FREE THE CLAMS: Anti-Aging Skin Creams Might Be A Waste of $$$
Feb 02, 2011 Posted by Corrie Shenigo
Remember the bazillion dollars you spent on that anti-aging moisturizer whose advertisement swore front, back and sideways to reset "the skin's aging clock by converting resting stem cells," or to "turn on digestive enzymes that will only go after scars and wrinkles" or to miraculously "help promote collagen production," turning you from a gnarly, old witch into Cinder-freakin'-rella?
Yeah… well… not so much.
The Chicago Tribune asks in a recent article if these magical anti-aging creams actually work. Their answer? Yes… and no… but mostly no… well it's really hard to say. (Aah… delicious ambiguity.)
The creams do moisturize… so hey… they got that goin' for ‘em. And moisture helps make the skin appear supple and shiny and healthy… so that's another plus. The crux here is that you don't have to shell out a crap-load of clams in order to get the whole moisture benefit – Oil of Drug Store will do just fine. The other claims, however, are a little more sketch, and since the trusty U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't place the ‘burden of proof' on cosmeceutical companies when making miraculous claims on their packaging or advertising, us miracle-seekers are pretty much putty in the hands of Svengali.
Assistant professor of dermatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Simon Yoo brings us our word of the day (Hurrah!), "Efficacy is very vague in terms of over-the-counter products," said Dr. Yoo, "Without any oversight, it is difficult to say whether these do anything." – (Yes. I see. – monocle adjustment.)
Now, now – to be fair… The FDA has "expressed concerns" (*blink*blink*blink*) over some companies anti-aging claims. (I "expressed concerns" over a crap cup of coffee this morning" but I don't recall that making it any better.) They've also said – out loud even – that the companies generally (*blink*) aren't allowed to claim that their product "alters the structure or function of the body or treats or prevents disease" ‘cause that would be a drug claim and that is very, very naughty. (*blink*) And, hey, they do maintain a secret list (*blink*) of companies that they believe might be making fancy creams with naughty ‘drug claims' – and, according to a nameless FDA spokeswoman, they've sent out a whole handful (that's like 10!) of warning letters to said companies for making naughty marketing claims. Well… okay… mostly the small ones – ‘cause who doesn't love to bully the little guy? (Bad dog! Baaad dog!)
Now is when you're probably asking in a panic, "But what about the ‘proven scientific studies' that are cited on the side of the fancy packaging?" Well… this is where the Chi-town Tribune rocks a little old-school journalism and takes a few of these creams to task.
"Some companies cite scientific evidence that anti-aging ingredients work, but decline to provide those studies or to show that the product contains enough of the substances to have an effect."
Such as "The Youth As We Know It Moisture Cream" from cosmetics company Bliss. Retailing for $79 at Sephora, this little bundle of joy claims to contain the "10 most important anti-aging ingredients we've found in 10 years of giving 'great face." (One shiny pink slip to whoever wrote that sentence.) It apparently also "promotes collagen production," "boosts oxygen microcirculation" and "improves skin's firmness." (Rapture! Joy! Sign me up!)
Not so fast, me hearties. (Pirate speak will surely soften this blow.) When asked to pony up the scientific studies proving that these magical ingredients work, the charlatans over at Bliss (i.e. spokeswoman Brooke Temner) got all secret-y. "There are studies on the raw materials executed by our raw material suppliers that demonstrate the ingredients' functionality, however, Bliss is not at liberty to share this proprietary information." (Oh. Proprietory. I see.)
Our heroes over at the Tribune also take ReVive Peau Magnifique Youth Recruit Serum to task for their claim of "reset[ing] the skin's aging clock by converting resting adult stem cells to newly minted skin cells" for the scant pocket-change of $1,500 for four ampuls; as well as Perricone MD Cosmeceuticals Face Finishing Moisturizer for it's momentous claim of "allow[ing] for face-lift-like benefits as well as other long lasting anti-aging contributions when applied to the face or taken as a supplement." The resulting company responses are much the same as Bliss' and at times even alarming.
The conclusion? Well, ladies… There's good news and bad news. Which would you like first?
Okay. The Bad News: the bazillion dollars you've already spent that we mentioned at the beginning of this blog post is… as they say… water under the bridge. Dry your tears. Chalk it up as a bad investment and move on. And if you simply cannot un-cling your claws from the false promises of that spectacularly priced anti-aging miracle serum?
The Good News: "Go ahead" says Dr. Yoo, "but it won't do much more than a moisturizer that is a lot less expensive. It won't be any better than Neutrogena or Cetaphil for less than a 10th of the price or a 100th of the price."
Hurrah! More clams for that dream addition to the shoe closet!
'til Next Time!
Yeah… well… not so much.
The Chicago Tribune asks in a recent article if these magical anti-aging creams actually work. Their answer? Yes… and no… but mostly no… well it's really hard to say. (Aah… delicious ambiguity.)
The creams do moisturize… so hey… they got that goin' for ‘em. And moisture helps make the skin appear supple and shiny and healthy… so that's another plus. The crux here is that you don't have to shell out a crap-load of clams in order to get the whole moisture benefit – Oil of Drug Store will do just fine. The other claims, however, are a little more sketch, and since the trusty U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't place the ‘burden of proof' on cosmeceutical companies when making miraculous claims on their packaging or advertising, us miracle-seekers are pretty much putty in the hands of Svengali.
Assistant professor of dermatology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Dr. Simon Yoo brings us our word of the day (Hurrah!), "Efficacy is very vague in terms of over-the-counter products," said Dr. Yoo, "Without any oversight, it is difficult to say whether these do anything." – (Yes. I see. – monocle adjustment.)
Now, now – to be fair… The FDA has "expressed concerns" (*blink*blink*blink*) over some companies anti-aging claims. (I "expressed concerns" over a crap cup of coffee this morning" but I don't recall that making it any better.) They've also said – out loud even – that the companies generally (*blink*) aren't allowed to claim that their product "alters the structure or function of the body or treats or prevents disease" ‘cause that would be a drug claim and that is very, very naughty. (*blink*) And, hey, they do maintain a secret list (*blink*) of companies that they believe might be making fancy creams with naughty ‘drug claims' – and, according to a nameless FDA spokeswoman, they've sent out a whole handful (that's like 10!) of warning letters to said companies for making naughty marketing claims. Well… okay… mostly the small ones – ‘cause who doesn't love to bully the little guy? (Bad dog! Baaad dog!)
Now is when you're probably asking in a panic, "But what about the ‘proven scientific studies' that are cited on the side of the fancy packaging?" Well… this is where the Chi-town Tribune rocks a little old-school journalism and takes a few of these creams to task.
"Some companies cite scientific evidence that anti-aging ingredients work, but decline to provide those studies or to show that the product contains enough of the substances to have an effect."
Such as "The Youth As We Know It Moisture Cream" from cosmetics company Bliss. Retailing for $79 at Sephora, this little bundle of joy claims to contain the "10 most important anti-aging ingredients we've found in 10 years of giving 'great face." (One shiny pink slip to whoever wrote that sentence.) It apparently also "promotes collagen production," "boosts oxygen microcirculation" and "improves skin's firmness." (Rapture! Joy! Sign me up!)
Not so fast, me hearties. (Pirate speak will surely soften this blow.) When asked to pony up the scientific studies proving that these magical ingredients work, the charlatans over at Bliss (i.e. spokeswoman Brooke Temner) got all secret-y. "There are studies on the raw materials executed by our raw material suppliers that demonstrate the ingredients' functionality, however, Bliss is not at liberty to share this proprietary information." (Oh. Proprietory. I see.)
Our heroes over at the Tribune also take ReVive Peau Magnifique Youth Recruit Serum to task for their claim of "reset[ing] the skin's aging clock by converting resting adult stem cells to newly minted skin cells" for the scant pocket-change of $1,500 for four ampuls; as well as Perricone MD Cosmeceuticals Face Finishing Moisturizer for it's momentous claim of "allow[ing] for face-lift-like benefits as well as other long lasting anti-aging contributions when applied to the face or taken as a supplement." The resulting company responses are much the same as Bliss' and at times even alarming.
The conclusion? Well, ladies… There's good news and bad news. Which would you like first?
Okay. The Bad News: the bazillion dollars you've already spent that we mentioned at the beginning of this blog post is… as they say… water under the bridge. Dry your tears. Chalk it up as a bad investment and move on. And if you simply cannot un-cling your claws from the false promises of that spectacularly priced anti-aging miracle serum?
The Good News: "Go ahead" says Dr. Yoo, "but it won't do much more than a moisturizer that is a lot less expensive. It won't be any better than Neutrogena or Cetaphil for less than a 10th of the price or a 100th of the price."
Hurrah! More clams for that dream addition to the shoe closet!
'til Next Time!