Some macho dudes at NYC clubs rub allegedly Preparation H on their torsos to temporarily shrink fat deposits and look buff. It's apparently an old competitive body-building trick. From ABC News:
"The bodybuilders I know use it on their obliques — their love handles — to take away any lingering water weight before shows," (club bouncer Rob) Fitzgerald told ABC News. "The guys in the clubs heard about this, and the use of it spread virally like some kind of Internet meme."
Preparation H contains a medication called phenylephrine HCL that — when used for the drug's intended purpose — will shrink the swollen tissues of hemorrhoids. It works by constricting the nearby blood vessels that feed blood and fluid to the area.
But the ingredient doesn't discriminate what kind of tissue it will shrink, hence the underground beauty tips of applying Preparation H under the eyes, on love handles or other places. None of which Wyeth, the makers of Preparation H, support.
Link (via Dose Nation)
