Myths, much like anything else you hear or read about often enough, tend to become facts in the mind of many consumers. Once that happens they are eager to seek out the benefits of what amounts to little more than snake oil. The notion of purging toxins from the body and skin is one of these myths, on par with the perceived need to drink lots of water (and often too much water) to keep skin hydrated. Neither is based on fact.
And this isn’t a conspiracy of the medical world, as many Web sites argue. (Actually, you could just as easily argue that the myth of detoxing is a conspiracy by those who take your money for bogus treatments and procedures.) But the medical world has nothing to gain from keeping someone from a treatment or medication that works. In fact the medical world discourages people from smoking and overeating, and encourages exercise and other beneficial behavior in the most direct campaigning possible, with solid research and studies on why you should follow their advice. If detoxing made sense, they would definitely have something to say, so it’s no surprise the medical field hasn’t jumped on the “let’s purge toxins” bandwagon. If purging toxins from your body could help, then physicians would be at the forefront of getting the information out to you as soon as it was shown to be true. Doctors would make money from those treatments just as any other alternative service provider would. But truth doesn’t always sell products. Oftentimes you’ll get more people’s attention, and dollars by promoting fiction-based fear instead.
When it comes to fiction, snake-oil salespeople are supreme at quick fixes and euphoria. I love the drink more water example, because if your water intake is greater than what your body needs all you do is go to the bathroom more. Nothing in your body changes. And it absolutely doesn’t change the status of “toxins” in your body or how dry your skin is. Kids who don’t drink enough water don’t have dry skin because of it. Dry skin, for most adults, is the result of sun damage, genetics, health issues, certain medications, and their environment, not water intake. Believe me, I wish alleviating dry skin was as easy as increasing water intake!
In terms of skin and the purging of toxins, we move into the absurd. At least with routine (not excessive) water intake it does help to stay hydrated and not be thirsty. When it comes to purging toxins from the skin there isn’t a particle of evidence it is even possible, let alone helpful. Yet somehow efforts to suck toxins out of your pores or between skin cells have become a basic part of many women’s attempts to achieve flawless skin. As a result of this flawed belief, detoxifying the skin, a concept supported by the cosmetics industry or earnest spa attendants and aestheticians, as well as the vitamin/herbal supplement world, has become a sizable business.