--- In mlmsurvivorsclub@
<princesshanna2005@
>
> I used to use shampoo made from noni. I think it made my hair maybe a
> little fuller and shinier. Supposedly, folks on islands where noni
> fruit grow have thick, luxurious hair from using it.
I wonder if the folks on the island have naturally thicker hair
perhaps? And maybe not because of a product? Being from a northern
European ancestry, I have baby fine hair, and I've come to the
conclusion that I just have to accept my genetic destiny:
stick-straight hair with no body. (And I have a rectangular face with
an awfully unfeminine square-ish jaw. It is an understatement to say
that the epitome of feminine beauty I am not.) In my opinion, it's
better to accept what you look like -- warts and all -- than spend
gobs of money trying to hew to a market-driven, product-driven,
unrealistic, unnatural, airbrushed,
can-only-be-
> I'd say, if your
> brother-in-law is concerned about hair loss from chemo, noni juice
> would be a better option than some of the chemical, unnatural
> treatments.
$45 for a liter of Tahitian Noni is a lot of money to spend as a
shampoo.
I don't mean to make light of the ravages of chemo on a person's body,
but in the vein of "if all you have is lemons, you might as well make
lemonade": one thing to consider is that many women find men with bald
heads very attractive. My brother in law shaves his head and it suits
him quite well. (Surprisingly, with a shaved head he looks quite
sophisticated and urban and not punk at all.) Sometimes experimenting
with the image you project in the world (e.g., straight-laced office
type vs. rock'n'roll punk), kind of like trying on a new identity, can
be very cathartic.
> I agree with your decision not to buy from an MLM. You
> should be able to find noni juice or a noni-based shampoo in a health
> food store or even Sam's Club like another member suggested. Why give
> money to any person/organization
> don't support?
Well said. I'm an enthusiastic advocate of consumers boycotting
businesses they find objectionable. The power of the pocketbook is a
beautiful thing indeed.
> Also, don't judge an MLM product any more harshly than
> you would a TV commercial - both are trying their darndest to make you
> believe THEIR product is THE product. Of course, the commercials are
> just a bit more regulated with the claims they make aren't they?
>
I'm glad you brought this up. I've come to the conclusion that I'm a
natural born skeptic. Advertising of all kinds depends on logical
fallacies to sell products, and I'm viscously critical of TV
commercials in particular because they are almost completely
unavoidable in today's culture. There is a HUGE difference, however in
the ads that are typically shown on TV and the ways MLMs market their
products.
I think it's this difference that gets what gets various MLMs in
trouble with the U.S. FDA. Next time you see an ad on TV for a vitamin
-- Centrum is a popular brand that comes to mind -- compare and
contrast what kinds of claims and inferences are made with MLM vitamin
or dietary supplement products. It doesn't have to be vitamins; you
could do this with any product really. For instance, do Wheaties
really turn your child into an Olympic-caliber athlete like Mary Lou
Retton as the ad implies? The point is Wheaties doesn't explicity say
"Eating Wheaties will turn your child into an Olympic gold medal
winner." Centrum ads don't explicitly say "Taking Centrum will cure
your arthritis." On the other hand, the word-of-mouth testimonials
from people in my sister's MLM say "I take BetaEssence every day and
my chronic debilitating arthritis has stopped completely." Statements
like those are just a hair's breadth away from saying "BetaEssence
cures arthritis."
Now, MLM's have gotten cleverer over the years about stopping just
before they cross the line into making statements about cures. They
often use fuzzy language like "It's not a cure. It just helps your
body heal itself." or it "aids in recovery" from a disease or injury.
If you think about it, putting on a Band-Aid helps your body heal
itself. Drinking enough water each day helps your body heal itself.
Using a sling for a sprained elbow aids in recovery. I could go on and
on ...
I don't object to marketing statements, per se. All marketing
essentially tries to put the product in its best light. But I do
object to the degree of manipulation involved in many MLMs that prey
upon people's hopes and fears, their dreams and sorrows, their
insecurities and anxieties. Most people aren't the hyper-rational kind
of person I am and may not see how they are being manipulated. If that
manipulation leads to positive experiences (for instance, if a person
genuinely does feel better, regardless of whether the placebo effect
is at work or not) -- that is one thing. But based on the collective
experiences on this board, I get the impression that a great deal of
the manipulation perpetrated by MLMs leads to loss and heartache of
one kind or another. And that is a completely other thing.
-Janet
a.k.a., the hyper-rational, ugly chic with bad hair and no makeup ;-)
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