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Quite a few of you have written asking about the rather prominent
newspaper ads for the product StriVectin-SD ($135 for 6 ounces).
With a
headline that reads "Better than Botox," along with the increasing
number
of topical products hitting the market claiming they can mimic the
effects of Botox without "painful injections," I certainly
understand the
curiosity.
I wrote about StriVectin-SD in a previous newsletter, when a reader
asked about its ability to repair stretch marks. That was
StriVectin's
original marketing claim to fame, though the fame was all
self-promoted,
as there is not a single independent, peer-reviewed study to prove
that
StriVectin is an effective option for repairing stretch marks. The
studies that do exist about StriVectin's benefits for stretch marks
were
paid for by Klein-Becker, the company that distributes StriVectin.
According to the company's latest ads, they were surprised to find
that
not only was StriVectin-SD getting rid of women's stretch marks,
but
also that somehow their facial wrinkles were going away, too. For
that
reason, we now have the astounding "anti-wrinkle breakthrough of
the
decade." Regrettably, no supportive research needs to be available
to sell
this kind of hyperbole. All it takes is to promise women that a
product
will get rid of their wrinkles and they will buy it in droves, no
matter how many other product lines, infomercials, advertisements,
or
cosmetics salespeople pledge the exact same thing.
StriVectin's ad continues with "The active formula in StriVectin-SD
has
recently been shown in clinical trials to significantly reduce that
category of fine lines and facial wrinkles that can add 10–15 years
to
your appearance...and even reduce the dark circles under your
eyes...without irritation, painful injections, or surgery." One
more flourish is
the statement that "in fact, [StriVectin-SD] is the only topical
formulation clinically proven to effectively confront every aspect
of wrinkle
reduction." It is easy to debunk all of this overblown nonsense by
pointing out the product's lack of sunscreen; perhaps StriVectin
overlooked
the research about sun exposure's deleterious, wrinkling, and
discoloring effects on skin.
Klein-Becker has parlayed these claims into what appears to be
little
more than an effort to spin off the popularity of Botox to its own
benefit. StriVectin-SD is supposedly preferred because its
long-term results
versus the short-term results (and repeated treatments) of Botox. A
Dr.
Nathalie Chevreau is quoted in the ad, saying "the cumulative
effects
of using a product like StriVectin become more noticeable every
day, and
ultimately last longer than Botox." Chevreau is hardly an impartial
source, as she works for Klein-Becker. Further, Dr. Chevreau is a
licensed
dietician in Utah, a fact that is conveniently left out of
StriVectin's
ad because it would conflict with her credibility as a medical
doctor
speaking about the legitimate benefits of an antiwrinkle cream.
The final Botox comparison comes from the ad's statement that
StriVectin not only addresses the _expression lines Botox treats,
but also the
lines Botox doesn't affect. However, the only lines Botox wouldn't
affect are the ones not injected.
Needless to say, Klein-Becker's statements comparing StriVectin-SD
to
Botox have not gone unnoticed by Allergan, the company that
manufactures
the drug. According to an article in The Salt Lake Tribune,
Allergan
has threatened to sue Klein-Becker for false advertising and unfair
business practices. After the tension continued to mount on both
sides,
Klein-Becker actually went ahead and took the case to court, asking
a
federal judge to approve its advertising for StriVectin-SD. As this
newsletter goes to press, Klein-Becker has not taken their lawsuit
any further.
In the meantime, the "Better than Botox" ads remain in wide
circulation
and are sent via spam emails, and StriVectin-SD is now available at
Nordstrom department stores.
So is StriVectin better than Botox? The short answer is no--and
that
means no way, and nohow. It isn't even better than the daily use of
an
effective sunscreen! StriVectin is merely a moisturizer with some
good
emollients and antioxidants, though the addition of peppermint oil
is
extremely suspect--the tingle is probably meant to lead women to
believe
that the product is doing something to their skin. Botox prevents
the
use of facial muscles, and that instantaneously smoothes out the
skin.
StriVectin-SD won't alter the wrinkling on any part of your face,
not in
the long term, and not in the short term.
Incidentally, the two studies quoted in StriVectin's ads for
"Better
than Botox" were supposedly from information presented at the 20th
World
Congress of Dermatology, held in July 2002. These examined the
effects
of palmitoyl pentapeptide-3 (trade name: Matrixyl, but also known
as
Pal-KTTKS, which is the term used in StriVectin's ads) and compared
it to
vitamin C and retinol. However, there is no published research
substantiating the results, and StriVectin declined to send us any
documentation.
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