Snake oil exists wherever there is a market involving the general masses, everyone is at it. Doesn't matter if it's audio / video or brightly coloured bottles of liquid to pour into your car, BS is everywhere. Just read some of the outrageous claims made on your wife's beauty products, the cosmetics industry makes audiofools look like rank amateurs .
I'd have to look at someone else's wife's cosmetics as I haven't and never have had one, frankly, looking at someone else's wife's cosmetics is a bit weird so I'll have to take your word for it.
The only real difference I suppose between cosmetics snake oil and audiophoolery is that we know enough about the technology to know it's BS, knowing enough about chemistry and biology to be able to debunk cosmetics is a more rare knowledge set...
Here's a simple guide to the biggest bullshit cosmetics (I learned this from TV and common knowledge, so not an expert)
-essenial oils,
, they can say that about anything
-detoxifying, total utter
, it's not possible to remove chemicals out through skin (skin is one way)
-random organic bits (X extract, essence of X, exc), these are more tricky, this is where you need to know organic chemistry to know if they will actually effect the skin, but alot of it is just for smell anyway