Left to Our Own Devices

separating the quacks from the hacks

Welcome readers, old and new!

Please hit the ❤️ above to discover the magic of… fiber?

If you’re a regular HNTFUYF reader, you know I often encourage you to try mirror meditation—looking into your own eyes to increase self-compassion. Now I want to encourage you to do that while listening to music.

I’ve done this and the results were profound.

In Arthur C. Brooks’s latest column for The Atlantic, he points to a study that shows listening to either happy or sad music when you’re alone has a more powerful effect than when you’re with others. I’ve found during a mirror meditation, both kinds are wildly effective in eliciting emotions that contribute to self-compassion.

So: Pick your poison. I love this for its unbridled joy and existential heartbreak. (Don’t watch the video; just listen. As for the heartbreak, I can see why you might not want to go there, considering the state of the world—but I think you’ll see benefits if you’re open to them.)

☠️ ☠️ ☠️

And now for something it probably pays not to be open to.

I received a recent email from a PR firm encouraging me to check out a new device being offered in some dermatologists’ and plastic surgeons’ offices. The device, called Exomind, is described as an FDA-cleared technology (more on that below) “that activates and strengthens neural pathways and enhances connectivity to promote neuroplasticity and retrain the brain with healthier thinking patterns and emotional responses.”

This kind of language—spongy, vague—is common in PR correspondence, and though I find it annoying, it’s forgivable (these people need to be creative). But when I followed the email links to a story in Vogue and to two physicians—a facial plastic surgeon and a “celebrity dermatologist”—promoting the treatment in their offices, I was appalled. On the dermatologist’s Instagram, they suggest, “…there is no better way to start the week than an Exomind session for enhanced brain rejuvenation. FDA-approved for depression, enhanced mental wellness without medication, decreases anxiety.” A series of six treatments clocks in at $4,600; one sets you back $950.

I called Amy Wechsler, MD, board certified in both dermatology and psychiatry, anxious to know what she thought of it.

“I didn’t realize non-mental health professionals were offering this treatment,” she said. “I wouldn’t even have this device in my office.

“It’s completely unstudied for anyone not suffering from anxiety and depression,” she said. “I use my psychiatric training all the time in my dermatology practice—and I refer patients to a mental health professional if I think they may have a problem, because I don’t do thorough mental health evaluations for anxiety disorders or depression.

“You cannot extrapolate that a therapy used for a particular disease [like a mental health disorder] will be helpful for someone who doesn’t suffer from the disease,” said Wechsler. And you can’t be assured a device is safe without studies to confirm that. “FDA-cleared” doesn’t indicate safety; it means only that a device is equivalent enough to another legally marketed device that already has FDA approval. For a thorough dive into the FDA confusion, watch this video from my idol, John Oliver.

We should expect to see more overlap between aesthetics and mental health as wellness trends gain momentum. “The field of psychodermatology has become very popular and lots of people are jumping on the bandwagon. But few are board certified in both psychiatry and dermatology,” said Wechsler.

The bottom-line when considering any treatment without substantial scientific data behind it? If it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck, it’s probably quackery.

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After the paywall, a reader wonders if that noise coming from her own dermatologist is quacking.

HNTFUYF is a payola-free, reader-supported zone. I get no cut from sales when I mention a product. My recommendations are offered without obligation, making HNTFUYF one of the very few places where you can get unadulterated beauty advice.

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