Our “Before & After” Pics Don’t Lie!
Did you know? SiO never retouches its Before and After photos. We explain why, as well as how our founder Gigi Howard came up with SiO.
Gigi's Hit a Wrinkle
In her late twenties, Gigi Howard had wrinkles on her mind. Even at this young age, the PR maven and former model began noticing creases in her decolletage, which she attributed to side sleeping. “My face still looked young, but my chest made me look much older than I actually was,” Howard told Anna Nicholson, in a 2017 interview with Shen-Beauty. “I became so insecure; I even started wearing turtlenecks and scarves in the middle of summer.”
A “Complete 180” in Beauty
After one hundred and eighty (180!) product prototypes and four years of development, Gigi found an exciting solution, and SiO Beauty was born. SiO’s medical-grade silicone patches have been referred to as “tiny miracles”: most of SiO’s customers experience overnight results when they begin using these products.
With the support of an expert team of medical professionals, like Dr. Dendy Engelman, Gigi has been testing, designing and distributing her line of high quality, overnight, wrinkle-smoothing products ever since. Not only do Gigi’s products work, but they work in just a few hours.
And while the skin vs. gravity war wages on, we at SiO pride ourselves on the proof. SiO’s products have been tested in extensive dermatologist-approved clinical studies, as well as being validated by personal, customer testimonials and reviews. SiO is committed to letting true results speak for themselves. Which is why SiO doesn’t alter any “Before and After” photographs.
The Pics Don’t Lie: Our Retouch-free “Before and After” Philosophy
As a matter of course, most fashion and beauty photography includes a little bit of “fixing in post" (post-production) - also known as retouching. A blemish or red-eye might get erased, or a model’s hair will be made to look shinier between the studio photograph and the final, published version. In an extreme scenario, a model’s body is digitally re-sculpted. Perceived “flaws” are often minimized, for the sake of a glossy industry standard.
Gigi Howard envisioned a line of beauty products that would flatter and support women from all walks of life, so all of our professional “Before and After” shots are taken from the same, close-up, straight-on angle. Our at-home photographers are often our happy (even if initially skeptical) customers who take selfies using only natural lighting or the flash on their smartphone. In fact, even our founder, Gigi uses her smartphone to take quick snaps. You can see Gigi’s results in the image with the “S” necklace (her son’s initial) in the photo above or of her eye images below.
When you purchase any SiO products, including our best-selling patch items such as the SiO Facelift, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not the product is promising an impossible outcome due to altered or enhanced photographic techniques. SiO stands by everything it provides to its customers, and that includes the “Before” and “After” images.
While photo manipulation is almost as old as the art form itself, it’s one thing for an outlet to flaunt their adventurous beauty photography, but quite another to “improve” images that already claim to be “realistic,” like “Before and After” photos. But because SiO is focused on real women, experiencing real results, we do not retouch our “Before” or “After” images. We want you to be able to have accurate expectations and to experience the real difference our customers swear by, first-hand.
It is ultimately in no one’s interest for SiO to sell artificially enhanced “After” shots (not good for the customer and not good for the brand), or to trick the eye with deceptive body angles. SiO wants the experience captured by "After" images to accurately mirror the results you will have on the first night after you buy a patch and try it at home, as well as the benefits that accrue over time.
Just What the Doctor Ordered
SiO remains committed to developing and promoting products that have been clinically tested, cleanly manufactured, and medically approved. Our senior medical advisor, the New York-based Dr. Dendy Engelman, supports the SiO product line for providing a reliable, safe and injection-free alternative to a filler such as Botox(™). In a 2016 press release, Dr. Engelman made a strong statement in support of SiO, telling clients: "SiO offers the first, clinically-tested, affordable at-home solution for the skin, that creates a unique microclimate, reducing wrinkles in just 8 hours."
According to Dr. Engelman and other professionals, our medical-grade patches have been clinically proven to reduce wrinkles and skin roughness and will help combat UV-damage. Studies have also shown that SiO’s patches significantly increase skin hydration, and can help repair the epidermis of skin already in peril.
Stay Awhile, Look Around…
To recap: SiO does not use Photoshop to retouch Before and After photos, because it’s important to us that you see and believe the real effects of our products before you purchase anything. We’re not excited by a beauty culture that isn’t 100% up-front about a product.
And in the spirit of this constant quest to “keep it 100,” we like to offer our customers beauty tips and tricks to supplement the products we’re proud to endorse. Elsewhere on the SiO blog, you can find recipes for restorative face masks or dietary tips that may lead to healthier skin. So stick around, and stay a while. You can trust that our products (and the people behind them) only want (the real!) you here.
Feel free to browse through our customer's reviews to explore what real SiO users are saying about us. Or, even better, try our products for yourself. Your own “Before and After” shot will be a welcome addition to the collection!