This review examines a product called Crystal Star Muscle Relax. Crystal Star supplements began in 1978 and sells a wide range of health supplements. This product, Muscle Relax, claims to help soothe your muscles post-workouts by managing tissue inflammation and muscle spasms. But can you count on the ingredients in this formula to follow through on these claims? We set out to analyze Crystal Star Muscle Relax to find out what you can expect from this product.
The active ingredient in this formula is a proprietary herbal blend composed of 11 natural herbs. They are:
- Black Haw Bark
- Kava Kava Root
- Lobelia Passion Leaf
- Cramp Bark
- Mexican Wild Yam Root
- Red Raspberry Leaf
- Rosemary
- Jamaica Dogwood Bark
- Valerian Root
- St. John’s Wort
The manufacturer, Crystal Star, claims that the notable herbs are Jamaica Dogwood Bark for infrequent nerve and muscle pain, Valerian Root for helping muscles relax, Cramp Bark to ease muscle cramps and St. John’s Wort to help promote relaxation. However, there are no clinical studies referenced to prove that these herbs can deliver on these promises. What we did find was that each of the manufacturer’s claims were starred, but there was no explanation as to what the stars mean. This is puzzling.
While we are always in favor of natural herbal ingredients, we like to see them in combination with vitamins and minerals that are clinically proven to combat leg cramps and relieve muscle spasms. This formula could have been boosted with Magnesium and B vitamins for a powerful supplement. Instead, it feels lacking.
This product is relatively cheap but if you are looking for long-term relief from leg cramps, it may not save you any money as the manufacturer suggests taking 2-3 capsules 2-4 times per day or as needed. At this rate, it would be possible to finish a bottle in a week, making this a very expensive supplement. Crystal Star does try and offset these costs by offering a 10% discount for consumers who sign up for an automatic purchase of this product every month. We are usually uncomfortable with such auto-ship programs as most consumers don’t know if they will feel after taking supplements month after month. Additionally, it can be next to impossible to reach a customer service representative to cancel your standing monthly purchase.
Where this product fails to impress us is its return policy. While there is one, it is for credit only. There is no option for getting your money back should this product not work for you. There are also many stipulations in place in order to return this supplement. You have either 30 days or 60 days depending on where you buy it. This is upsetting because it can take a month for some consumers to actually see results. Is the manufacturer assuming that after a month this product won’t work? It’s unclear and leaves us uneasy as to what we can expect. We are left feeling slightly disappointed in this product, to say the least.
Is Crystal Star Muscle Relax Effective?
Because of the lack of a money-back guarantee, we needed to check customer reviews to ascertain the chances of this product working. What we found was a large discrepancy between the customer reviews.
First of all, there are no reviews on Crystal Star’s website. The ones we perused on third-party sites, such as Amazon, showed a real mix of positive and negative reviews. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of negative reviews, most of which state that this product does not work. Many consumers confirmed our concerns about the price as they must take a dose every 4 hours in order to be effective. Other customers found that while taking a large dose helped their muscle soreness, it made them feel a little loopy and out of it. It is incumbent on each individual to read reviews in order to decide for themselves if they are willing to try this product.
Is Crystal Star Muscle Relax Safe?
As with any new supplement or diet introduced into your daily life, we always advise talking to your healthcare professional about possible contraindications of any pre-existing medical conditions or medications that you are taking. Supplements work differently for everyone and the effects vary between individuals so it is always a good idea to run any health changes with a professional.
Summary
Crystal Star Muscle Relax is an all-natural supplement formulated for cramped or sore muscles as well as minor aches and pains. This beautiful bottle contains 11 natural herbs and is manufactured by a company that has been working in the health field for 41 years. However, there are a few issues we have with this product.
One issue is the presence of a proprietary herbal blend. While there is a list of all 11 herbs, there is no transparency as to how much of each herb is included in this blend.
A second issue is the absence of B vitamins and Magnesium in this formula. There are conclusive studies about how both B vitamins and Magnesium work to relieve and prevent leg cramps and muscle spasms.
The third issue we have is with the price. Crystal Star instructs consumers to take quite a lot of these tablets per day in order to soothe sore muscles. This results in having to purchase 1 bottle per week! At such prohibitive costs, this is not a realistic long-term health plan.
If we could turn to a solid money-back guarantee, we would have felt better about Crystal Star Muscle Relax. However, consumers are only entitled to store credit and may only have 30 days in which to do that. When a manufacturer truly believes that their product will work, they offer a real money-back guarantee. Our other product reviewed, Cramprin, has one for 60 days with the option of returning open and empty bottles. For us, that says it all.
