Q: I have seen some products being sold as “fat loss creams” and I am very skeptical about them. Do you know of any clinical evidence to show their effectiveness? If they work, I would be the perfect candidate but I don’t want to waste my money.
A: Sorry for the long explanation but this is one of those things that makes it tough for a lot of people in the supplement industry – or any industry for that matter. Back in the late ‘80’s a study revealed the effectiveness of a transdermal (through the skin) yohimbe, forskolin, and aminophylline mixture. Right away, everyone and their sister jumped on the bandwagon (Kinda like when the Cowboys are winning). The problem is two things really. First, people who don’t know anything about manufacturing supplements, trying to get the best profit margins they can, throw a cheap formula together and put it up in “infomercial land” – telling everyone about this study in a sorry attempt to sell their product. The second problem is that even the half-way-legit supplement and beauty companies, who can get the formula right, still have to find a way to effectively get the active ingredients through your skin. And it’s not as easy as you would think. If your skin just absorbed everything it touched, you would be in big trouble!
Don’t give up though; there are effective ones on the market. What you have to do, and this goes for all transdermal products not just fat loss cream, is be sure that you are getting the right combination of active ingredients AND that they are effectively being transported through your skin. The trick is to find a legitimate company to buy from. How do you know? Well… that’s the million-dollar question! I would first start by calling them – put them to the test by asking them why their formula works. Make sure they have a reasonable return policy in case their product didn’t live up to its promises. Then, make sure you are talking to a well-informed person – not some “order taker” who can’t answer your questions or be held responsible for misleading you. So, what I am saying is, “Yes” there are clinical studies that have proven the effects of transdermal fat loss cream. But with all the people capitalizing on the non-informed consumer, they will probably always be stuck with a bad name. My point is simple: If you see it on a TV infomercial, it’s likely a less effective product and when you call them, if the company representative cant answer your questions, don’t buy their product… period.