Sleazy ads on Hairtell

Hair Removal Methods Professional Electrolysis
#1

Today’s ad: A cream to remove moles and skin tags … the ad on Hairtell states the following:

“Dermatend is completely safe and natural and has quickly made surgery obsolete … “

(Unless, of course, the “mole” you were removing yourself was CANCER … in which case you might eventually need a little — oh I don’t know — CHEMOTHERAPY to take care of it?”

In the ad, I could not find any list of the so-called natural ingredients. But then LYE certainly is a natural ingredient. Hemlock is “natural” too, and the organic version is REALLY good! It’s recommended by Socrates: pure organic and pesticide free! (I’m guessing salicylic acid is in the thing?)

Indeed, a common nevus is seldom cancer (almost never), but is a non-physician in any position to make such a decision? My own doc removes “said moles” and sends them out for biopsy (also the law in California). A couple times my “moles” ended up being cancer (he thought they were not). They were easily treated and I’m not dead from the thing.

Hairtell is wonderful because of its “open door to all.” It’s also frustrating because good solid information and total shit is thrown together into the mix. I hope readers are able to differentiate the good from the bad (and the downright dangerous). It’s all starting to “get to me.”

#2

You can’t always differentiate good from bad, that’s how you learn from trial and error and hopefully it does not kill you. The crap that people can get away with is amazing. On another electrolysis website someone was trying to sell cheap junk tazers and stun guns so electrologist’s could feel safe at night when they leave their office. You should have seen what the stun guns looked like.

#3

The goal here is to provide information so consumers can make informed choices. If there is a product that clearly does not work as claimed, I usually blacklist the ads. In the case of Dermatend, I would not recommend it as an alternative to seeing a medical professional.

Their website says they are not approved by FDA:

“These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”

They list ingredients as:

Water
Sanguinaria Canadensis [bloodroot]
Glycerin
Zinc Chloride [a Lewis acid]
Germall Plus [a preservative]

So the active ingredients are zinc chloride and sanguinaria, two common herbal escharotics. These are often used in allopathy, and as Mike points out, they are sometimes used to treat disease which should be treated by a medical professional.

For a VERY GRAPHIC report on the problems of using these herbal remedies on skin cancer and other lesions that require medical attention, please review this article from the Journal of the American Medical Association:

If you see an ad with questionable claims, please send me a screenshot of the ad and the domain name so I can evaluate whether it should go on the blacklist.

#4

I used to laugh, every time I logged in here there were add’s for the no-no. We’ve sop many warnings about this product here, yet months after I “opted out” of gogle adds this product still appeared, even when looking t articles of why NOT to use this product.

I agree with Michael the majority of these add’s arent products that work, and in many cases cant be harmful. But I cant fault the site, it has to pay for the bandwidth we use somehow and banner adds are the most common way. I think the best we can do though, is remain vigilant and continue to post warnings about products that are dangerous, or just outright crap.

Seana

Seana

#5

You could also just download AdBlock which keeps many ads from being seen or popping up

#6

Oh for me personally, I could care less. I ignore the adds completely. I am somewhat more concerned when I see products advertised here that have been clearly condemned, such as the no-no because it gives a conflicting message to the readership.

Seana

#7

Something “goes against the grain” considering that just anybody can jump into a designated website and advertise (?), “whatever they are selling.” I don’t know how this works, but to me a website that is owned by an individual and under continuous monitoring denotes an endorsement of the products that appear on the site.

It’s how I was raised, I suppose.

In the old days, a doctor was your gatekeeper. He would not experiment with new drugs and therapies ONLY to make money. A few doctors are still like that; I work with one of them. But many of his colleagues are the first to employ any new therapy/procedure as long as they can make money from it. A good 25% or more of his practice is trying to correct these “money-making” screw-ups. (The “72-hour face” lift is my favorite at the moment! DON’T DO IT! Seriously, “fish hooks” don’t belong in your FACE!)

I suppose I understand the way “things” are these days, but it doesn’t seem right. I don’t like it one bit. I suppose integrity has become old fashioned and money rules. I really am a dinosaur — (but, I like to think an old “T-Rex!”) Thing is, I still have a few teeth left … grrrrrrrr!

#8

Truth is, if we that use this site contributed “x” amount of dollars to pay the expenses for keeping it up and going, there would be no need for the ads. That’s not going to happen to the extent that it should, so Andrea had to find other means. I don’t like it either Mike, but I give people credit for seeing and then basically just ignoring such ads. I’m like Seana. I see, but I don’t act.

I don’t know what the expenses are to keep Hairtell moving along. Is that shareable information?

#9

Okay … I will give people credit for “seeing and ignoring” silly/misleading/dangerous products.

Did you see the one today that promises to “grow your hair LONG?” Yeah, that’s certainly going to work too! You just put this proprietary-oil on your hair and “grow it to whatever length you want!" (Don’t you just love the word “proprietary?”) Sure, that’s exactly how hair grows and get fertilized by a special oil, AWESOME!

Yeah, I’ll bet that nearly every “up-scale” beauty salon sells something in a bottle that’s supposed to grow your hair LONG?

I suppose if we are allowed to discuss “said random advertisements,” based on our understanding of skin & hair, then that’s probably better than a perceived endorsement (and that’s what it looks like to me, anyway).

I have to remember that Hairtell is, like the internet itself, somewhat “The Wild West” with total egalitarian writer-ship; “democracy” to the “enth” degree. I suppose that’s best in the long run … as opposed to, say, censorship!

Yeah, I’ll take OPEN over censorship any day. If we had censorship then we might as well be North Korea or the AEA! ha ha ha

I suppose I can go along with minor “rip offs” since nearly all cosmetics ARE just that. I think the “line in the sand,” however, is if the product is dangerous or could keep the client from seeking medical treatment for a life-threatening issue.

I will say that the general public is amazingly ignorant about human skin. Most people know more about “life in the ocean” than their own precious skin. The commerce-driven mythology (BS) doesn’t help either.

#10

In the old days they would run around in travelling wagons. At least then they were close enough and slow enough that when “Dr Doolittles Hair growth Serum” didnt work, you could always catch up with em and put a beating to them and take back your money :slight_smile:

Seana

#11

Hairtell and Hairfacts did not run ads until their maintenance were no longer possible through user contributions. At one point I was personally answering 200 consumer questions a day. It was a full-time job, and it got tiresome.

The original business model was like NPR, PBS, or consumer groups like Public Citizen. I used to catch MORE flak for asking for reader support than when I started running ads. People have been conditioned to prefer ads over sites that request donations. In other words, it’s a no-win situation for a site like this.

Please remember that Google ads are targeted based on your browsing history, so the ads you see are different than the ones other readers see. I don’t see the ads you see. I am open to criticism and can and will censor/block ads I consider inappropriate when people let me know about them, but I am not really interested in seeing a lot of unconstructive criticism about how I run the site. This free resource is and always will be a service I provide as part of my larger educational and philanthropic efforts. I believe knowledge and information should be free, but people need to realize there is value in the time spent to create and maintain something like this.

Please let me know when you see problematic ads by emailing a screencap to andrea@hairfacts.com and I will take a look. And if you have a complaint, you are more likely to get a response if you write to me privately vs. raising a stink in a public thread.

#12

Well, who knew that the advertisements here on Hairtell were GOOGLE ads and “automatic, based on a person’s web search history?”

Yes, that’s the way things work these days. I assumed all ads were approved by the owner of the website. But then, that’s my “old school” values showing … I’m such a dinosaur!

I find “tracking our searches” Orwellian; the precursor to dictatorship. I don’t want “big brother” to track my searches, or to know what I’m doing. Let me say, Hairtell is “off the hook,” of course, and now I’m ON to Google itself. (“Kiss kiss” to Andrea … she’s doing a great job … considering). I understand the above post completely.

The “promise of the internet” was that it would provide a universe of information to people and OPEN their minds to new vistas. The way it’s moving, the internet is anything BUT! Surfing the internet can narrow your thinking!

I’m endlessly shocked that college students are so limited in their thinking and have almost no understanding of the recent past. Go ahead, ask them to comment on an entertainer/musician/actor/politician who was popular 10 years ago … they haven’t a clue. It’s ALL about the “right now!” And the “immediate” (not even yesterday) is what they focus on with their incessant center of attention on their electronic devices. (I see kids walking on our beach focusing only on their electronic devices … not even noticing the beauty!)

When I order a book from Amazon, I’m always stunned that they “pitch” a book I’ve already read. They have narrowed my searches and “personality-type” so that they can sell books; NOT open my mind!

No wonder our country is so polarized!

#13

Not only You.

I would actually like to see a meta-search engine without commercial (advertizing!) nor secret service oriented background. Maybe even pay a fair price for the resources - but i actually would not trust any company or any state not tracking my actions for their interests.

I hope the communitary ideas will rise up again, and i hope soon enough before it is absolutely too late.

#14

May I add, once more, that if everyone who uses HairTell, donated to hairtell, there would be no need for ads.

Some people, like myself have links in our signature that make donating to the site easy via PayPal.com or via credit card payment.

Put them to good use, and the ad boxes and banners will disappear. We promise.