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X-Ori

A review of X-Ori advertising for the treatment of psoriasis.

X-Ori comprises a small line of products manufactured by Scandinavian Natural Health & Beauty Products, Inc.. They make a cream, a shampoo, and some capsules. Their web sites begin badly, claiming that “Until now, there has been no recognized effective means to deal with persistent itching, scaling, and flaking that accompany these [inflammatory skin conditions].” As any dermatologist can tell you, many of the recognized treatments are quite effective.

The sites go on to claim that “scientific literature” shows that essential fatty acid metabolism “plays a crucial role in both the cause and the treatment” of the symptoms. This is not completely true. Nor is their claim that EPA will “almost completely eliminate” them. Fact is, while EPA can help, there is no scientific evidence that it is the wonder that Scandinavian Naturals makes it out to be.

We then get to see lists of ingredients. After making a big deal about EPA, it turns out the only product which has any EPA in it are the capsules. The cream and shampoo don’t havea single drop of the stuff (not that there’s any evidence it would be absorbed through the skin, anyway).

The ingredients lists for the cream and shampoo appear to be “shotgun” treatments for inflammatory skin diseases. Between the two of them, allantoin and juniper tar have been specifically banned bythe FDA for use in products for dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis and psoriasis due to a lack proof of efficacy (this doesn’t mean that these ingredients aren’t useful, only that little or no solid evidence has been presented to the FDA).

Note that regardless of the name, all the Scandinavian Naturals sites show a Pennsylvania address, so the company does probably fall under the FDA’s jurisdiction.

Both products also contain Dead Sea salts, which may or may not have an effect, propolis, which can cause atopic dermatitis or other allergic reactions, and a boatload of other ingredients which may or may not be useful or allergenic (again, regardless of the company name, there are several ingredients which sound distinctly unnatural).

They list no ingredients as “active,” which may be a way of circumventing U.S. law as it pertains to advertising medications. They also do not mention any specific “inflammatory skin condition,” probably for the same reason. By not doing either, they are, in effect, making no claims that any of this stuff can treat any specific disease, and so they can’t be taken to court for making unsubstantiated advertising claims.

The capsules are where the EPA comes into play. They claim “high amounts” of EPA and DHA in each capsule, but never specifically say how much. At least one study on EPA claims that to raise the serum concentrations of EPA by a factor of 3, it takes 6 grams of dietary EPA each and every day. If the capsules are small (and a 6-gram capsule would be pretty big), then customers might find it prohibitively expensive to use these products to find what’s been described as a “modest” amount of help. Eating “oily” fish might be a better alternative.

Note also that on the order pages, the customer is required to call the company for pricing on X-Ori products. Other resellers of X-Ori on the Web post prices. I think it’s quite odd that the manufacturer itself does not.

March 31, 2002, Update: All of the below pages are down — Scandinavian Naturals apparently no longer sells X-Ori.

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The information provided here is not medical advice. This is not a self-help web site. Seek professional advice before beginning, ending, or changing treatments for any disease or condition. See the legal info page for more information.

This page created on 20000105, and last modified on 20100123.
Copyright © 2000 by Dave W.

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