Here’s The Situation
The whole story would take too long to explain here, but here is the gist of it:
H2Ocean became a corporate member of the APP. Basically what that means is that they support the organization and agree with its standards on safe piercing. However, that support and endorsement is a one-way street – it does not mean that the APP supports and/or endorses the companies that join.However, several members of Fakir Intensives, a well-known and respected body piercing school, sent and distributed a letter written to the APP, stating that H2Ocean is making false claims about their product. They wrote an extensive list of H2Ocean’s claims and then attacked those claims with a lot of technical jargon explaining why those claims had to be false based on scientific evidence. Based on this “proof” they provided, they expected the APP to look into the matter and take action against H2Ocean.
The letter carried the tone of a personal grudge rather than true concern for the body piercing community, especially considering the timing – why wait until H2Ocean became a corporate member of the APP? Why wasn’t this issue addressed and brought to the attention of the community at large before then? (It should also be noted that the letter cites numerous references to Wikipedia as proof to their scientific claims, which is not considered to be a respectable or reliable source of information.)
Here’s a list of the accusations against H2Ocean:
- H2Ocean says their product is pH balanced, but it is not
- H2Ocean claims their product is isotonic, but it isn’t
- H2Ocean says the sea salt used in their product aids healing, but Fakir Intensives says not only does ocean salt not aid in healing but it contains dangerous toxins.
- H2Ocean claims that the Lysozyme in its product kills bad bacteria without harming good bacteria. Fakir Intensives says both claims are false.
- Fakir Intensives says that on a cellular level, the mixture of components and levels of acidity in the product cancel each other out, making the product essentially useless and not able to live up to any claims of beneficial healing.
- Last but not least, H2Ocean claims to have done extensive research and clinical studies and testing to prove the effectiveness of their product, but Fakir Intensives says H2Ocean has failed to provide any proof or results from said trials.
The APP’s Position
Understandably, the APP was a little bewildered as to why this matter would have been brought to them in the first place. As a non-profit organization that simply exists to promote safe piercing, it is not responsible for settling disputes or taking action against its members. But they did have this to say on the matter:
“The original Dear APP’ letter is not an official APP document…While all four authors of the article claim APP membership, only Paul Birnbaum is a Business Member…Even though Fakir Intensives holds the title of APP Associate Corporate Member, this membership belongs only to the corporation—not its employees.”
Next Page: H2O's Response & The Bottom Line
