I was browsing MakeupAlley the other night, doing a board search for a few Mario Badescu products. This post came up (not my post, someone else posted it):

PSA: I've decided to replace all my Mario Badescu skincare products with other brands++

Because it's dawning on me that a company that would put Kenalog steroid cream in a product and not tell consumers would put anything in their other products, too:

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20121217000978

When people tried to switch from the Healing Cream (or Control Cream) they would get a wicked withdrawal reaction but they thought their skin problems were just coming back and would buy more and use it and the probs would go away. When Korea caught MB out they hastily reformulated and people who had used the products long-term began to go through withdrawal. Topical steroid withdrawal isn't just annoying or uncomfortable, it's painful and potentially disfiguring. And long-term steroid use has its own set of problems, like thinning skin . . . also anyone who is taking a steroid for another condition does not need to double up. Cushing's disease and osteoporosis can be caused by steroid use/misuse.

I noticed a while back that there was sometimes glitter or fruit/veg bits or a coloring agent in some MB products that didn't appear on the label. They also liked fancy names for very ordinary ingredients, such as calling mineral oil "carnation oil." Also as Paula Begoun notes, their labeling didn't comply with FDA regs anyway. I haz a big sad because I liked their products and own a boatload of them, but Ceiling Cat/FSM/Your Deity of Choice only knows what is in them. If you go the the Control Cream review in Productville you can find a link to a very scary Amazon thread about it--and I believe these folks are telling the truth.

http://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=455

I have a jar of the Control Cream but I believe it's the reformulated version. It never did much for me, whereas people who used the original called it "miracle cream" because it healed all sorts of skin woes. Now MB has yanked all of it and it's no longer on their website.

Off to order some Paula's Choice and Avene now--my wallet is mewling in protest. Luckily I'd already been using oil cleansing so at least I don't need a new cleanser!

HTH somebody!

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You can click the title to link to the original post and the discussion, or click HERE.

This seems so crazy! I mean, what's the point of having ingredient labels if companies don't list every ingredient??? Seems people are popping up with all kinds of allergies these days, I would think it would be in a company's best interest to NOT leave anything out, for fear someone could get hurt!!! The other main concern is what else are companies not telling us about their ingredients?!!! 

I'm not trying to say you shouldn't use Mario Badescu products, but if you are considering them or are currently using them you might want to proceed with caution - and do some research. And visit a derm if you are seeing/experiencing any ill effects, whether you think they are product related or not.

And for that matter...same goes for anything else...