Weight Loss Lip Gloss
Yeah, I know…it’s a real eye-roller. Nonetheless, people do fall for gimmicks like this, especially when the products are attractively packaged and the ad spiels are dressed up with sciency-sounding explanations about transdermal absorption of “clinically proven” ingredients.
Thus, I was prepared to high-five an article in the L.A. Times: “A Little Lip Gloss, a Little Weight Loss” by Alexandra Drosu. I clicked on the link the minute I saw it…under the assumption that an article printed in a major American newspaper would take a skeptical approach. After all, reporters are supposed to do some investigative leg work, and provide some analysis…right?
More fool me…
It turned out to be a total “fluff” piece. The author and unnamed others (she consistently uses the term “we”) got hold of 4 products and tried them out to see how well they worked. They evidently limited each test to an application or two, then recorded their subjective impressions.
Real scientific rigor, there.
What got me, however, was that Drosu never explicitly challenged any of the product claims; nor did she (or the two so-called professionals she interviewed) show even minimal awareness of the fact that transdermal weight loss products work locally at best. At worst, they’re complete frauds.
Needless to state, the latter are pretty common – which is why skepticism is vital. I visited each of the four product web sites listed in the article myself: not a single one of them provides any proof of their claims. Only one of the four (ThinGloss) even provides testimonials. In short, they’re precisely the kinds of sites Paul and I advise people to AVOID. If retailers want my money, then they should give me good reasons to believe their products will work as claimed. Is that so much to ask?
And these products aren’t cheap, either (3 of the 4 retail for over $20.00) – so I think readers deserve a little more info, beyond which glosses produce “a sexy pout”.
Geez…wish I could get paid to be this inane. No wonder newspapers are struggling these days.
