For the cover of Goop Magazine’s inaugural issue, founder Gwyneth Paltrow is covered in goop. Got it? Good. Now here are some thoughts on self care, banishing pesky cesarean scars with live bee stings, and more.
Paltrow touches upon the shaky science of feeling good in the new Condé Nast publication’s editor’s letter, writing, “For me, when I take my shoes off and walk in the grass, it’s so healing. It’s hard to find scientific evidence for the idea that ‘I feel good.’ But by trying, you get so much juice out of life.”
Ok, *inhales deep, purifying breath* I’ll try. In August, industry watchdog group Truth in Advertising announced that its investigation into Paltrow’s wellness company of which the magazine is only a facet—Goop—had turned up “50 instances in which the company claims, either expressly or implicitly, that its products (or those it promotes) can treat, cure, prevent, alleviate the symptoms of, or reduce the risk of developing a number of ailments.” Unfortunately “the company does not possess the competent and reliable scientific evidence required by law to make such claims.” In other words, there may be a snake in that life-juicing grass.
Here’s the thing about Goop. On the one hand, it would seem some of Goop’s products are overpriced and advertised using scant, if not dubious research, scientific and otherwise, and that’s messed up. On the other hand, does anyone buy a $66 jade egg that tones the muscles and energy of one’s vagina, or a $120 pack of anti-anxiety stickers because they really want to make a rational, thrifty life choice? Should Gwyneth Paltrow take their money? Should she roll around in mud? Yes? I’m asking honestly because, you see, I’d like to feel good about Goop but I just don’t know how.
And, as promised, here’s more of that Paltrow letter within: “The doctor stings you [with a live bee] like it’s an acupuncture needle. I had it done on my cesarean scar… I had some buckling in the scar, and it really evened it out.”