M&S knickers - are they just pants?
Marks & Spencer's Anti-Cellulite Firm Control Waist and Thigh Cincher Knickers cost £29.50 and are said to contain aloe vera, vitamin E and caffeine. M&S say they reduce the visible signs of cellulite but some medical experts accuse M&S of failing to provide evidence for those claims. They even suggested that ordinary, very tight fitting knickers would have the same effect. Watchdog decided to find out who's right so we set up our own, unscientific experiment.
We gathered five women who all wanted to know whether these pants really can combat cellulite. We took them to see top plastic surgeon Mr Douglas McGeorge who measured them to see how much cellulite they had...
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All of them were very honest about the problems they have had. Hair salon-owner Faith Taylor told us that she has had cellulite for years, despite being a regular at the gym. Likewise beautician Lynda Freedland and fitness instructor Helen Warren said despite all they have tried over the years, nothing has worked and as such, they were willing to take part in our experiment.
Douglas McGeorge helped us devise the experiment, as he believes M&S' claims don't stand up to scientific scrutiny. He told us that: "this trial is being done because Marks and Spencer are making claims about their pants that they improve or help cellulite. I question the claims made about them. Marks and Spencer have provided some information, which they say justifies those claims. But I don't think it stands up to scientific scrutiny."
Following their consultation with Mr McGeorge, our five women agreed to swap their knickers for the M&S ones but only on the right leg. On the left leg, we asked them to wear pants of an equivalent, shape, size and elasticity, but without the additives.
Mr McGeorge explained: "The best control we could use is to actually use the patients themselves. And so we are using the Marks and Spencers pants on one thigh and using ordinary compression pants on the other thigh just to see if there is a difference between the two."
After one day the discomfort of our unique pant combo was too much for two of our five volunteers, but Faith Taylor, Lynda Freedland and Helen Warren all managed to carry on.
They wore the pant combo for 28 days, 8-10 hours a day, as advised on the label for the M&S knickers.
Beautician Lynda told us, when we caught up with her mid-way through the experiment that wearing the pants had been fine: "They were uncomfortable," she told us, "but not too bad." Faith did find them a little uncomfortable, but stuck with the experiment nonetheless. Helen, our fitness instructor, told us after sixteen days of wearing the pant combo: "I feel a lot smoother when I'm wearing them along the back and this is where I have noticed cellulite reduction here and on this leg in particular, I've noticed at the front and at the sides."
But after sticking rigorously to the wearing the pants for 28 days, what were the results? Has it all been worth it? Our three volunteers went back to see Mr McGeorge at his surgery after to find out.
Lynda Freedland still had the same measurements. Mr McGeorge noted a slight visual improvement of her cellulite but on both legs, meaning the M&S pants didn't fare any better than the ordinary tight pants she was wearing on her left leg.
Helen Warren's measurements did improve slightly but only on her left leg. The leg where she had been wearing the M&S pants saw no change at all. The texture of her legs was smother, but again, no better on the right leg (where she was wearing the M&S pants) than the left.
Faith Taylor's measurements remained the same, and though Mr McGeorge found that the cellulite looked less pronounced and the skin was slightly smoother, this was on both legs.
Mr McGeorge's overall conclusion was that neither of the pants made any significant improvement on the legs in terms of cellulite, and there was no marked difference between the legs where the women had worn the M&S pants as opposed to the normal compression pants which had no additives. He suspects that any improvement is just akin to the wearing of compression garments for a while (like when you wear socks and an hour later it settles). He thinks this effect won't last long and is not a change that will last days or weeks.
A spokesperson from M&S told Watchdog:
"Watchdog's wearer trials back up what our scientific tests have proven - that this product visibly reduces signs of cellulite. Customer feedback is always welcome and we would like to hear more about the volunteers' experience of wearing this product to ensure we continue to offer our customers the highest quality products at M&S."
They went on to say:
'The M&S anti cellulite waist and thigh cincher knickers contain ingredients widely used in cellulite creams to reduce the visible signs of cellulite and the fabric has been thoroughly independently tested by a specialised laboratory under controlled conditions. The tests were carried out on 21 women aged 22-64 with a BMI between 23 and 30 and grade 5 (minimum) cellulite present on their thighs (where grade 10 is the highest measure on the scale). They were carried out over a 28 day period and were run by Dermscan, an accredited lab which specialises in testing cosmetics. An ultrasound technique was used to analyse a specific section of skin on each test subject before and after wearing the garment. After 28 days, 63% of users reported a reduction in visible signs of cellulite and over 70% wanted to continue using the product. Long term effects were not part of our independent testing, therefore we are not claiming how long this improvement lasted for.
"The garment works during wear by releasing three active natural ingredients: Caffeine, to slim and tone; Vitamin E, to help protect against ageing; and soothing Aloe Vera, to smooth. These are held in place by millions of micro-bubbles which are encapsulated within the yarn of the fabric the garment is made from then released onto your skin as you move.
"Due to the nature of the garment and the way the ingredients are held within the yarn, we are unable to state the actual quantities of each ingredient, however, the rate of application has been tested at Universidad de Zargoza and it was found that between 0.5% and 1% of the ingredients migrate onto the skin daily. This is unique to this garment. This is unlike other shapewear we sell which will smooth and sculpt whilst it is being worn, but will not visibly reduce the appearance of cellulite.
"The M&S garment is clearly labelled and states:
"'FIRM CONTROL ANTI CELLULITE WAIST AND THIGH CINCHER - SMOOTHS, SLIMS & SHAPES - WITH EMBEDDED VITAMIN E, ALOE VERA & CAFFEINE - INDEPENDENTLY PROVEN TO REDUCE VISIBLE SIGNS OF CELLULITE.
"In view of the evidence we have and the wording we have used, we refute claims that this could be misleading to consumers."
© 2012
Comment number 1.
At 20:35 10th Jun 2010, hmit wrote:Somewhat unfortunate that the Cheif Exec was unable to answer the direct question on what recourse is available if mistakes are made:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/complaints-appeals/how-to-complain.htm
and if you disagree with a decision:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/complaints-appeals/how-to-appeal.htm
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Comment number 2.
At 13:09 11th Jun 2010, Graeme wrote:Dear Anne,
Both M&S and your expert were wrong when they say that we don't know what causes Cellulite, we do. The difficulty that M&S and all other vendors of products that "reduce the visible signs of cellulite" have is that their products cannot possibly work if they are treating the outside of the skin. The skin is not porous and cannot let through anything that you rub on the surface to treat a problem that is, in fact, a skin disease. Things designed to "squash" cellulite, like the pants, just move the condition around.
The water content of the human body is around 60% of total body weight in men and 55% in women - it’s a lot lower in overweight people and in the elderly. Of all of the water in the body, about two thirds of it is inside our cells and the rest is in transit between them – in the spaces between the cells, in the connective tissues and in the blood. So we all have a water management system that is as vital to our health as our cardio-vascular systems and our respiratory processes. And, like the cooling system in our cars or the water pumps in our washing machines, these can go wrong and when they do the result appears as an illness.
We obtain our water in many forms from pure water itself to the moisture content of solid foods. Before using the water internally, our bodies convert it into a mild and pure saline always resulting in the same formula for all of us. This is why doctors inject saline when they want to increase the hydration of our bodies in times of stress. We then have a glandular process that pumps the water around us to where it is needed on every surface of the body, internally and externally. This is most visible on our skins which are permanently moisturised by a process known as insensible perspiration.
This perspiration system is designed to go faster – to provide more cooling – when we need it because we are exercising harder, we are under stress or we are frightened. But sometimes, because of our lifestyles, our diets or because of other factors such as living in permanent air-conditioning, the body gets habituated to perspire a bit faster than it actually needs. This adverse habituation results in the sweat glands providing more electrolytes than are needed to support normal balance and this excess creates blockages in the cooling processes that, in turn, can lead to serious illnesses.
Cellulite has now been proven to be one of the symptoms of this condition. There is only one cause of cellulite. It occurs when sweat ducts, deep beneath the skin, become blocked by the excess salt. This causes the sweat ducts to rupture and sweat exudes into the surrounding skin, destroying adjacent skin capillaries which are essential for healthy skin. The pools of sweat from the ruptured ducts evaporate leaving vacuoles, like deflated balloons, in the lower border of the dermis. If an area of skin is then subjected to pressure, such as occurs on the sitting area of the rear thighs and the buttocks, then adipose or fatty tissue is forced through the connective tissue of the border to fill the vacuoles in the dermis. This produces the characteristic dimpled effect known as cellulite. It is an adverse skin condition and it should be treated. The sub-dermal connective tissue of females has evolved differently from that in males, to allow for the stretching required for pregnancy and this is why cellulite is mainly a female problem. The connective tissue is firmer in males and so cellulite is much less prevalent, but can still occur.
Many of the products aimed at treating cellulite appear to work, in the short term, because they are able to move the fat out of the vacuoles. But because these are still present, cellulite will return as fatty tissue again becomes available.
[edited]
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Comment number 3.
At 15:00 12th Jul 2010, agigailsmall wrote:I cannot see these "miracle pants" for sale on the M&S women's underwear pages on the website - there are various shapewear and lingerie sets - were they a London only trial? They certainly sound worthy of a proper investigation.
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Comment number 4.
At 11:09 30th Jul 2010, Traceymar wrote:This is an interesting and timely article. In researching for an article on [edited] cellulite treatments I have examined quite closely some of the claims within the beauty industry and it's really quite frightening the misinformation that is passed off as expert science.
I suppose this shouldn't come as a surprise however when even highly visible television advertisements can get away with claiming that simple polypeptides rubbed on your skin can somehow reduce wrinkles based on solely on 60 women doing a self-assessment.
For less publicly-visible treatments, such as those found in beauty spas and online, the claims are stretched even further and the M&S pants really are the tip of a very large iceberg. It's effectively impossible to control.
Fundamentally, I believe the reason these claims are so successful is down to the poor standard of scientific education. If more people were able to critically evaluate the information provided to them, the claims made wouldn't be so outlandish.
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