The new Netflix docuseries, The Goop Lab, has positioned itself as an exploration of wellness. Each episode examines a different wellness trend, particularly focusing on products and service that are sold or promoted by the Goop brand.
Episode 4 of the docuseries, where Paltrow actually tries some of the regimens she recommends, is sparking new controversy around the already controversial brand as it seems like Paltrow doesn’t even believe in her own brand. This has many questioning whether anything coming out of the Goop Lab is really worth the money.
Goop started as a wellness and lifestyle newsletter in 2008. Paltrow sent her subscribers her musings about wellness trends she was trying out, her experiences as a mom, and her philosophy on life. The newsletter eventually became a blog and the blog gained such a massive following that Goop became a solidified wellness and lifestyle brand.
Eventually, instead of just recommended products and services, Goop launched its own store, which sells wellness products of all kinds. These days, Goop is synonymous with wellness.
Goop products supposedly offer solutions that the “medical establishment” won’t give people. These products offer “natural,” “organic,” “alternative” remedies to all sorts of problems. The sales pitch makes these wellness products sound like miracle solutions.
But in reality, many of the products are little better than the snake oil of old. Some are even downright dangerous.
The Jade Egg could supposedly balance hormones, enhance sexual pleasure, and treat depression if inserted in the vagina. But women who tried it ended up with vaginal infections. Vampire Facials, where you inject your own blood into your skin to look younger, have also been deemed dangerous.
Vagina
Goop
Paltrow
Jade egg
Infection https://t.co/ErHVmAl2hw— Jennifer Gunter (@DrJenGunter) September 6, 2018
Scientists and health professionals have been speaking out against the wellness advice given by Goop and the products Goop sells for years. They are quick to point out that the claims made on the website and by the products they sell have often not been evaluated by any scientific studies.
In fact, most of what is said on The Goop Lab has been debunked by scientists and health professionals. And some health professionals are even calling the show dangerous for people’s health.
An NHS boss says The Goop Lab poses a "considerable health risk" to the public. Here's what our medical reporter @clarewilsonmed thought https://t.co/VfoF04HWPJ pic.twitter.com/Pgp9KGCJUL
— New Scientist (@newscientist) January 31, 2020
The claims Goop makes about the products they sell have gotten the company into legal trouble more than once.
The nonprofit Truth in Advertising, which seeks to protect consumers from false advertising claims by holding the companies that make them legally responsible, sued Goop for false advertising. Their invetsigation found that Goop had made over 50 illegal advertising claims. Paltrow settled the lawsuit in 2018.
Goop was also sued by the state of California for the claims made about the infamous Jade Egg.
So, do any of the wellness trends discussed on The Goop Lab actually work? Do any of the products sold by the Goop brand work? The answers are hard to pin down.
A simple Google search reveals that there are millions of people who do believe these products have worked for them. On the other hand, another simple Google search reveals that countless health professionals and scientists who are willing to state without a doubt that Goop’s products are a scam.
The one thing that’s clear is that Goop’s claims and products have not been well-researched enough to be followed blindly by millions, especially if they’re choosing Goop over medical professionals.
