Federal Trade Commission cracks down on Kansas City company DERMAdoctor and its CEO Audrey Kunin for misleading advertising

A federal consumer watchdog found last week that Crossroads Arts District dermatologist Audrey Kunin used misleading or unscientific studies to support unverified claims about three products her company DERMAdoctor sold.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Kunin and her company in federal court in Kansas City on December 23. On Monday, a federal judge approved an order that says DERMAdoctor has to quit promoting the health benefits of those products until the company can produce scientific evidence to back them up.

In a statement to The Pitch, DERMAdoctor says it discontinued the products in question and settled with the FTC “out of a spirit of cooperation” and to avoid the costs of litigation. It did not admit to improper advertising of its products.

Kunin started DERMAdoctor 16 years ago and since then opened an office at 19th Street and McGee in the east Crossroads. She’s something of a fringe media star, appearing from time to time on television with Dr. Oz, a personality who has his own issues with promoting unproven medical remedies.

The FTC took issue with Kunin’s promotion of DERMAdoctor’s product “Photodynamic Therapy,” an anti-aging lotion that sells for $85 an ounce. Kunin described it as a product that, when applied to the skin, would somehow convert ultraviolet light into some kind of “visible red light” treatment that would smooth out wrinkly skin.

Here’s how Kunin attempted to describe the product to QVC hostess Jill Bauer during a May 5, 2011, episode of Beauty Prescription:

Audrey Kunin: I am thrilled to be here and share this brand new technology.
You’re – Jill, you’re correct, you won’t find this anywhere else.
Photodynamic Therapy is a light-emitting laser lotion. What does that mean?
It is a red light emitting lotion.

Bauer: Okay.

Kunin: It’s rejuvenating. Red light rejuvenates, it’s anti-aging. And never
before has anyone ever been able to put it into a lotion. And I have worked in
the lab for years –

Bauer: Yeah.

Kunin: – to try to find way.

Bauer: That’s your passion, right?

Kunin: That is my passion.

Bauer: Yeah.

Kunin: And so this patented formulation is going to deliver that anti-aging red
light for seven hours to the skin.

Bauer: Wow. So what’s so interesting here is there’s never been a way to get
this red light therapy at home before, which I think is huge. And, again, what
is red light used for? You can talk to us about that.

Kunin: That’s right. Red light is anti-aging. It’s rejuvenating. What we’re
using this product for, it’s clinically proven to help, in four weeks, improve
elasticity. If you’re worried about your fine lines and wrinkles, if you’re
worried about dryness, and roughness of your skin, if you want to restore the
brilliance, even out your skin tone.

Bauer: Wow. 

But the FTC found that one of the studies DERMAdoctor used to support the effects of the product didn’t analyze whether it actually transformed UV light into “visible red light.”

DERMAdoctor also sold a similar product that purported to help reduce the prominence of eye bags and sagging eyelids. One of the studies used to support DERMAdoctor’s claims was carried out by some of the company’s employees, who lacked scientific backgrounds, according to the FTC.

The FTC also criticized the promotion of a third DERMAdoctor product called “Shrinking Beauty,” a cream that purportedly reduced cellulite and helped its users lose an inch or two from their midsections. Of the two studies the company said supported the product’s efficacy, one was carried out by DERMAdoctor employees and the other actually found that its main ingredient didn’t slim down the thighs of any of its 27 test subjects.

Monday’s order says the company has to possess at least two controlled, double-blind, scientific and independent studies if it wants to say that its products cause weight loss or provides anti-aging benefits similar to those obtained in a doctor’s office.