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It’s not always a writer that gets to say, “Ah ha!” This is one of those rare moments.
While I will indulge myself very briefly and savor the opportunity to feel “in the know,” the more important thing to do is to present updated information I ran across about the Lifestyle Lift, specifically that the State of New York has levied a hefty fine against the organization that brings you this variation of facelift surgery.
I hope I might be able to help someone avoid being taken in by those who prey on our dreams of looking as young as we feel.
If you browsed EmpowHer several days ago, you may have seen my mini-rant on some outrageous claims about the Lifestyle Lift. (If you missed the piece, go to: https://www.empowher.com/news/herarticle/2009/07/27/lifestyle-lift-may-indeed-impact-your-lifestyle.) Statements like “look 10 to 20 years younger in 45 minutes,” and, “go back to work the next day” drove me to do more research.
Alongside some positive comments on independent consumer Web sites were many more reviews from patients ranging from, “It wasn’t worth it,” to, “I was butchered.” I also saw images of asymmetric faces, droopy upper and lower eyelids, ugly twisted scars under the ears and even ears that look uneven and strange. I discovered more than one patient who said they didn’t feel comfortable out in public any longer. Talk about a lifestyle change.
According to an article published just last week on a skincare portal, the Lifestyle Lift organization paid their own employees to publish phony positive reviews of the facelift procedure. The skincare Web site reported that the scheme was discovered through emails from Lifestyle Lift explaining to workers what the company wanted them to do.
Apparently the State of New York investigated and ordered Lifestyle Lift to stop the fake reviews and pay a fine of $300,000. That sounds like a lot of money, but I wonder if the women who say they have been traumatized by their Lifestyle Lift experience will think it’s enough. Maybe other states will join in, investigate and levy additional fines.
If I hear more about the Lifestyle Lift, you can be sure I will write another update. Maybe others have information they will share as well. As far as I know, this company has not folded their tent, and the news I don’t want to hear is that one more person was taken in by their practices.
Add a Comment6 Comments
As far as I know, nothing to date. It will most likely be dropped as have many others that LSL has placed against other companies. Mr. Kent believes if he cannot shut someone up he will close them down, he sued infomercialscams.com (sold out due to being sued), realself.com and many others. Some were thrown out, some were dropped and on a couple, LSL had to pay the lawyers fees.
November 5, 2009 - 3:35pmThis Comment
Oh, I did write...and write...and write! Finally, a story ran in Atlanta on TV46! Yea, but guess what, Kent (the founder), turned around and sued Meridith Corp., owner of TV46 and Stephanie Fisher the reporter -- who did nothing more than reported the facts. She did not even do the interview with me (I don't know if she interviewed the other women). You can google TV46 Atlanta and search for Lifestyle Lift and you can watch the videos there. As far as what happened with my surgery, well, it had to be redone. My saving grace was realself.com. It is the last place that I know of that will let you post what really happens to you with out editing or deleting your posts. I have not seen any commercials lately for LSL on TV... don't know why but could have something to do with the advertising ethics or disclosure, maybe someone is watching...???
November 5, 2009 - 9:05amThis Comment
Wow, Chrystal. Do you know what ultimately happened with the Atlanta lawsuit?
November 5, 2009 - 10:03amThis Comment
Yes I do know what happened. Kent made TV46 Atlanta basically run a news story stating that LSL was great and a bunch of other bull. It was posted on youtube about a year after the original airing of the 9 part series. You can find both on youtube.com by searching for TV46 + Lifestyle Lift. I did make a few phone calls and finally figured out for the lawsuit to be dropped, the station decided it was cheaper to run a "Good" story about LSL. Just remember, if it sounds too good to be true, It usually is.
May 2, 2013 - 11:06amThis Comment
I agree with every word that you have published here. In fact just this morning I ran across a piece on LSL that is so outrageous I wanted to throw up. The article starts out "Lifestyle Lift is a cosmetic procedure that is supposed to reduce sagging facial skin in men and women so that they look more radiant." Notice nothing is said about surgical procedure. I was told that there wold be 2 small cuts on each side of my ear, haha. That is not even a accurate description of what they do to you. The article goes on to say "Lifestyle Lift is supposed to be a noninvasive Botox alternative." I just cannot believe that this type of deception is allowed much less tolerated by the medical board. Seems someone is not doing a very good job of watch-dog(ing) on the medical claims and procedures preformed by some companies.
November 5, 2009 - 7:31amThis Comment
Cathy, thank you so very much for keeping tabs on this situation for us. The information is completely alarming -- clearly, many people have fallen for these misleading claims.
And Chrystal, I'm so sorry about your experience. It sounds horrible. I cannot believe that a doctor in charge of doing surgery -- any kind of surgery -- on a patient would not be completely up front about the entire procedure. I'm very glad you wrote.
I have seen the Lifestyle Lift's commercials on television, and not only did it leave me NOT thinking it had anything to do with surgery, it left me wondering how the heck they did it. There are absolutely no details given. Someone wanting any more information at ALL would have to call the phone number, at which point the employees can start their sales pitch.
Please write to the newspaper or magazine where you read the article this morning. It sounds more like an advertisement than an article, which is mortifying. They need to know that the article is not truthful and that it may in fact be misleading their own readers.
Did you report your experience to a medical board or to the company? Did your surgery turn out ok?
November 5, 2009 - 8:29amThis Comment