Exuviance

Before-and-after pictures on their own can be misleading. Throw in some text about the amazing benefits of the product responsible for the transformation and you may have what is known as a double whammy.

And so it happened that an ad in Elle magazine for two Exuviance skin care products featured before-and-after pictures of a woman’s legs with the text: “the Antiaging Body Care Super Duo that restores youthful texture and firmness while reducing crepe-like appearance.”

“Taken together,” The National Advertising Division (NAD) is the advertising industry’s self-regulatory body administered by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. wrote in a recent decision, referring to the images and text, “NAD determined that this advertisement reasonably conveys the message that Exuviance Retexturing Treatment and Body Tone Firming Concentrate significantly reduces crepey skin and increases skin firmness.”

NAD found supporting evidence for the Body Tone Firming Concentrate sufficient but poked holes in the in-house study Exuviance provided to back up claims for the Retexturing Treatment. Among other things, NAD said the “extremely small” sample size of three subjects was incapable of supporting any performance claims.

NAD recommended that Exuviance discontinue the before-and-after pictures and the company said it would take the guidance into account for future advertising.

Find more of our coverage on skin care products here.