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Welcome to the first homepage edition of i2P for 2012.
In many ways it has been a slow start to the New Year because of having to deal with the “leftovers” from 2011.
One of those items for i2P was that a third-party provider to the site did not advise of a code change to the security section in our subscribe panel, creating a range of frustrated subscribers not able to get on board.
We apologise to all those potential subscribers who were unable to register with us in the second half of 2011, but if you try once more you should have no problem.

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Volume 2012 Number 1

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The lumpy, bumpy and baldy facts of life

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	Loretta Marron BSc articles by this author...
From a Skeptics Perspective: Loretta Marron, a science graduate with a business background, was Australian Skeptic of the Year for 2007 and in 2011. She edits the website www.healthinformation.com.au.

“Appearance is everything” was the only advice I was given when I was preparing for my return to university.
Sporting new Levis, Reeboks, Ray-bans and with a Hardrock Cafe logo splashed across my sweatshirt, I headed for campus to start my studies in psychology.
Was the advice correct?
Here was my chance to find out from the experts.
There is no doubt that small issues with your looks can make a big difference to your self confidence. Most of my fellow students were straight out of secondary school, so there was only the occasional hint of thinning hair to be seen.
Sadly, for many male adolescents, mother-nature has prepared a sad and sorry long-term plan for their crowning glory, and as they grow older, their slowly shrinking follicles will die taking the hair with them.

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Baldness is defined as “lacking hair where it often grows” and ranges from the loss of some hair on the head to total body-wide hairlessness. There are a wide range of reasons for either temporary or permanent hair loss, which can affect both sexes at any age, including genetics and a host of other health conditions and traumas. It is not only a human trait and some unfortunate primates with this condition have found themselves in cages with new careers testing hair-regrowth treatments.

Hair loss is good business for pharmacies who offer a number of real and questionable solutions which claim to either get hair to regrow or to slow down hair loss. The range of treatments available includes light-based therapies, prescription drugs (some of which have nasty side effects including upsetting your sex life), shampoos, creams and herbal remedies. Sadly, with costs upwards of thousands of dollars, “there is no guarantee that any hair regrown during the treatment will persist once the treatment is finished”.

Acne is another one of those distressing and common conditions that hit most of us after puberty. Once again, it seems that you can blame your parents. There are treatments available that are effective for some types of acne, but they may come with some safety risks. If you have acne scars “there is not enough evidence to show whether laser resurfacing is worthwhile”.

Whatever your weight, if you are a woman, cellulite may be your problem. It’s caused by thin skin and dodgy connective tissue that fails to stop your fat cells from bulging out under your skin. There are some short term treatments that claim they can improve the condition, which include brushes, creams, gels, radio frequency (RF) and massage machines but despite the marketing spiel, any positive effects may well be caused by swelling which is, at best, temporary. Despite costing up to thousands of dollars that troublesome fat remains just below the skin determined to establish the status quo. So if you have that dimpled uneven skin, save your money and admit to yourself that it’s a normal condition that you are just going to have to live with.

Stretch marks are another one of life’s annoying realities. Caused by the over-stretching of the dermis, that layer of the skin just below the surface, it is often a result of weight gain or rapid growth. It is also associated with other health conditions and treatments. It is a form of scaring that cannot be reversed, but it usually fades with time. “Creams and ointments that claim to prevent stretch marks during pregnancy are of little value” and natural remedies, like Purcellin oil, don’t help much either. While stretch marks cannot be removed, their clinical appearance can be improved with some topical products.

One pilot study of 17 Asian women using RF therapy identified an improvement in stretch mark appearance, but there were no significant differences in the stretch mark surface smoothness. The NIH is currently conducting a larger study on this therapy which is primarily measuring limb and abdomen circumferences. Despite the claims of cellulite and fat reduction, by many clinics using these devices, no evidence exists to support their claims.

Was the advice I was given correct; is appearance important? I’m sad to say, there is some truth in what was said. According to my psychology lecturers, better looking people do get more career opportunities, higher pay and better looking partners, but if you are not one of the eight supermodels in the world or you don’t look like a movie star, console yourself that you are certainly not alone.

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