Drop the Soap

One of the most popular home businesses in the Philippines is selling overpriced and overhyped soaps which allegedly whiten the skin and deep cleanse your pores and generally make you much cleaner than a regular bar of soap. Business is all usually word of mouth or maybe a Facebook post showing your products. Many of these soaps seem to originate in Thailand.

 I was at a lady's house and she had a huge box of soaps on her table.

A rather colourful albeit boring box of soaps. I have seen too many like it to care. But then she brought out something amazing.

What's so amazing about these two products she is selling? The fact they are tainted with mercury and banned by the FDA.

Cosmetic Advisories

FDA Advisory No. 2017-289 || Public Health Warning Against the Use of Unnotified Cosmetic Products Found to Contain Toxic Mercury (Hg) Levels (Batch 2) 

FDA Advisory No. 2017-289  

Public Health Warning Against the Use of Unnotified Cosmetic Products Found to Contain Toxic Mercury (Hg) Levels (Batch 2) 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises the public against the purchase and use of the following cosmetic products which tested and found to contain toxic mercury (Hg) levels beyond the 1 ppm (parts per million) limit set by the FDA, and as published in the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (refer to the attached annex for the product particulars/details):

1. RENOW-D NEW FACIAL CREAM FORMULA-ONE

2. GOREE® DAY & NIGHT WHITENING CREAM OIL FREE

3. GOREE® BEAUTY CREAM WITH LYCOPENE WITH SPF 30 AVOCADO & ALOEVERA

http://www.fda.gov.ph/advisories-2/cosmetic-2/472052-fda-advisory-no-2017-289

The soap is not on this list but who would buy it when the same company has mercury in its other products? Plus the cream and the soap go hand in hand. Its a full treatment. 

There have been pictures circulating Facebook showing the harm done from using this soap but this lady told me she has been using the product since September and she has had no side effects. The following is a Facebook testimonial about Goree whitening soap and its harmful side effects.

https://www.facebook.com/kzee.aba/posts/1583747541701250

This warning is ultimately unhelpful and ridiculous because instead of showing us the effects of the product on her nose she posts a picture of some old man's nose!

She also shows how much she really cares about her customers and her friends by starting off like this:

This is the reason why I had to stop selling GOREE CREAM month agoBesides nga officially banned na sya sa FDA, kami sakong bana personally naka experienced sa scary results.

The reason the FDA banned this product is because of its dangerous contents which is the cause of all those scary results. She knew the FDA banned this product and kept using it and was willing to keep using it if there had been no scary results. And you know this is typical.  The lady I saw today selling this soap said the FDA warnings are just black propaganda.

http://www.interaksyon.com/ecowaste-says-retailers-continue-to-sell-mercury-laden-beauty-products-in-manila/

Dizon cited, as an example, Goree Beauty Cream utterly false claim of “no side-effects” as indicated on the label although its mercury content was 25,300 times the permissible limit. On the contrary, using this product may cause serious side-effects, Dizon emphasized. The FDA last October 2017 banned two variants of Goree skin creams from Pakistan due to their mercury content.

25,300 times the permissible limit!  I am very curious how this product is made because such a dangerous level of mercury would mean everyone in the factory is wearing a spacesuit or is dead. Only one way to find out more about the company. Use their webpage.

Guess what?

There is nothing there. And there has likely been nothing there since the page was first registered in 2015 as there are 20 screen captures but no content in the web archive. That is fishy. To register a website and never create any content.  Why?

This soap is bad news and anyone selling it will have their hands dirty from poisoning their customers. They won't be able to wash out the damned spot! It's best to drop this soap altogether.

Miraculous Magnetic Longrich Pantyliners

Sometimes the craziest stories appear in the news.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/958861/fda-warns-vs-panty-liners-with-false-health-claims

Panty liners with health claims? You read that and think, "This can't be real."  But it is.  I have never seen miracle panty liners for sale but a quick search pulls them right up.

UNISEX PANTY LINERS!  UNISEX!!!!!! 

https://www.facebook.com/longrichphilippineproducts/posts/899625783394296

LONGRICH PANTYLINER AND ITS FUNCTIONS:
* Helps to lower the risk of tumor
* Prevent your from toilet infection.
* Use to treat waist pain, neck , wound, swollen, boils, rheumatism and arthritis.
* For treating menstrual discomfort fuel to infection.
* Ability to kill 99.9% of bacteria.
* Its unisex, for men from 40 years and above, it prevent them form prostate cancer.
* It has an anion strip which helps eliminate odour and itching.
* Guys can wear it on their shoes for these benefits.
* Reduce stress and alleviate depression.
* Boost energy and enhance metabolism.
* Reduce odour and strengthen immunity.
* Enhance hormonal balance.
* Support the respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous system.
* Contribute to eliminating or preventing bacterial infection.
* It neutralise free radical ( positive ion )
* Revitalise cell metabolism and enhance immune function.
* Purifies the blood and balance the autonomic nervous system, promoting deep sleep and healthy digestion.
* It also helps protect the blood and mind from the harmful effect of environmental stressors such as electromagnetic field.
* It effectively inhibits the survival and duplication of bacteria and viruses which cause virginities.
* Release large amount of oxygen.
* It has a balanced PH level and enhances hormonal balance that effectively improves incretion, strengthening immunity, reducing stress, eliminating bacteria, treating inflammation, eradicating odours and removing fatigue.
* Negative ions ( anion) will move up to the womb through the vagina, improving blood circulation thus the silt and blood cloth stored long in the vagina can be discharged smoothly, the womb can be repaired and improvement can be expected within few days, then inflammation disappears and no smell is left.
* It can effectively restrict the growth and survival of bacteria and viruses, activate metabolism , and improves secretion and immunity.
Seen is believing.Use it to see !

All those benefits just from a piece of cotton designed to stop a woman's monthly flow. Are there miracle tampons too? It seems not. Here is a list of products this company sells: http://www.longrichbioscience.com/products.html. Most of these products are your ordinary everyday soaps and shampoos and lotions boasting of extreme effectiveness and health results.

The Whois lists a Malaysian address but other info points to Longrich being a Chinese business organisation (read MLM scam) which sells its goods in Africa and Asia.  Here is a warning against using these magical magnetic sanitary pads from Uganda from 2012: https://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1306462/nda-warns-magnetic-sanitary-pads. That article says the pads are manufactured in China.

How can anyone be so stupid as to believe the totally outlandish claims of this product? I will definitely be on the lookout for these pantyliners when I am out and about. Maybe I will buy it and dissect it to test out its magnetic properties or put it in my shoe for all the health benefits.  Oh wait I don't wear shoes. Might be awkward to place these in my slippers.

Don't forget the same people who believe in this product and who are scamming it to others will be voting on the new Constitution if the ConAss writes one.  

Vaginal Steaming

Is your vagina feeling a little down? Dry? Itchy? Got a yeast infection? Menstrual cramps? Have cysts inside your uterus which need to be surgically removed? Try a vaginal steam!

What the heck is a vaginal steam you ask?

You sit in a chair like this:

All the while a bubbling herbal concoction releases it's healing vapours up through the hole and straight into the vagina and uterus leaving you feeling as relaxed and comfy as any traditional Mayan tribeswoman could possibly feel.

What? You don't have a vagina?  Don't worry.  Healing Galing also offers a sitz bath.

A sitz who?

In layman's terms, it's a bath to wash your taint!

On the way out don't forget to buy some of the products they offer like soap and black rice tea and herbal pills.  Or maybe not.

http://www.manilatimes.net/fda-warns-vs-use-8-healing-galing-products/355598/

In its Advisory No. 2017-275, the agency named the food products that are promoted at http://healinggaling.ph/ but are not registered with the FDA: Healing Galing Rhizome Pills; Healing Galing Herbal Serpentina Tablets; Healing Galing Omega 3 Fish Oil; Healing Galing Organic Vitamins B1, B6; Healing Galing Organic Vitamin B12; Healing Galing Healing Food; Healing Galing Black Rice Coffee; and Healing Galing Pure Honey.

PURE HONEY??  Yeah sure right. Anyone who reads this blog knows what a doubtful claim that is. Fake honey is more like it.

Who runs this place?  What is this all about?

Know more about Dr. Edinell 

Inspired by the wonders of natural healing and alternative medicine and moved by her strong belief in the propagation of such, Dr. Edinell Calvario pursued higher studies at The Open International University for Complementary Medicines based in Colombo, Sri Lanka earning her a Master’s Degree in Alternative Medicine (The Fellowship Register of Royal Complementary Practitioners) and Doctor of Philosophy in Alternative Medicine. She finished her collegiate course in 1983 at The Lyceum of the Philippines with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Journalism.

http://healinggaling.ph/about-us/

This "Doctor" has a Master's in Alternative Medicine, a PhD in Alternative Medicine, and a BS in Journalism.  But she lists the Bachelor degree last as if she got her Master's and then her PhD before she got her Bachelor's. It is possible she finished her collegiate courses by earning a BS in journalism but what Bachelor degree did she earn before she earned her Master's and PhD in Alternative Medicine? A PhD in Alternative Medicine!  Not an MD? That means she's a doctor like my English professor and not like my surgeon! Dr. Edinell Calvario is not a medical doctor though she is clearly portraying herself as one since her whole line of work is about medicine and not the philosophy of medicine. But you wouldn't know that unless you looked at the fine print of her credentials.  

Her medical alma mater is The Open International University for Complementary Medicines which from the looks of it is likely a diploma mill.

http://asianmirror.lk/news/item/2703-indian-media-says-sri-lanka-sells-phd-for-rs-300-000

Aside from selling vaginal steams and taint baths, Dr Edinell also hosts a TV show.  Here is a review from 2015.

TV5’S new morning show, “Healing Galing sa TV,” is notable for its innovative fusion of a medical doctor and an alternative healer as the show’s cohost. 

The doctor happens to be Hayden Kho, in his first regular public outing after his controversial personal and career crises some years back. The fact that TV5 has opted to enable him to make his comeback in a weekday TV show could become an “issue” with some viewers. 

To be sure, other doctors and medical specialists are invited to shed light on specific illnesses, but Hayden is still the program’s top medical point man, so his competent performance in the show’s early telecasts could turn out to be a major factor in its longevity. 

For her part, alternative healer Edinell Calvario has been seen on-cam in other TV shows promoting alternative healing, but this new program is her biggest showcase and platform by far.

http://entertainment.inquirer.net/166106/innovative-fusion

THEY WON'T EVEN REFER TO HER AS A DOCTOR!!! The "real doctor" is also just as dubious.

Hayden Kho is, or was, a cosmetic doctor who got caught using a hidden camera to film himself having sex with an actress.  As a result he lost his licence to practice because of this unethical misconduct and subsequently attempted suicide a few times. But TV5 thinks it's just great for a disgraced plastic surgeon and an alternative healer to team up and dispense medical advice to the whole nation. It's like an episode of Oprah with Dr. Oz but much more stupid.

Alternative medicine is big business in the Philippines. Outrageous and unfounded claims abound and every gullible person with a few pesos who wants to try something new is willing to make any hardworking entrepreneur very wealthy. Why do Filipinos embrace Western technology to a fault but reject Western medicine? Everyone has a cell phone. Everyone. And they have their nose buried in Facebook all day long. But if they get sick? Better run to the witchdoctor and get some herbs because Western medicine is just going to kill you.

Ridiculous!