phillips@bright.math.uoregon.edu (Chris Phillips) (10/08/90)
This posting contains a number of scientific, medical, legal, and
business-related claims made by people promoting a company called "Nu
Skin" and some of its products. Some of them to concern a product "Nutriol"
which is apparently supposed to cure baldness. I would appreciate comments from
the net on the truth of these claims, and also any additional information that
anyone can supply about either Nu Skin or Nutriol. Please respond be email to
phillips@bright.math.uoregon.edu. Thank you very much.
The claims follow. Numbers in brackets refer to notes at the end
which give further details on the sources. (Note that
some of the literature seems intended for use only in Taiwan.)
Scientific/medical claims:
(1) According to test results, Nutriol produced 16% complete recovery
from baldness, 74% partial recovery, and 10% no effect. [1]
(Note: It is ambiguous whether baldness is partial or total.
The active ingredient is claimed to be "Muco Polysaccharide", and
not minoxidil.)
(2) A healthy hair usually has a lifetime of about 4-6 years. During its
life, it goes through several repeated cycles. Each cycle has a new starting
period, a middle period, an old age period, and a dormant period. After a
couple of cycles, the hair will stop growing but the follicle probably still
remains. After some time, it is possible for a new hair to come out of the
same follicle. [1]
Legal claims:
(3) Nutriol had a wonderful record in Europe. But when it came to the U.S.,
it encountered some problems, because 30 years ago the U.S. congress passed a
half-joking law that says: Anything which claims to be able to cure baldness
cannot advertise unless it is 100% effective. [1]
(4) "... multi-level marketing ... is not a fad, nor is it an illegal
pyramid or chain letter scheme." [3]
(Note: Multilevel marketing is apparently the primary
method for distributing Nutriol.)
Business claims:
(5) In France, only aspirin and Tylenol surpassed Nutriol in quantity
sold. [1]
(6) "Multi-level marketing (also known as MLM) has finally gained
respectability. It is being taught in Harvard Business School, and both
Stanford Research and the Wall Street Journal have stated that between
50% and 65% of all goods and services will be sold through multi-level
methods by the 1990's." [3]
(7) Both MCI and Sprint use multilevel marketing, and AT&T is about to
start. [2]
Sources:
[1] Rough translation from promotional literature written in Chinese and
apparently intended for use in Taiwan. This literature was received from a
person who is trying to become a distributor for Nu Skin.
[2] Oral statement over the telephone by the same person as in [1].
[3] Exact quote from promotional literature received in the mail from a
different person, whose return address implies that he is an "independent
distributor" for Nu Skin.
Disclaimer:
The statements above were used by people to promote Nu Skin, Nutriol, and
other Nu Skin products. I do not know what, if any, legal connection there
may be between Nu Skin and any of these people, the literature they distribute,
or the statements they make. In particular, I do not know whether Nu Skin
has sanctioned their claims or their sales tactics.
I have posted this message to a variety of newsgroups because of the
variety of the claims made. (Soc.culture.taiwan is included because apparently
it is planned to promote Nu Skin products in Taiwan.) I am requesting
answers by email so as not to waste bandwidth; I will mail a summary of the
results to anyone who requests it. To keep unrelated discussions out of the
specialized newsgroups I have posted this to, I have set followups to
misc.misc.
Chris Phillips (phillips@bright.math.uoregon.edu).