How We Test Products

At Body Freedom, we understand you ought to feel confident and assured in the decision-making process regarding your health choices and the information that guides you in making them. Particularly, healthcare products you use repeatedly and where your health is at stake—you are deserving of trustworthy recommendations. We are diligent, cautious, and oversee the research of each product we rigorously test and eventually recommend.

We begin our product recommendation procedure, initially with market research and consultation with healthcare practitioners and experts for their industry insights. Then we start testing products, primarily remotely at home, but also in university laboratories and research facilities where our CEO, Mark Storey has access as a university professor and teaching staff at Belle Vue College.

After thoroughly and comprehensively testing products, every review article goes through a sequence of fact checks and is medically reviewed by one of our appointed health specialists on our Body Freedom Medical Review Board. Occasionally we may receive affiliate commissions from purchases made through our articles but this does not influence our endorsement. Our recommendations remain impartial and are advocated based on functionality, performance, scientific evidence, test results, and first-hand experience.

Our Testing Process

Before our product testing process even begins, our senior editors and writers scour the marketplace, thoroughly researching and liaising with industry experts to envisage the parameters on what to evaluate each product for. Our experts include medical professionals, analysts, and nutritionists who exert their efforts to formulate a precise testing methodology—we then use this to support us in rating products for a variety of markers such as functionality, ease of use, overall value, amongst others. Using software we can quantify these qualities on a scale of one to ten next to each product which is then averaged together formulating the star rating displayed next to each product name.

We factor in retailers, prices, customer reviews, scientific backing, medical endorsements, and brand credibility when selecting products for review. We do not accept products for free and purchase all the products that we test.

For example, when selecting Phallosan Forte to test at the Belle Vue College XR Lab, we decided to test it because it is FDA approved and has an active patent, making it unique in its design. Surpassing the objective quantitative testing results such as traction force, we’re also observing qualitative analysis: Is it comfortable to wear for a long time? Can it be worn to sleep? Is it easy to wear for a first-time user? We take responsibility to audit the performance data and relay it as easily-understood explanations you can trust. We draw special attention to the pros and cons of each product to improve your understanding and avoid decision-making paralysis.

Please bear in mind that although we update our content frequently and stay up to date with important information, products are sometimes subject to recalls and edited user guidance. For that reason, we encourage you to stay abreast of official notifications from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts with regard to product purchases.

Testing in The Lab

The XR Lab is located at D126 in the library at Belle Vue College. Primarily it is used for virtual reality but being an associate professor, Mark Storey is able to test various products side by side to evaluate how they directly compare to each other. We can represent unboxing, functionality, and observations from testers in the video, photo, and written form. This equips us with the most encompassing, comprehensive, and transparent product testing strategy so you will have ample information on how each product holds up.

In the university lab, our writers, testers, and editors assess products under adjuration from certified medical health experts (A physician from our medical review board is in constant contact remotely from their location)using the precise testing methodologies they outlined prior to testing. We are experimental with our testing also and think outside the box. When testing the Penimaster Pro, we tried as many angles and ways of attaching the belt for accuracy and safety.

Testing At Home

We understand that the majority of the products we recommend will be used primarily in the home so we check to see how they behave in the real-life application. Certain parameters cannot be evaluated in the lab such as delivery and setup, durability over time: Cumulative effects of supplements over the span of a month? How much discomfort was felt after a night’s sleep wearing the Phallosan?

Similar to the tests done in the lab, the at-home testing procedures still require the involvement of writers and editors still required to go in line with the medically approved testing methods. Surveys are mandated to be completed by testers to rank fundamental features and any critiques or insights are noted for further exploration.

Why Trust Body Freedom

The product recommendation you receive from Body Freedom follows our strict editorial guidelines. Although may receive an affiliate commission from a portion of products we recommend, we do not accept products for free and purchase all products before we test them. Thus ensuring our editorial integrity and eliminating dictatorship of our content and product consideration from third parties such as vendors, sales clerks, or public relations agencies.

Ahead of testing, we execute meticulous and expansive market research—from studying the current literature on product safety and soliciting medical specialists in their respective fields of expertise for the most suitable approach, areas of concern, and most significant things to seek out in the said product.

Once the product review has been written, it undergoes rigorous fact-checking for accuracy and is medically reviewed by a medical professional on the Body Freedom Medical Review Board. In spite of that, we invariably instruct you to consult your own healthcare provider to judge your individual suitability for a particular product—notably a product, supplement, or medical device.

At Body Freedom, we do not adopt a set-and-forget approach, our team is persistent in updating and maintaining the freshness, accuracy, and helpfulness of our recommendations. It can be infuriating to discover a product is out of stock after successfully adding it to your cart, on account of this we have designated editors to lessen the likelihood of that happening to improve your user experience. Read more about our editorial process.

Meet Our Editorial Team

		Mark Storey Mark Storey has led Body Freedom as co-founder and CEO for over a decade and oversees all editorial content and business operations. Mark Storey is the founder of Body Freedom collaborative. A nonprofit organization to empower body confidence whether fully clothed or nude and clothes-free. He is an Associate professor of philosophy and editor of Nude & Natural Magazine. Mark is also the author of a book, Cinema Au Naturel: A History of Nudist Film, and editor of another, Theatre au Naturel: A Collection of Naturist Plays.
		Daniel Johnson Daniel Lorenz Johnson is editor-in-chief at Body Freedom. He studied at the University of Washington and Vancouver Film School and co-founded Body Freedom with Mark Storey a decade ago. Daniel’s work also involves advocating human rights, ecological economics, environmental issues, naturopathic medicine, humanure composting, and the benefits of shifting to a high plant–based, mostly raw vegan diet.
		Kathy Roy Gaughran Kathy is a marketing strategist at Body Freedom. Her specialty includes working closely with practices, hospitals, and medical groups of all profiles. She is also a frequent speaker appearing at numerous national, local, and state healthcare associations. She is a member of the American Marketing Association and The Direct Marketing Association. Kathy’s LinkedIn Profile.
		Suzanne Briggs Susan is a senior editor at Body Freedom. She has an expansive background in all elements of medical and scientific/technical publication production, including strategy oversight, copy-editing, and proofreading. She holds a biochemistry degree with ample experience in both scholarly journal and textbook production as well as commercial magazines. Susan’s LinkedIn Profile.