Answer Ingredient and Skin Questions Within the Claims Rules
This recipe answers the factual questions customers ask before they buy: “is this fragrance free”, “does it have niacinamide”, “halal certified”, “is this original”. It answers from your ingredient lists and the statements you publish. Questions about a skin condition, pregnancy or a medical treatment get only the published facts, and then go to a person. Part of the beauty store workflows.
What happens today
The same questions come in every day: alcohol free, fragrance free, safe for sensitive skin, can use with retinol, halal or not. Different team members answer them in different words. One says a cream is “good for eczema”. That sentence is now in writing, under your business name.
The claims line
In most markets, a cosmetic cannot be advertised as treating or preventing a disease or medical condition. The EU Cosmetics Regulation, the US Food and Drug Administration and the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive all draw that line. A chat reply is written, timestamped and attributable to your business, so an answer to “will this clear my acne” is a claim you are responsible for.
The safe behaviour is narrow. State the facts you publish, such as the ingredient list and the manufacturer’s directions. Decline to advise on the condition. Pass the message to a person, and outside hours say when a person will reply. See live chat handover.
The flow that works
- The customer asks about an ingredient, an allergen, a certification or authenticity.
- AeroChat reads the product’s ingredient list, or your statement in the knowledge base, and answers with the fact.
- If the product does not list it, it says so instead of guessing.
- If the question is about a condition, pregnancy, breastfeeding, medication or an allergy diagnosis, it shares only the ingredient list and the directions, and hands the conversation to a person.
The recipe
Copy this into AeroChat
When a customer asks about a product’s ingredients, certifications or authenticity, follow these steps.
- If they ask whether a product contains or is free from an ingredient, check that product’s ingredient list and answer yes or no. If it is not clear from the list, say we will check and hand to our team.
- If they ask whether a product is halal, vegan, cruelty-free or certified in any way, answer only from the certifications listed for that product in our knowledge base. If none is listed, say we do not hold that certification for this product.
- If they ask whether a product is authentic or where we source it, send our sourcing statement from the knowledge base.
- If they ask how to use it or whether it can be used with another product, answer from the product’s directions only. If the directions do not cover it, hand to our team.
- If they mention a skin condition, a medical treatment, pregnancy, breastfeeding, medication or a known allergy, do not advise. Share the ingredient list and directions if they ask, say a team member will reply, tag the conversation “skin question” and hand it to our team. Outside our hours (example: Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm), tell them when to expect a reply.
Never say a product treats, cures, clears, heals, prevents or is safe for any condition. Never say a product is suitable during pregnancy. Reply in the customer’s language.
Change the team hours and the tag name to your own before you paste it.
What to connect
- Shopify. Built in. Put the full ingredient list on each product, in the description or a product field, so AeroChat reads it from the product.
- Your knowledge base. Your sourcing and authenticity statement, the certifications each product holds, and any routine guide.
- Handover. Set which team members receive “skin question” conversations, in the AeroChat inbox or the mobile app.
Using a different system? If it has a public API, it connects to AeroChat the same way: describe what you want, paste in its key, and it runs.
Can’t find your tool? Message us in the chat on this page and we’ll tell you how it connects.
What you still decide
- Your sourcing statement and the certifications you can show.
- Which questions always go to a person.
- Who on your team answers skin questions, and what they are allowed to say.
The result to expect
Factual questions get the same correct answer every time, at any hour. Health questions reach a person with the conversation attached, and nothing that sounds like a medical claim goes out under your name by accident.
Measure it with your own numbers: the number of ingredient questions answered without a person, and the number handed over, in the first month.
Next: the reaction handover.
Test it with a hard question
Install the app, paste the recipe and ask whether your best-selling serum will fade melasma. Check that it gives only the facts and passes the question to you.
Install AeroChat from the Shopify App Store. Start your 7-day free trial, no credit card needed.
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