Wishful thinking fuels Rodial Tummy Tuck sales

See ‘BOOB JOB’ CELEBRITIES slide show

Wishful thinking is a powerful marketing force in the beauty industry, especially when it teams with an eye-popping personal endorsement.

Just ask the folks at British-based Rodial Limited, who boast of overwhelming sales of Rodial Tummy Tuck cream in response to the claim by New York mother Karen Barke, 39, on the “Rachael Ray” show that she lost 6 inches from her waist by using the $130-a-jar mix of vitamins, antioxidants and fruit extracts.

Pictures of Barke’s abdomen on “Rachael Ray” look a bit like  she’s relaxing her belly muscles in the “before” photo (right) and tightening them in the “after” photo (below.) Barke said she didn’t exercise during the eight weeks when she used the cream.

The show aired in early March, but the furor hasn’t died down. Public interest in Rodial Tummy Tuck was enough to push this blog’s March 5 post on the subject into the No. 1 spot in readership yesterday morning. It is headlined, “Rodial tummy-tuck cream is ‘an embarrassment.’ ”

Rodial’s claims that celebrities such as Katie Holmes use its Tummy Tuck cream (see slide show) give the product extra appeal. The New York Daily News reported last week:

When 3 million viewers saw a local mom show off her new belly on the “Rachael Ray Show” recently (she lost 6 inches in eight weeks), the cream sold out almost immediately.

Blissworld.com sold more Tummy Tuck this March than in March 2008, despite the struggling economy (and a hefty $130 price tag). Last week, Rodial relaunched its Web site in the U.K. to offer prices in U.S. dollars while also increasing production of Tummy Tuck to meet rising demand across the globe.

So how does it supposedly work? The tightener promises to reduce waistlines by 2 centimeters in two months, thanks to a stomach-flattening formula that uses microfibers to condense cells and firm the skin, plus natural proteins like neuro-peptides, fig extract and caffeine to boost cell metabolism and break down fat.

“You get instant results, an instant tightening effect, the minute you apply it,” boasts Maria Hatzistefanis, founder and owner of Rodial. “This is the first time these ingredients have been put ­together in one formula. The feedback that we have seen has been amazing.”

Beyond Barke’s extravagant claim for tummy tightening, some of the details of the latest Rodial account don’t ring true. The Rodial Web site still quotes prices in pounds, not in dollars. The cream is still available at a number of online outlets, including Amazon.com.

But weight-loss enthusiasts aren’t deterred, even though Dr. Keri Peterson warned on the show not to expect much from Rodial Tummy Tuck:

There’s nothing in it that I could find that would directly cause weight loss. … Karen’s results were out of the ordinary, and for the average woman using this product I don’t that would be a realistic expectation.

Other doctors use stronger language.

As quoted in this blog’s earlier post, Dr. Christopher Zachary, chairman of the UCI Department of Dermatology, said:

This is an embarrassment. Anybody who buys this is an idiot. The most potent component of this product is the purchaser’s own gullibility.

Plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia of San Clemente added:

Maybe they should get OctoMom as their spokesperson to prove it works?

Dr. Ariel Ostad, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at NYU Medical Center, said:

Science has shown that, definitely, caffeine and neuropeptides can have a temporary effect in tightening your collagen fibers as well as constricting blood vessels, which can tighten skin.

I’m sure this product probably helps smooth the complexion, and it can give you an instant tightening effect, but it’s not a permanent solution. You would have to use this for the rest of your life.

Related links:

• Rodial tummy-tuck cream is ‘an embarrassment’
• Cellulite is target of new Thermage devices
• Surgery-free liposuction gets thumbs down from investors
• ‘Smartlipo is a marketing gimmick,’ says dermatology expert
• Kim Kardashian’s failing fight against cellulite
• Kim Kardashian vs. cellulite (Round 1)
• Cellulite happens to even young celebs like Mischa Barton
• Cellulite treatments under attack

Slide shows:

• Kim Kardashian photos — ample or too much?
• Michael Jackson — from kid to 50-year-old
• From Kellie’s breast implants to Nicole’s Botox
• Stevie Nicks’ beauty from age 28 to 60
• Kellie Pickler before and after breast implants
• Lauren Hutton from young model to wrinkled beauty
• Before Joan Rivers was plastic surgery queen …

Wishful thinking fuels Rodial Tummy Tuck sales is a post from: In Your Face