Marketing Hype Does Not Produce Good Results

Unfortunately, many of my blogs are cautionary in nature and do not direct anyone on what to do. Perhaps that is because beauty is in the eye of the beholder and available choices are not only myriad, they may be also valid. However, the cacophany of industry hype seems to get louder by the day. "Smart Lipo", "Accent", "Affirm", "Fraxel" to name a few of many. I am sure I have not even heard of them all. Create a machine for a few thousand dollars, invest money in marketing hype, and sell it for $100,000.00 and your stockholders will love you. How about the patients? How about the physicians who use them. Sell a doctor a 100,000.00 machine and I guarantee you it is the most effective technology he/she has ever seen.
I interviewed a company last week at a medical meeting. The spokesperson said their product is FDA approved? For what I asked? When applied to fat the fat will liquify. Cool! Now where does the FDA say the technology will "remove" fat or "tighten" skin as the marketing claims. Well, it doesn't was the reply. Well, where are the studies to substantiate your claims? "We have many studies in the United States. I will give you some." "No, you don't have studies. You have no scientific data demonstrating skin tightening. You have no double blind studies showing it works better than a sham. You have case reports. You have a doctor showing a before and after photograph and saying your technology produced good results. That is an impression, an endorsement. That is not a scientific study." "Well, if that's what you mean then we don't have any scientific studies!"
So this is a sham of some companies, some doctors who serve them, an immature public that wants something for nothing, and a compliant FDA which shouldn't even be commenting on these technologies. Please don't get angry. I am only a messenger.