I am not a skin expert, at all, but since we have so many women we work with who have skin problems, I am very interested in skin health. We are grateful to have Susan Van Dyke, MD, board-certified cosmetic dermatologist, as a resource when we do have questions about skin.
I am not a naturopath, either, but we do work with a lot of women who have decided they would rather treat their PCOS using complementary techniques when possible, rather than traditional Western medicine. And that is why we are grateful to have Susan Lundgren, ND, a naturopathic physician with an interest in women's health, in our network.
I do a lot of Tweeting, and because I interact with both Dr. Van Dyke and Dr. Lundgren in that network, I have come on to the radars of quite a few beauty/skin and natural medicine companies. So the other day, when a company sent me information about a new"natural botox", I knew exactly what to do. Ask the experts!
The new botox, called Natox, is being marketed as the natural alternative to Botox. According to its website, it is a skin cream with"100% natural ingredients". It has not been animal tested, it is paraben free, and it is"eco-emission" friendly (translate: comes in a glass bottle). The product claims to be scientifically proven, and one study has been provided, conducted in South Africa. However, the sample size in this study, the dose of cream, and the length of treatment were not provided. This is pretty basic information and its absence is suspect. No before/after photos (unretouched or otherwise) are provided. It is said to work by using"high energy discharges at specific frequencies to create uniquely structured resonating particles" OK, whatever.
I sent the information to the docs and here is what they said.
Dr. Van Dyke:
Marketing, nothing like Botox. BTW: Botox in natural (botulinum toxin is God-made).
Good point! We tend to think that Western doctors don't use nature, at all, and that is not true!
Dr. Lundgren:
It does not give any real science" microscopic, electromagnetically charged particles to relax nerve endings." That doesn't say how it relaxes the nerve endings- I want to contact them to find the exact mode of action. Also I found it funny that they said botox is not natural- those little botulism bacteria are very natural I just would not want them in my body: )
So there you have it. Both doctors, from different perspectives, agree, there is not a lot of valid scientific information supporting the claims this product makes. That's what happens when it's good science. It doesn't matter what the training, there will be a recognition of facts.