The news these days is all about 鈥渇ake news.鈥 For U.S. President Donald Trump, it seems any news he doesn鈥檛 like is 鈥渇ake.鈥 For me, 鈥渇ake news鈥 is information that seems authentic, but is just fabricated to further some agenda or support a money-making scheme. Case in point is a widely circulating Internet article with the headline: 鈥淢iracle Facial Rejuvenation Cream Nets Biggest Deal in Shark Tank History. Is it Too Good To Be True? Cosmopolitan Magazine Will Investigate.鈥
Below the headline of the version I saw is a picture of 鈥淎ngela and Yoojin Kim,鈥 as they supposedly appeared on Shark Tank, the 鈥渞eality鈥 show where aspiring entrepreneurs endeavour to get the 鈥渟harks鈥 to invest in their business dreams. The picture caption read, 鈥渢he Korean sisters netted the biggest deal in Shark Tank history as all five sharks teamed up to buy 25聽per cent of the company for a staggering $2.5 million. After a complete re-brand and re-packaging, the sisters are now ready to launch the RejuvaEssence Instant Wrinkle Eraser in the United States, with the help of Cosmopolitan Magazine.鈥
The only part of this that is true is that two Korean women聽did appear on Shark Tank and did get some funding for their company from one of the investors. But they have nothing to do with RejuvaEssence.
The article I saw was on a聽legitimate looking web page that might have appeared to originate from Cosmopolitan magazine, but didn鈥檛. And the content of that page seems to change somewhat from day to day, as other purveyors of skin creams seem to come along and add pitches for their own products. Viewed Tuesday, the product being pitched was something called Vividermix.
The page聽features the requisite 鈥渂efore鈥 and 鈥渁fter鈥 pictures, in this case of 鈥53 year old Melissa Wright who jumped at the chance to test the product鈥 (though which product, exactly, seems to depend on when you viewed the page). A聽search for Melissa Wright comes up empty. It seems she doesn鈥檛 exist.
Cosmopolitan magazine has nothing to do with this scheme that, when I originally viewed it, was designed to get people to sign up for a free trial of the 鈥渨rinkle eraser.鈥 Of course, the free trial requires signing up with a credit card for a small 鈥渟hipping fee.鈥 You had聽to strain your eyes to read the small print in very light script that said: 鈥渂y placing an order you will be enrolled in our refill membership program. This program will charge $88.49 for your trial of RejuvaEssence every month.鈥澛
Why be suspicious of聽RejuvaEssence? There is blather about 鈥測ounger looking skin, reducing wrinkles and increasing collagen with 100% natural ingredients,鈥 but precious little indication of what these ingredients are.
Some of the other products that appear on聽the fake Cosmopolitan page attempt to introduce science by talking about ingredients, for example, 鈥淎cetyl Hexapeptide-8 Complex鈥 and 鈥淎lucia Peptide Formula.鈥 Here it seems聽someone has plowed through the literature to find ingredients that have some evidence in boosting collagen formation, though聽there is no evidence these are in the product.
鈥淎cetyl Hexapeptide-8 Complex鈥 is also known as 鈥渁rgireline鈥 and actually has some significant research behind it. Ads promote it as 鈥淏otox in a jar,鈥 which is somewhat over-exuberant, but the chemical does have some relation to the famous bacterial toxin that is injected to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Botox is a peptide, basically a chain of amino acids that interferes with the transmission of neurotransmitters that signal muscles to contract. It is the excessive contraction of facial muscles that can lead to wrinkles. (Tip: reduce scowling.) Argireline is the product of research aimed to reduce muscle contraction by synthesizing a peptide that incorporates part of the amino acid sequence found in Botox. It works, sort of. Nothing like Botox because argireline does not penetrate deep into the skin, but it will have a minor effect on 鈥渇rown lines.鈥
And it seems that Angela and Yoojin Kim are fake. The picture on the fake page actually shows Sarah Lee and Christine Chang, the two women聽who really did appear on Shark Tank to ask for funding for 鈥淕low Recipe,鈥 a 鈥渘atural Korean Beauty company.鈥澛燭he two women聽suggest that Korea is the epicentre of beauty and that they have a range of products to introduce to the American public ranging from mascara made with snail slime to various face masks.聽 The particular product they were hyping was 鈥淭undra Chaga Pressed Serum,鈥 which聽is made from the Chaga mushroom.
The marketing of Chaga follows a popular formula. An obscure natural substance that virtually nobody has heard about is touted as a non-toxic answer to our health and appearance problems. Laboratory studies have shown that Chaga, like any other plant material, contains an array of triterpenes, sterols, beta glucans, flavonoids, melanins, polyphenols, saponins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and fibre. 聽
鈥淭undra Chaga Pressed Serum鈥 is described as 鈥渁 serum and moisturizer combined in a聽鈥榩ressed serum鈥櫬爁ormat that is packed with 60聽per cent Chaga mushroom extract harvested from the tundras. It is cooled instead of heat-processed to preserve the original nutrition, is combined with a blend of fermented, lightweight oils including olive and argan oils. This easy-to-use serum-and-moisturizer-in-one treats, nourishes and brightens skin without heaviness.鈥 An impressive string of obfuscation. There is no evidence this serum does anything besides moisturizing the skin, which virtually any cream聽on the market will do.
However, Chaga, whatever its merits, has nothing to do with the creams that are聽promoted with fake news on a fake website with fake pictures and fake evidence聽鈥 and sold for real money.
