Image source: Urbane-Nutrition.com
Ah, skin care products from infomercials. Some, like Pro-Activ, are pretty quality. Others (which shall not be named here) get sued for false advertising and claims. So it’s hard to know which products just sound quality and which are the real deal. Which brings me to Hydroxatone ($69.95, Urbane-Nutrition.com). Marketed as a product that “erases wrinkles without BotoxTM,” women on the radio claim that their husbands can’t get over how much younger they look after each use.
The product is marketed as “an alternative to Botox” due to its inclusion of Argireline (Acetyl Hexapeptide-3). A peptide originally created by Lipotec in Barcelona, argireline was found in a 2002 study by Blanes-Mira et. al to reduce the depth of wrinkles by up to 30% with thirty days when injected into the skin, similar to BotoxTM. For this reason, argireline is often called the “freeze” skin care ingredient. According to Mary Duenwald from the New York Times, argireline works on the same muscle-to-nerve connections as BotoxTM. Specifically, argireline was found by Gutierrez et. al in 1997 to prevent neurons from stimulating muscles to contract, which relaxes the muscles, giving the skin a smoother appearance, and preventing the formation of wrinkles that are caused by excessive use of the muscles. Unfortunately, while injections of argireline produced similar results to BotoxTM, argireline in skin care creams cannot diffuse through the top layers of skin to reach the crucial muscle-nerve connections like injectable BotoxTM.
This is not the first time a cream has stated that it has efficacy similar to BotoxTM. In a 2006 study, the efficacy of botulinum toxin type A (Botox™), placebo injection, and three claimed alternatives, StriVectin-SD®, Wrinkle Relax™, and HydroDerm™ (all with peptide complexes similar to Hydroxatone) were compared, and it was found that none of the topical preparations were better than BotoxTM in efficacy and overall patient satisfaction. This is most likely due to the fact that peptides just increase collagen production over time, whereas BotoxTM stimulates collagen production over time and relaxes muscles, giving immediate results.
This is not to say that Hydroxatone or other peptide-complex creams are not effective. On the contrary, Hydroxatone contains not only Argireline (Acetyl Hexapeptide-3), but also Matrixyl-3000® and the natural moisturizing factor hyaluronic acid. According to the company Helix Bio Medix, Matrixyl 3000® is the brand name for a two-peptide combination ingredient. At the 2002 World Congress of Dermatology in Paris, France, Matrixyl® was reported to decrease wrinkle depth by 68% and wrinkle density by 47% over six months. In addition, Matrixyl® stimulates fibroblasts to produce collagen, and also promotes hyaluronic acid production in the skin over time. However, Matrixyl® must be applied in minimum concentrations of 2%, but ideally between 4 and 8%, in order to demonstrate these effects; the concentration in Hydroxatone has not been reported.
Therefore, Hydroxatone is definitely an exciting product that seems likely to stimulate collagen and hyaluronic acid production over time, resulting in firmer, more moisturized skin. However, due to the fact that topical argireline has not been shown to have the efficacy of injected BotoxTM, don’t be using the cream thinking that you’ll look like you just stepped out of the derm’s office. Definitely a great cream, maybe just a tad overhyped.
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I read several negative customer reviews on this product. It is a scam. Save your money.
I heard an ad for Hydroxetone on the radio, the ad stated that if you called, you can get a risk free sample, so, I called just to see what is going on, the representative stated that if I paid for teh shipment, they will send me teh samples, and that I need to do is to call within 30 days of the receipt to cancel, I had teh representative repeat that, and I asked him to litereally state “all that you have to do to avoid any payment is to call, nothing else, no gimicks, no hidden rules”, so, I paid the 10 bucks on my credit card, I then had a second thought, and looked them online, and saw so many bad reviews about them, not one single good one, so, I called back litterally 18 minutes later, and asked to cancel the order, of course they tried to change my mind, and I insisted, so, they said the shipment will be cancelled, and my credit card will not be billed, anyhow, my credit card was billed for $10 and I still received the sample few days later, which is a one ounce cream, I called about 1-2 days after I received the sample, and asked them to cancel any subsequent orders or bills since they didn’t honor my request to cancel earlier, I was willing to take a 10 bucks loss, and just forget about the thing, they then rudely stated that I have to pay for what I have received first, they asked me to pay $170 for the one ounce sample they sent, they said that they will bill my credit cards once for that, and that will be it, after a long argument, the guy said that if I returned the product, and proved that they received it, they will not bill me anymore, but, then, I became angry, and told him that they should have never billed me or sent the product since I cancelled 18 minutes after teh initial order, I also reminded him to listen to teh recorder conversation I had with the first representative who clearly stated that all that I had to do was to call, I asked to speak to a supervisor who was rude and not helpfull, I told them that I will start posting my experince with them online, and contact the consumer protection agencies, once I told them that, they backed up, they said that they will not bill me anything, not only that, they oferred to refund the $10 shipping I already paid, and they said that I don’t even have to return the product, so, I ended up with a one ounce free sample of crap after a lot of headache.
I discourage anybody from purchasing Hydroxatone, it is a scam, if you already gave them your credit card info, be persistent, and get your money back
hello, first of all its not a sample. not a risk free sample or sample size. its a risk free trial. they let you try it out for the cost of shipping.if you like it great you keep it and pay for it. if dont like it send it back. they read you a verbatim confirmation telling you the terms and agreements.do people just not listen or just not care? idk and btw its “the” not “teh”
I fell into the trap thinking it would help the wrinkeles and all I got was some very bad acne.
I called to cancel and the very rude man told me it had been too long since I recieved my box of crap and that they were going to bill me the next day for it. I told him of the conversation with the man I first talked to being he said I had til the 22and of April to cancel. He alos said it would cost $69.90 in two payments and when I recieved the invoice it asked for two payments of $89.90.BIG RIP OFF
My nutrigena works %100 better and no pimples.
They said I could send it back and would not be charged, lucky me the bank had problems with the credit cards and had to issue me a new one two weeks ago so therfore they can not charge me anyway…
Not a good product, very rude people to deal with..
I bought this for my wife to try. When I was ordering it on the phone, I asked the guy if they were going to automatically enroll me in some autoshipping if I signed up for the sample. He told me, “No, sir. If you want to have the product shipped to you automatically you’ll have to call us back and request that be set up for you.” Like a fool, I believed the liar. They sent me another package of the cream a month or two later. I called them to tell them I didn’t order it, and to send me a postage paid box so I could return it to them. He told me that I signed up for the autoship program and that I had to pay. I told him their product was crap and that I wasn’t going to pay for something I didn’t order and I wasn’t going to pay to ship it back to them. He hung up on me.
Now they’re trying to send me to collections.
Hydroxatone is a BIG SCAM by a BUNCH OF DISHONEST THIEVES in Hoboken, NJ!!!!
they are liars and thievEs they keep charging me for the product THAT DOES NOT WORK! I can not get a hold of anyone to cancel the product. they will not return my phone calls. THEY ARE A BUNCH OF LIERS JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE THAT SELLS THEIR PRODUCT ON TV.
Well, first off I am a customer service rep for this company. What I would like to say is number one: that our company is not the only company in the world that offers a risk-free trial. If you cannot grasp the concept of a risk-free trial than you truly are an idiot and should not order anything over the phone. Secondly, most of you customers scam us! You people lie,lie,lie. Sometimes I get so damn aggravated by the amount of pure ignorance I hear on the phone. You people honestly disgust me. Do you really think if you walked into a department store and asked to bring home a $60 dollar jar of wrinkle cream and use it for 30 days the sales clerk would oblige that? Our company loses money everyday, because people like YOU (and that pertains to people complaining about our products)scam us. I have some people who order the rft several times in a year and get away with it, they NEVER purchase the product, they always send it back before the 30 days. And by the way for those of you that do that…I am hip to your BS…don’t think you can try that with me as your customer service rep. Also, for those of you that claim you NEVER received your shipments, I’d advise you not to do that. You will get caught. Lastly, for those of you who claim to have NEVER ordered the product in the first place, don’t do that…we can pull the initial sales call. O and before I end this rant. LISTEN TO THE INITIAL SALES REP AND READ YOUR INVOICES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don’t blame us for your lack of intelligence.
They are scams.. We sent back the FREE TRIAL and they charged us $99.90 Whats BS They suck Dont buy anything from them.
i called to try free sample return with in 30 days just pay for shipping , i the representative ontinue to talk about the package deal 2 bottles 1 free ,,i said no i just want to try product first i made it very clear i didnt want the package deal even thou she tried very hard into telling me i would save money later on ,, after i gave her my credit card number just to pay for shipping she told me she neevr said that the would send me 1 trial sample that they onlyhad the package deal , i immediately asked to cancel my order that i didnt order the package and said i told you if i couldnt try the sample only i i had to cancel the order becuase i wasntr paying 69.oo dollars a bottle ,,they told me they never told me i could only just the 1 bottle and it was my fault that my credit card was being charged for 2 bottles . i was dealing with the maine office horrible, ignorant, manipulating , low lifes …… to the public wait until it comes into the local store should be here soon
First of all, Hydroxatone is not a Scam…..its a 30 day risk free trial, the commercial never says its a sample, customers just assume its a sample…I love Hydroxatone, it works great for me, the customer service reps are very nice and helpful and if your not satisfied with the price, they even offer wonderful discounts and even free gifts, i love Hydroxatone, its made me look 15 years younger , i also love the cleanser and toner and the customer service reps are the best….
I have those dark circles under my eyes. I think heredity is involved. Nonetheless, I decided to give hydroxatone a try. I understood that there was to be a 30 day trial and that if not satisfied, I was to return the unused containers (they sent 3). However, two weeks later there were additional charges made against my credit card. Though minor ($12.95 and $3.95), they were unexpected. I was forced to cancel my credit card before further charges were made. I continued to use the product for most of the trial period but saw no results. I sat back and waited to see what they would do next. Next was a “reminder notice” when no statement had preceded the “reminder.” I wrote to them that I was holding the remaining two jars hostage until the issue of the surprise charges was resolved. What I got in response were two more reminder notices. I am now going to write to the State of Louisiana to seek relief.