# What's the deal with Epil-Stop and Spray? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 5, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946 "2001-08-05T02:27:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/1 "2001-08-05T02:27:42Z")
Letterman has been drilling this product into my head for the past few weeks. You know - the spray that magically removes unwanted body hair? Finally, this morning, my fiancee and I watched a few minutes of the actual infomercial. I was horrified and intrigued. I did a little research and discovered that people are being treated for chemical burns after using this product. Yikes. Hopefully not in the bikini zone! 🙂 Questions are as follows: 1. How can this company continue to sell a product that seriously burns those use use it as directed? 2. What is the active ingredient and how does it work? 3. If lawsuits are brought against the company that makes Epil-Stop (as they undoubtedly will), can Letterman and CBS be sued for promoting it? It’s presented as satirically but could be easily misinterpreted as an official endorsement. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/2 "2001-08-05T04:57:49Z")
and it also doesn’t work very well! The local news here, KHNL I think bought a couple and gave them to 1 girl with fine hair and 1 guy with thick hair. They tried it for the specified time in the specified way and they found pretty much no help. The woman still had to shave and when the guy was shown using it, the hair basically had as much hair as he did before he did the wiping. WIth only a few percent of the hairs coming off! I’m curious as to why Letterman would promote it? ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/3 "2001-08-05T05:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by evilhanz \* > \*\* > 3. If lawsuits are brought against the company that makes Epil-Stop (as they undoubtedly will), can Letterman and CBS be sued for promoting it? It’s presented as satirically but could be easily misinterpreted as an official endorsement. \*\* Absurd. Letterman could never be held responsible. Oops…Southpark is on…I finish this later. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/4 "2001-08-05T15:11:33Z")
As for what’s in the stuff: From the news report about people being treated for burns after using it: > [@](#): > > “According to the manufacturer, EPIL-STOP contains thioglycolic acid salts, emollients and moisturizers, and is supposed to have a pH of 10.0 to 10.2,” Olson said, “In fact, one of the victims brought the container into the California Poison Control System center in San Francisco, and we measured a pH of greater than 12.” From [http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic503.htm:](http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic503.htm:) > [@](#): > > Chemical depilatories remove part of the hair shaft and are easy and painless to use. The standard chemical > depilatory agents, available in gels, creams, lotions, aerosols, or roll-on forms, are the salts of thioglycolic acid (sodium or calcium thioglycolate) that were patented in the 1930s for dehairing cattle hides. Thioglycolate depilatories work by hydrolyzing and disrupting disulfide bonds of hair keratin, causing the hair to break in half and > allowing the hair to separate from the skin. Depilatories are good for use on the legs, bikini line, face, and > underarms, and they perform best when hair is at a reasonable length. Before using a depilatory, carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions. Test a small site before use to assess for irritation or allergic reactions. Do not use these agents on eyebrows, near mucous membranes, or on broken skin. > > Adverse effects include skin irritation, burns, folliculitis, ingrown hairs, and allergic contact dermatitis to either thioglycolate or fragrances. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2001, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/5 "2001-08-05T20:15:03Z")
Here is a related threaad about a similar product Straight Dope Message Board - Does IGIA spray really work? [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=79089](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=79089) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/6 "2001-08-06T18:21:06Z")
Just to clear this up, Letterman isn’t hawking this product, he’s mocking this product. ---
**Author:** ![evilhanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba8739/32.png) [@evilhanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilhanz)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2001, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/7 "2001-08-08T21:31:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Just to clear this up, Letterman isn’t hawking this product, he’s mocking this product. \*\* You’re right. I guess I didn’t make it clear in my original post. He is certainly satirizing the product and the infomercial genre as he has done with several other products in the past, including the “Garden Weasel”. It’s obvious to you and me. 🙂 However, the products are presented on Letterman’s show in the same manner as those hawking them. A simple-minded person, or one willing to swear that they were unfamiliar with the show’s format might be able to get a lawyer to present the case before a judge. All in all, I guess it’s an unlikely scenario. ---
**Author:** ![Bluepony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-epil-stop-and-spray/74946/8 "2001-08-09T00:43:44Z")
…hey, I like my Garden Weasel. Makes a great bug killer.