Shampoo Bottle Science: Is Snake Oil FDA Approved?

Whenever I read something like, “Fortified with fruit micro waxes and royal jelly for hair that’s 5x healthier and smoother,” I throw up in my mouth a little bit. Is there any validity whatsoever to the descriptions on beauty products? Do you rely on them to choose a product? Is any actual empirical testing performed to verify any of the claims on these products, if they are even testable?

A lot of the ingredients in shampoos try to take advantage of magical thinking: “IF this shampoo has pearl powder in it AND pearls are shiny THEN my hair will be shiny if I wash it with pearls,” is but one example. It’s like eating animal genitals to maintain “virility.”

The whole industry seems rife with fraud. How are beauty products actually formulated?