DENVER, Colo. -- Store shelves are full of products claiming to be natural, hypo-allergenic, organic or cruelty-free.

But what do all those terms really mean when it comes to what is inside the package?

The truth is, many of these "green" claims are just marketing gimmicks on the labels of cleansers, lotions and other cosmetics companies want consumers to buy.

Only a few of the terms used to sell and market beauty products are actually regulated.

"I feel like my skin's smoother. I have less breakouts," said Gina Eberhardt, while shopping for natural skin products.

But when Eberhardt looked at the ingredients of a product she was about to buy, she said, "Well, there's a lot of things I can't pronounce."

"It may not be better than any other product," said dermatologist Dr. Cory Dunnick.

Dunnick said too many of the terms used to sell cosmetics are not regulated.

"I don't necessarily recommend a natural product or a hypo-allergenic product. One of the problems is the labeling of 'natural' or 'hypo-allergenic', it doesn't really mean anything," she said.

Dunnick said the Food and Drug Administration regulates the industry only to make sure the individual ingredients are safe, and that neither the FDA nor any other agency defines what "natural" or "hypo-allergenic" mean.

"So the labeling 'natural' and 'hypo-allergenic' are really just marketing tools," she said.

The same goes for the claim "bio-degradable."

Although there are federal and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines that items labeled "bio-degradable" should decompose in a short period of time, there is no one checking before they are sold to make sure they do.

"Organic" is one of the few claims that is regulated by the USDA.

To earn the USDA Organic Seal, a product must contain 95 percent organic ingredients.

If the content is 70 percent organic, it can say "made with organic ingredients," but anything less and the term can not be used on the packaging, except to describe items in the ingredient list.

"One big thing is testing on animals and just because the label says 'cruelty free' they may purchase ingredients from somebody who tested on animals," said savvy consumer Jessica Hebel.

That is because the term "cruelty free" is used based on the honor system.

While many companies pledge not to test on animals, there is only one watchdog group, the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, that routinely checks.

Bottom line, Dunnick said you have to dig deeper to find out if you are really getting what you pay for in the cosmetic aisle.

"You have to be able to read the labels and see what is in those products," Dunnick said.