheap skincare?”
But i want to discuss why “you get what you pay for” is an oversimplified—and classist—narrative and exactly how large-scale brands keep costs low without compromising on safety.

Let me know in the comments—have you ever reacted to a budget skincare product? Or had issues with a luxury one?

20 Comments

@a.a659 1 year ago

I hate the demonization of cheap products. It's cheap skincare or no skincare for me, and I really don't need these brands thinking they need to raise their prices just so people don't assume they're harmful because they're inexpensive

@missdenisebee 1 year ago

When I was a tween back in the 90s, I remember having the WORST allergic reaction of my life to a Clinique moisturizer that I’d tried on my hands. They broke out in a horrific rash, with itchy blisters. My mom actually had to take me to the doctor, to get something to help alleviate it. Never had anything like that happen again. But, it’s not just “cheap” products that cause reactions like this. It can definitely happen at any price point.

@lebsiancat 1 year ago

“you pay for what you get” doesn’t include chemical burns and what not. yes it may work less well than something more expensive, but some people are just really mean and illogical

@bibyzz 1 year ago

There is a difference between “dont get this in your eyes” and “KEEP THIS FAR AWAY FROM YOUR EYES”, if youget anything in your eye it is going to cause a reaction (just a traitor eyelash can be so uncomfortable). If you get a bit of shampoo in your eye and get a bit irritated for 20 min it makes sense, if you get super glue in your eye and end up in the hospital it makes sense, if you get a bit of shampoo in your eye and you end up in the hospital that is not acceptable. If a product is meant to be used or worn on the FACE it can’t be posible for it to cause mayor harm to the mucous, it isn’t a matter of price, asking for less money doesn’t exempt a company for responsibility.

@mrselfdestruct7605 1 year ago

I definitely want to know how many of the people saying it was the own girls fault for essentially just using a face cleanser on her face own and use eyeshadow palettes that say “not for use around eyes” considering how common that is due to pigments and glitters and the such. If it was a facial serum that would be one thing, but its a FACIAL CLEANSING BALM. You said it yourself perfectly, in what universe would it make any sense to make a makeup removing facial cleanser that cannot be used on or around your eyes, one of the main areas on your face and where people even wear makeup

@booksvsmovies 1 year ago

KMart offering $6 for a product that allegedly put a child in the hospital is almost more offensive than doing nothing at all.

@namenam3 1 year ago

i feel like if anything this is less “don’t use cheap skincare” and more “don’t use skincare you’ve never heard of or isn’t reputable”

@LockedFiles5993 1 year ago

3:22 the fact they had to give that medication to alleviate the pain is actually insane, they don’t use that just randomly. I feel so bad for that poor girl i just hope she recovers okay ❤❤❤

@Miss_Dis 1 year ago

That poor girl, its such a shame that cheaper products like this give all cheap skincare a bad rep, there are some amazing cheap skincare brands out there but ones that fail to think it through, like the whole "don't put a cleansing balm near your eyes" really hits a whole industry

@notthatTrisha 1 year ago

I’m going to admit, I know better than to not do a patch test, but I forget to do them more than I remember to do them.

@jennifermulherin2947 1 year ago (edited)

Reminds me about an incident from my teenage years. I usually used Cinique system, but while at the mall, Sheseido had a make up artist offering makeovers, so I tried it. I liked the products but not the application, so I purchased $250 in products, which was a huge price at the time. I woke up the next morning with both eyes swollen shut! I had the receipt and most of the products were unopened. I took them back to the store and was told that the makeup was hypoallergenic, so it couldn't have been the issue. I had one eye still slightly swollen and after arguing with the sales clerk, finally got it refunded. Your body doesn't care how expensive a product is. If you're allergic, you're allergic.

@ayslynnkelley5152 1 year ago

Oh my god those poor girls. When I was a tween I remember SCRUBBING my face because that’s what I was taught. My skin was always so red and irritated. If I had had access to the info about skincare that I do now back then it would have made me like skincare and finding the products that work for me a much nicer process. I hope the trauma they went through doesn’t turn them off of skincare completely.

@sissimo1020 1 year ago

2:26 it’s a cleansing balm! It’s a cleansing balm! But it’s a cleansing balm!

@kittyfreya9141 1 year ago (edited)

Aww those poor girls. That's an awful attitude, 'oh well it's cheap what do expect.' Let's face it even expensive items can cause a reaction. There are just times we can react to things we have never been exposed to. I personally bought a tea tree cleanser from Home bargain it burnt my skin. lucky I had only put it on one side of my face and immediately it felt hot so quickly washed it off. Then got an ice pack to draw out the heat. Living in Korea I used a cleanser that destroyed my skin and it was pricy. It was just my skin reacted to some ingredients. No lasting damage but was scary, these girls and family need compassion not blame game poor mites😢

@TheFox517 1 year ago

As a professional dumbass, if you have to go to the HOSPITAL after getting something in your eye, something ain't right. Shampoo, soap, sand, literal living organisms, cups upon cups of citric acid, capsaicin, none of these would land you anywhere near the doctor, let alone hospitalized, and they're all pretty bad to get inside your eyes. Hell, I've even gotten a papercut on my eye (yes, I'm that clumsy) and nothing happened. Eyes are fragile but still resistant enough to survive literal venom.

Whatever was in that cleanser, it's B A D.

@adafihj6439 1 year ago

Allergic reactions happens and patch testing is important but this is crazy and ppl victim blaming is horrific

@Ngaokarts 1 year ago

I would say The Ordinary and CeraVe were my holy grails when I was younger especially since they were budget friendly compared to the brands they’d sell in Sephora/ Ulta. Skincare should be attainable/accessible to everyone!

@ConclaveCabal 1 year ago

I’ve seen all of these issues occur with ppl using high end, exorbitantly priced skincare products as well.

@verityv5284 1 year ago

Cheap is not the main issue.. it is the safety of the products and compatibility with one's skin that count

@kaerwynne. 1 year ago

I feel like these situations are allergic/hypersensitivity reactions. Of course we (the internet) can't know, but I doubt those products are actually dangerous. I don't think it's because they are cheap, I suspect those girls were just very unlucky. I would be very curious to know how they would react during an allergy test with an allergist. Regardless, poor girls 😔