Research studies versus testimonials

What information can we use to make the right choice about using a particular skin care product or procedure? The easiest way is to simply try it and see if it works. The problem with this approach is that it takes a lot of time and money. What's worse, with all the enormous variety of skin care products on the market, you may never encounter right products.

One alternative is too see what other people have to say about the product. This is not always a wise choice, especially if you rely on testimonials provided by the vendor. For some products, testimonials are simply "medical fiction" supplied by ghost writers. However, even true testimonial can grossly misrepresent reality. Consider the following scenario. One million people tried a product and fifty had an improvement (even with a sugar pill an occasional person will have an improvement). Then the testimonials of these fifty are taken and attached to the product. What do you think is the chance for an average consumer to benefit from the product? Yes, about the same as winning a lottery. As sobering as it may be, the only reliable way to find out if a product or treatment has a decent chance to work is to analyze independent medical research performed by institutions unrelated to the product's vendor. This is the kind of information the articles on this site are based on.