Eucerin skin serum ad banned over 'misleading' five years younger claim

An advert for a serum has been banned over the "misleading" claim it could make skin look up to five years younger.

The poster for the £49 Eucerin Hyaluron-Filler Epigenetic Serum claimed it could make a person look "up to 5 years younger" based on a four-week study of 160 volunteers.

But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a complaint against the ad on the grounds that it did not provide "sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim".

The ad was seen at Balham Underground station on 18 November 2025 and depicted a woman's face with dots highlighting an area of her cheek.

The ASA said: "We considered that the claim to look up to five years younger was capable of objective substantiation, and we therefore expected to see evidence to demonstrate that was the case."

Beiersdorf submitted four studies and one peer-reviewed paper in support of the claim in the ad, but the ASA outlined concerns about the methodology underpinning the research.

Addressing one of the studies, in which 160 people used the serum for a week, the watchdog highlighted that there was no control group, nor any information about how participants were recruited.

The study was also described as "blind" but did not specify who was blinded, nor did it standardise how the serum should be applied and in what quantity, nor did it prevent participants from using other skincare products.

The results were also self-reported and subjective, the watchdog said, "and therefore not sufficiently robust" to substantiate the advert's claim.

The ASA ruling also noted that the study was conducted "in a country with a hotter, sunnier climate than the UK and different participant characteristics in terms of skin type".

These differences, the ruling declared, "may reduce the extent to which the results could be taken as directly representative of typical use by UK consumers in everyday conditions".

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Further concerns were raised about two more studies, while a fourth was dismissed as "not relevant".

The peer-reviewed paper was likewise dismissed because it did not examine the serum itself, but rather its active ingredient, and without examining the benefits of daily use.

The ASA concluded: "Because we had not seen sufficient evidence to substantiate the claim that the serum was clinically proven to give a more youthful appearance of up to five years within four weeks, we concluded that the claim was misleading."

The ASA ruled that the ad should not be allowed to appear again and told Beiersdorf could not to repeat the claim without robust evidence.

The serum's manufacturer, Beiersdorf, said: "All efficacy claims made in relation to Eucerin products are supported by scientific research.

"We acknowledge and respect the ASA's ruling regarding this specific UK billboard execution and have cooperated fully. The advertisement in question is no longer live in the UK.

"We are confident in the scientific evidence underpinning our products and the claims we use in our advertising and marketing materials. All of the studies we cite are carried out in line with industry standards".

(c) Sky News 2026: Eucerin skin serum ad banned over 'misleading' five years younger claim