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freqflyer Posted July 2017

Have Mom be careful of free trial face creams....

How many times we see an ad for a free jar of face cream, either on TV or through email or an ad on the internet. Sounds pretty good :) You pay shipping and handling. Hey, what a deal !! Oops, only 10 minutes left to order this trial run.


Today I read an article in the Washington Post financial section [7/30/17] that those free face creams can create a lot of havoc on the elderly and even those us who are younger. Read the fine print, if you can find it, usually hidden under a hyperlink !!


You order the face cream, pay the shipping and handling. You try the free trial offer face cream for 14 days. Next thing you find out is that your credit card or debit card has a charge for $90+. What happened is that these "free" face creams are automatic monthly delivery, each jar is $90+. Trying to stop delivery would take a Philadelphia lawyer.


As the article states "Free for me is a code word for 'watch out' because there's always a price to pay.


Anyone run into something similar?

Gershun Aug 2017
Amen, FF. Plus, most of the ads in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Elle magazine have 14 yr. old girls advertising their anti aging products. That is so wrong in so many ways.

freqflyer Aug 2017
Like what is it with some of these face cream commercials where the actress is only 35 years old.... really?.... seriously? Is the U.S. telling us when we reach 30 or so, you need to "repair" your face?

I remember years ago I was visiting relative-in-laws in France, and it was so cute and so sweet seeing elderly men flirting with elderly women. Oh to be able to live in a county where age is beautiful no matter the number :)

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Gershun Aug 2017
This happened to me. My Hubs had to eventually cancel his visa card. Beware of commercials that are a whole hour long and promise to make you look twenty years younger. The only thing it will do to your face is make it turn red with embarrassment that you fell for their scam.

Also, I don't believe that Jennifer Aniston uses Aveeno products and that's why she looks so good, does anybody? She's a millionaire........come on. I could use Aveeno products for eternity and I doubt I would look any different. Hey, not putting Aveeno down, it's good but ...............please!

pamzimmrrt Aug 2017
My daughter used to use an acne system that was like that.. and she never used the toner. After a few months I canceled the subscription, and we just bought the parts she used off ebay. then in her late 20s she started needing it again, and it was advertised in the paper. I ordered and sent a good old fashioned check. they could not use my CC, and when the next unneeded box came I marked it "return to sender" Worked like a charm! Sometimes you can also find products on Amazon, and no monthly bill, if she really likes it!

JoAnn29 Jul 2017
Anytime you are getting something "free" and they are asking for your credit card number...there is a problem.

JoAnn29 Jul 2017
This is with any of those TV advertisements for beauty aids. You get a trial or a discount to "try" it. Problem is you have actually signed up to have it shipped to you every month. And sometimes you can't cancel until you have bought a certain amount. TV is just as bad as telemarketers.

freqflyer Jul 2017
GardenArtist, I totally forgot about lead in lipstick. Think I will look for some new lipsticks at Whole Foods and give those a try.

I always wondering about medicine or lotions placed on the skin. Makes me question that since medicine can put meds into the body just by a patch or placing a pain relief onto the skin.... does regular body lotions do the same thing, go down layers of skin and into the muscle or blood stream?

Not long ago I bought a body lotion from Whole Foods, it was the store brand 365 and it had a nice light scent and went on so well. The best I had in years. I use it more than the bottles from Body & Bath Works that tend to have a heavy scent.

GardenArtist Jul 2017
It's so disgusting that advertisers can get away with false advertising and even worse if it cheats an elder out of his or her money. So far I've been able to stop any response to these scams.

But there's another concern and that's the ingredients in free samples. They're often not listed on the package, so it's unknown if they contain some of the carcinogens identified by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

What troubled me especially was that some lipsticks contained lead. I can't even conceive of much much lead might have been injested when I wore lipstick, unaware of its toxic effect.

And with elders, our cardiologist told us elders react differently to medicines and combinations thereof; I'm wondering if the same applies to chemicals, so I'd be leery of trying them for that reason as well.

I get my face balm from an herbal supplier; it's gentle, fragrant (rose fragrance), and more effective than any commercial facial cream I've ever had. And I use a spearmint lotion for my skin. The fragrance alone is soothing. Coconut cream is healing; I use it for heat rashes or garden scratches.

geeeee Jul 2017
Yes, my mom ordered that darn face cream and got the 90 dollar charge on her card. She either went to the wrong site or clicked on something that took her to a different site. Either way it is really annoying. She did really really like the cream though!

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