The internet is a great place to source products for any sort of beauty woe, from wonky teeth to acne to thinning hair. But there are a lot of things you need to know before you buy – although there seems to be a lot of great deals, there are also a lot of scams that you need to watch out for. Want to make sure that you get the best deal for you? Read on to find out our best advice on shopping online for beauty products.
Read Online Reviews
One of the most important things you can do when researching a product is to check if it is reliable, and one of the easiest ways to do this is through online reviews. If someone has a really great experience with a specific product, often they’ll turn to the internet to share their experience with the world. This also goes for those who have a bad experience – in fact, more so for those who don’t get good value for the product or service they’re paying for. By doing your research and looking at reviews by previous customers, you can find out whether what you’re buying has worked well for other people, or if it isn’t everything it’s made out to be.
When reading online reviews, it’s important to check that you’re reading from reliable sources. A lot of dodgy companies will pay for people or robots to write fake, positive reviews, so they can trick people into buying them. To avoid reading any fake reviews, visiting trusted sites such as Trustpilot where the buyer can be verified means you can be sure you’re reading real experiences, rather than basing your decision off false information. If a product has lots of good reviews, it’s likely to be safe to use and work well for your problem – if it has a lot of negative reviews, it’s unlikely to be effective and may even be harmful. Best to stay safe!
Find a Trusted Seller
The internet can be a great place to find deals, discounts, and unbelievably cheap prices for beauty products. Unfortunately, many do end up being unbelievable, and many people find themselves scammed out of a lot of money. If you’re making a purchase online, it’s important to not just check that the product is great through the reviews, but that the people selling it are great, too.
There are a few ways to check this – the easiest way is to see if they have a website online. If they don’t, it’s likely they aren’t established or reliable, and so rely on marketplaces to sell. Companies that are reliable can use marketplaces, but they also have their own website in case you want to find out more about the product, more about the company, or have a question or issue that you need to contact the company with. Good websites will have a home page, as well as a contact page. They may also have an About Us page, and testimonials from past customers who have had a good experience with that company.
A great example is Straight My Teeth – Straight My Teeth have a simple, easy to navigate website, making it clear that they value their customers’ experience from the start. They clearly display pricing, so you can see the company’s transparency, as well as other clear examples of their company so you can be certain they are trustworthy. They’re a great example of a trustworthy business and are worth a visit if you’re looking at straightening your smile!
Check Refund and Return Policies
There is always a risk that a product just won’t be right for you when you buy them online – you don’t have the opportunity to test the product, or make sure that it works the way you want it to. That’s why it’s important to make sure that if worst comes to worst, you can exchange or return your item for a refund. This not only means you can be sure to not waste your money on products that don’t work, and have a safety net in case things go wrong, but also that the company has your best interests at heart, and not theirs.
Many companies offering beauty products may not be able to offer refunds due to hygiene reasons (no one wants to use second-hand makeup), but they may offer exchanges or extensions of a service if not. Another thing a company may offer is a free sample or free consultation to help you decide whether the product is right for you, allowing you to spend your money in confidence that the product is good. The beauty of the internet is also that you can find great offers, and so it’s worth searching around for freebies, as well as discounts off first purchases. These may not only save you some money but give you confidence in the company and their product, as well as being able to try out a few options and decide which is best for you.
Make Sure Payments are Secure
If you’re buying a beauty product online, it is most likely you’ll be making card payments. This can be a risky business, but there are lots of steps you can take to make sure that the payments you’re making online are secure. The simplest is to check the network you’re connected to – are you using your home, private Wi-Fi, or are you connected to a café’s Wi-Fi? Any public Wi-Fi services are not secure, and so it’s better to wait until you get home and can make the payment on a private network. If you’re in a rush, even your mobile data is more secure – so use this as a last resort.
One of the best things you can do to keep your card details secure is to set up two-factor authentication. Two-factor authorisation means that you have to authorise your payment twice, once through the online checkout, and once through another means – this is usually a text to your phone, giving you a code that you need to enter. There are also other options, such as a fingerprint scanner if your phone has one, or a security question. This means that if your card details do get stolen, someone else will not be able to use them to make a payment without the code texted to your phone or your fingerprint, keeping your finances safe. Alternatively, using a site such as PayPal means that you don’t need to re-enter your card details each time, saving you the issue of putting them out in the open.
Whatever security steps you have, it’s also wise to set up a smart password. Choose something you won’t forget that won’t include any details that are too personal – perhaps your first holiday location, or your least favourite teacher at school. Adding numbers, a variety of uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols such as exclamation marks, can all help increase the strength of your password, meaning online sleuths won’t be able to guess your login details and access your private information and finances.
With these tips, you’ll be able to shop in confidence and make the most out of your online shopping experience. Stay safe and enjoy!