About the Museum
The Museum of Hoaxes is dedicated to promoting knowledge about hoaxes. (Click here for opening hours, etc.) On our blog we post about dubious- sounding claims, and whatever else strikes our fancy. The site is also home to the Hoaxipedia (the museum's online encyclopedia of hoaxes), the Hoax Forum, and the Top 100 April Fools' Day Hoaxes.

The museum was created in 1997 by Alex Boese. He's assisted by a staff of deputy curators and docents. Alex is the author of three books, most recently Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments (which has nothing to do with hoaxes). Check out the list of the Top 20 Most Bizarre Experiments of All Time for a preview.

Web Hoax Museum

I've got to say it's about time these companies that sell these creams should be made accountable for what their advertising says either explicitly or by implication. One thing that really puts me off is when I hear a group of women talk about "such and such a cream" when I really can't help but think it's all a waste of money.

Maybe this will weed out all the nonsense and truly honest companies with real products can come to the fore

I heard from a doctor on radio that some research group has found (after intensive testing) that best moisturizer on the market (by definition a stuff that suppose to block pores and keep water inside after washing face) is .... petroleum jelly Vaseline !!!

I've heard that also about vaseline. I've also heard about a guy who used to eat it. Claimed it was some kind of cure-all.

I moisturize. I don't buy expensive creams though. Oil of Olay works just as well. My ex however uses Lancome at about $58 a bottle. Moisturizing is important though.

Likewise with the "stretch mark reduction" creams and of course the "breast enhancement" ones. Moisturize and sunblock, those are a woman's, or a man's, best cosmetics. Oh, and soap.

Yes, and deoderant is your friend, too. Not that I want this to turn into an anti-aging product forum, but I have to say that I also use both Vaseline AND Oil of Olay. I've been putting Vaseline around my eyes (careful, it really does irrate eyes if put too close) & on my forehead since I was 19. The Oil of Olay Regenerist line claims to be an alternative to a face lift. It's only 19.99 a bottle & I've been using it for about as long as it's been out.(A couple of years.) I'm 31 and I typically am put in the 21-24 year age range.
So, anti-aging lawsuit lady, please don't sue Olay. They have a great product that works.

The only stuff I ever use is what other people give me from Bath & Body works, and only when my hands are dry enough to hurt. Everyone likes a dirty cowboy that smells good.

As far as Peter's comment: "Maybe this will weed out all the nonsense and truly honest companies with real products can come to the fore"

I hate to be cynical, but it has to be said. Yeah, right. The issue is not the products; it's the culture that creates a need for these products. Why is everyone in such a hurry to get younger, anyway? Or make their breasts bigger or stretch marks fade? As long as there is a demand for miracle cures, there will be products that claim (implied or otherwise) that they can do it.

I use the lotions I get for Christmas. It's usually my elbows that get dry and cracked.Other than that I don't use many beuaty products.

The one thing eating Vaseline will definitely cure is constipation. It used to be marketed as a laxative.

I use the Vaseline brand lotion...but I have a hard time with the greasy feal of actual Vaseline Petrolium Jelly. I'm only 21, and I have really fair skin that I ALWAYS wore sunblock on when I went outside (my mother lived on the beach as a teen & had seen the affects of the sun). My hands & face tend to get dry feeling in the winter. I use lotion then. I don't really like the feel of lotion when it stays on my skin. Plus, if my hands get wet the lotion gets wet & slick...icky. I do put Johnson's Baby lotion on my little girl after the bath. She really enjoys it...she makes lots of 'oooh, ahhh' sounds.

P.S. I used Palmer's on my belly when I was pregnant (this is BEFORE the stretch marks started to appear) & the stretch marks DID appear. This also means, that this particular bit of skin has lost it's elasticity & will not tighten up, no matter how much exercise you do! So if anyone saw that mom on the SWAN that had the melting belly...it was cuz her whole tummy was covered in stretch marks! (Luckily I didn't get too many...so I get to maintain my youthful appearance for a while.)

Why am I not surprised to hear about this? Anti-aging creams are just creams, they cannot have the same effect as aesthetic surgeries. To deal with aging you need to start inside out. My mom is taking now bottled wheat grass juice and I see reasonable effects.

"though I'm sure the companies will argue that they never blatantly say that their products reverse aging."

I don't think whether the companies explicitly say they reverse aging or play some semantic game to hedge their claims matters.

There are plenty of lawyers in states with similar laws, that will take advantage of consumer protection laws that use a reasonable standard. That means forget arguing about semantics and words...just ask if a reasonable consumer would be misled by a claim.

In the case of these beauty creams, it's my opinion that they would confuse a reasonable consumer, so they could lose a suit one day. They can't hide behind semantics forever when it's obvious they're misleading people.