Watchdog blasts beauty advertising

Expensive beauty products that promise to tone the body and defy the aging process have been attacked by watchdogs as misleading.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found that made false claims were made about two leading brands - Proctor and Gamble UK's Pantene Pro-V shampoo and Estée Lauder's Body Performance Anti-Cellulite Visible Contouring Serum.

Dermatologists have also warned that many expensive skin creams - which can sell for more than £100 a pot - are no more effective than basic £10 moisturisers.

Advertising for the Estée Lauder cream, which costs £28 for a 200ml tube, was attacked for implying misleadingly that it could help reduce cellulite, a claim the manufacturer had failed to prove. The cream was marketed with the words: "True Performance. Visible results. Your body will prove it."

A TV advertisement for the Pantene shampoo, which promised to make hair "up to 10 times stronger" also misled viewers, the ASA ruled.