In short: Skincare UGC sells when a viewer can see the product on skin like theirs: the texture, how it goes on, where it sits in a routine. Brief for routine videos, close-ups of texture and packaging, and a mix of skin types and concerns, and let creators explain ingredients in their own words. Keep results claims to approved wording. The US FDA treats a product as a drug when its claims are about treating or preventing disease or affecting the structure or function of the body, and the FTC says a company is responsible for what its endorsers say.
What a photo cannot show
A studio shot shows packaging and a swatch. It does not show how a serum spreads, whether a cream sinks in or leaves a film, or how the product fits next to a cleanser and a sunscreen. That is the gap a creator’s video fills. Billo’s skincare guide, written by a UGC platform, calls routine integration a format that answers how a product fits with everything else a viewer already uses, and names unboxing and first impressions as a fit for launches. Those are vendor opinions, not test results, but they match what buyers ask.
Formats to brief
Routine video
The creator shows the product in a real morning or evening routine, in the order they use it. Ask for the step before and after, so the viewer sees how it fits.
Texture and application
Billo says the brief should call for application technique, texture on skin and packaging close-ups without scripting what to say. Ask for a clear close-up in natural light, how much the creator uses and how it feels.
First impressions
Opening the package, reading the label, the first application. It suits a launch, and it is honest about timing: it shows a first use, not a result.
Ingredient callouts
Billo advises letting creators explain a formulation benefit in their own words rather than read it from the label, which it says signals credibility. Give them the facts you can stand behind and let them choose the words.
Before-and-after and long-term updates
Billo calls before-and-after transformation the highest-intent format in the category, with a visible change over two to four weeks as the proof. That is its claim, and the format depends on time and on genuine results. Use it only if the creator really used the product for that long and the comparison is honest.
Who should be in front of the camera
Billo says to match skin type and concern, and to seek diversity in skin tones, ages and concerns, because audiences notice whose skin is being shown. For a range with different needs, that means several creators, not one. On a marketplace where creators choose the campaign, say in the brief which skin types or concerns you would like to see, and set the number of videos high enough to allow it.
Claims: where skincare gets strict
The FDA’s page on cosmetics labeling claims says a product marketed with claims about treating or preventing disease, or about affecting the structure or function of the body, is a drug under the law, even if it also affects appearance. A moisturizer for “softer-looking skin” and a cream that “treats eczema” are very different statements. Because a creator’s words in a paid video are advertising for your product, treat them like your own copy.
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides page says a company is ultimately responsible for what others do on its behalf, and that endorsers should not make claims that would require proof the advertiser does not have. In a brief, that means:
- List the claims creators may make, in your exact wording.
- List the claims they must not make: treating or curing a condition, anything medical, promises about results.
- Ask creators to describe what they see and feel on their own skin, not what the product does for everyone.
- Require the disclosure that the video is paid or that the product was free.
The full list of what to allow and what to ban is in cosmetic claims in UGC, and the disclosure rules are in UGC disclosure rules.
A skincare brief, in short
Objective: a 20–40 second routine video for the product page and paid social.
Show: the product in your hand; the texture; how you apply it; where it sits in your routine; the finished skin in natural light.
Say, in your own words: your skin type, why you use it, how it feels. Use only these claims: [approved wording].
Do not: make promises about results, mention conditions or treatment, or compare with other brands.
Disclose: that the video is paid, in the video.
Common mistakes
- One creator and one skin type for a range with many needs.
- A before-and-after that is not the same lighting, product use or time.
- A script that reads like a label.
- Claims the brand has not approved, on a page the brand controls.
On Usicri
Pick Beauty & Skincare as the category, paste the brief into the description, set the payout per video and how many videos you want, and say whether you send a product. Usicri does not check claims, so the approved wording in your brief is your safeguard, and you can reject a video that goes beyond it. If you send a product, interested creators contact you through “Ask a question” and you arrange delivery directly. You pay only for approved videos, with no platform fee at the moment. A campaign is not guaranteed to receive submissions. The license for an approved, paid video covers advertising (section 5 of the Terms of Service). See how it works for brands.
To show a range of skin types and concerns, read inclusive UGC for different skin tones and bodies. For first-person accounts of use, see UGC testimonial videos.