Note: top ten does not mean they will work for everybody. What I mean for “top ten” is that they are very important, although the reason for their importance varies.
Epidermal growth factor. Safe and effective but too expensive to use in skin care until a few years ago is now available and accessible. Yay for biotechnology!
Polypodium leucotomos Few actives can help with psoriasis, this is one of them
Betulinic acid This natural extract from birch an help moderate (and even reverse) the nasty effect of UV radiation on the skin (wrinkles, skin cancer).
Fucoidan: extracted from brown sea weeds, this polysaccharide enhances the skin’s immune response
Nobiletin: extracted from some citric fruits, it decreases excessive sebum production, starting point for acne
Resveratrol: the anti-age active. Its mechanism of action is complicated and continues to be elucidated. Find it in red wine and in Skin Actives products.
Antioxidant enzymes: an absolute necessity to prevent the graying of hair and to alleviate vitiligo, the use of antioxidant enzymes in skin care is very recent because until recently they were too expensive (until biotechnology made mass production possible).
Keratinocyte growth factor: for women “victims” of fashion who have been plucking eyebrows until they disappeared, or who have lost most eyelashes to mascara, KGF (in our special serum) is a way to get back natural eyebrows and natural eyelashes.
Phytoestrogens: if a woman is peri- or post-menopausal and decided against hormone replacement therapy, this is one way to help skin and scalp delay the onset of aging caused by the fall of hormones.
Vitamin A (retinoids) used in conjunction with other actives, this active does not need to irritate the skin: when used at night in its retinyl ester form it will maintain skin renewal in a safe manner.
Skin Actives Scientific is a scientific based and environmentally conscious company. We have deep roots, going back decades, in environmental policy, ethics and energy conservation, from long before these terms were turned into a marketing gimmick. We, personally, family and friends have been involved in environmental conferences and in the establishment of policy and ethical rules for science and sustainable development as related to science. Why do I tell you this? I wanted to explain that we are very up-to-date with environmental news. Recently, we were surprised to find out that epidermal growth factor, a protein Skin Actives has been producing safely for many years using bacterial fermentation is now being made in Iceland (for sale in Europe) using methods we find objectionable. Moreover, these objectionable methods are being marketed as progressive!
The EGF used in Bioeffect (marketed in the U.K.) and obtained from genetically modified barley plants is probably as effective as Skin Actives EGF, and as the native human protein. EGF is a small protein that is not modified in significant ways after translation, so it does not need special “processing” that could possibly require the use of plants to express it. We at Skin Actives are against the use of plant genetic engineering in applied science, because we are aware of the danger of genes escaping into the environment through genetically modified (GM) plants. If you look at my publications you will see that I have the expertise and credentials to construct genetically modified plants. In my opinion plant genetic engineering should be used as a tool for understanding the processes involved in plant life, i.e. basic science research, not as a marketing gimmick.
It is really ironic is that when Whole Foods and Trader Joe proudly announce that their products are free of genetically modified corn or soy, a U.K. company comes out marketing their skin care products as made with genetically modified barley! Where have these people been all these years?
Other synthetic peptides should be subject to long term safety studies to make sure that do not have deleterious effects, but they are not. The advantage is that, even if they are bad for you, most synthetic peptides will be broken down too soon to become a nuisance. Recently, I have seen a “stable”, cyclic peptide offered as an ingredient for skin care. We can always hope that these new, stable peptides will be useless (as most synthetic peptides in use now), but what if it actually did have a biological effect? In a delicately balanced biological system, it is a lot more likely that an active chemical will be deleterious rather than beneficial, and the longer it stays intact the longer it will exert its influence. Half lives are important in pharmacology but “cosmeceuticals” can get away with little or no examination.
At Skin Actives we use synthetic peptides that imitate beneficial natural peptides like copper tripeptide or collagen synthesis stimulating peptides (palmitoyl pentapeptide, palmitoyl tetrapeptide).
Stem cells are cells in multicellular organisms that can divide and differentiate into diverse specialized cell types. Stem cells can also divide to produce more stem cells. There are not that many stem cells in our adult bodies. Our epidermis basal layer contains stem cells; other tissues and organs that harbor small subpopulations (0.1 to 3%) of adult stem (progenitor cells) are vascular walls, heart, brain, skeletal muscles and adipose tissues as well as the epithelium of the eyes, lung, liver, digestive tract, etc.
What is it that the skin care companies are they trying to sell to you? Extracts of apple stem cells or culture media (discarded after human stem cells were grown in it). Forget about those claims: our skin already has its own stem cells, and you will not benefit from anybody else’s stem cells (One exception: people with some types of cancer affecting their immune system). Intact (not extract) plant stem cells will be very useful if you are thinking of growing some roots, or getting some leaves to take advantage of the beautiful sun out there. But make sure you are using stem cells (meristems) of the same species (a very similar variety may work). For example, a budwood with meristem cells from an existing tree could be grafted onto you, the rootstock. These meristems will allow you to grow shoots, flower and make lovely oranges for fresh juice every morning, if you are an orange tree. If you are not an orange tree but a human, then I suggest you work at keeping your own stem cells as happy as they can be. What about our own, precious stem cells? They allow our skin to heal and renew. Unfortunately, they also age. Damaged by the environment, they can self-repair to a certain extent, and telomerase is not a problem. But UV, stress of different kinds will affect stem cells, because they are not magic cells, they contain fragile DNA like any other cell. To keep your skin stem cells healthy, think about avoiding any further stress like sunbathing and make sure you use Skin Actives ‘Be-Kind-Rewind’ cream. Stem cells can always use some nutrition, so go for our coconut endosperm, full of nutrients made especially to keep the coconut embryo meristems developing happily.
Telomeres are the ends (caps) of chromosomes, and telomere shortening is a mechanism that limits cell proliferation. The Nobel Prize of 2009 (Physiology or Medicine) was awarded to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak, the scientists that discovered an enzyme, telomerase, that adds DNA to the ends of chromosomes to balance out the DNA that is naturally lost as cells grow (see http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2009/adv.pdf) . The loss of DNA from telomeres might have something to do with aging and, to add to the significance of this discovery, it turned out that in almost all cancers, telomerase is turned on so those cells grow indefinitely.
When it comes to telomerase, what is impossible? It is impossible to benefit your skin with telomerase applied externally. This is good, trust me, because the last thing you need is activated telomerase out of control in your body. Why can’t you increase telomerase activity by “injecting” telomerase inside your cell nuclei? For two reasons: the telomerase complex is huge and complex (see figure 2) and your cells are built to prevent such an invasion.
The enzymatic part of this complex, TERT, reverse- transcribes telomere DNA onto the ends of linear chromosomes (extending telomeres shortened by regular DNA replication). In contrast to most normal somatic cells, which show little or no telomerase activity, immune cells up-regulate telomerase in concert with activation. The cell and nuclei membranes have been designed by evolution to be practically impermeable to foreign molecules. The reason why viruses can still infect human cells is because they possess sophisticated mechanisms to evade detection and penetrate formidable defenses. In fact, one way that scientists have used to increase telomerase activity is by attaching it to a virus-like particle. This is sophisticated science, and the techniques involved, like cell-replacement and gene therapy are still in the experimental stages (cell complexity is such that even when everything seems perfect these therapies still fail).
Unfortunately scientific reality has not prevented some companies such as ReVive from marketing products containing Telomerase. I think that eventually ingredient lists like that of ReVive including telomerase will disappear, because it is so obviously silly. What you will see a lot more is claims of telomerase temporary activators like TA65, a proprietary extract of Astragalus root. Astragalus root was already used to stimulate the immune system and wound healing. When the chemicals responsible for these activities were identified, they were found to be the cycloartane-type saponins. Further studies found that these saponins stimulate telomerase.
Let’s speculate about possible benefits from temporary activators: is the Hayflick limit temporarily removed, i.e. the number of possible cell divisions for a non-stem cell increase to, say, 70 from 60? I have not seen that kind of clear effect in scientific publications and, in any case, other factors have been found to affect telomerase activity. For example, short term stress will stimulate telomerase in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, but long term stress will depress it (Epel et al. 2010). So don’t count yet on improving and extending your life by buying an expensive supplement like TA65: a few milligrams will cost you enough to stress you, negating the beneficial effect of the chemical. Instead, maybe you could use instead our resveratrol (Xia et al. 2008) or Astragalus root extract?
I am already seeing patent applications for synthetic telomerase activators. Please keep away from these synthetic activators. It will take decades for testing to ensure their safety but irresponsible companies may start offering long before safety is established.
References:
Epel ES, Lin J, Dhabhar FS, Wolkowitz OM, Puterman E, Karan L, Blackburn EH. (2010). Dynamics of telomerase activity in response to acute psychological stress. Brain Behav Immun. 24:531-539
Xia L, Wang XX, Hu XS, Guo XG, Shang YP, Chen HJ, Zeng CL, Zhang FR, Chen JZ. (2008) Resveratrol reduces endothelial progenitor cells senescence through augmentation of telomerase activity by Akt-dependent mechanisms. Br J Pharmacol.155:387-94.
This list will not work for everybody, but it will work for almost everybody
1) Vitamin C for its antioxidant properties and its capacity to stimulate collagen synthesis. In its diverse forms, ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl palmitate and more
2) Epidermal growth factor (EGF) Because it stimulates cell division and declines as we age
3) Retinoids, because they stimulate skin renewal and help with old scars, wrinkles and almost everything. Use it topically in one of its many forms, but I think it is best as retinyl acetate (like we use in SAS) because it does not require prescription and will not irritate your skin.
4) Building blocks for your skin to be able to make new cells, proteins and hyaluronic acid. Your skin cannot follow orders unless it has the building materials required to do the job. Amino acids, vitamins, and more, you will find them all in our sea kelp bioferment.
5) Antioxidants. Your own cells form oxidants that will add on to what the city produces. Don’t look for the magic antioxidant, you need a good mix, some water soluble, some oil soluble, the more the better.
6) Sunscreen. Look at your arm and then your under-arm. You will see how the sun ages your skin: loss of elasticity, sun spots, wrinkles and the invisible DNA mutations. Reverse the damage and prevent new damage.
Always come to Skin Actives for the best possible actives at high enough concentrations to do their job, and at prices that will allow you to look after your skin properly and for many years to come.
The actives I will mention here are not the ones you see in every advertisement. Why? Because first, we must do no harm to our skin.
There is no point in using a chemical that helps with acne today at the cost of aging your skin for decades to come. So, don’t look here
for benzoyl peroxide or alcohol. The price, not in $$$ but in damage to your skin, is too great.
My list of favorite actives for acneic skin
1) Salicylic acid and willow bark extract to increase the speed of skin renewal and keep pores open. Open pores will not get clogged
with fats, making the perfect “home” for the acne bacteria
2) Niacinamide: anti-inflammatory, anti-itch
3) EGCG from green tea, to decrease secretion of sebum and starve
bacteria of their favorite food!
5) yeast beta glucan, to enhance the immune response
6) saw palmetto extract (inhibits 5 alpha-reductase activity and conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, inhibits binding
of dihydrotestosterone to androgen receptor)
7) a retinoid (as retinyl acetat) to accelerate skin renewal and keep pores open
8) nobiletin, the newcomer to acne control, inhibits synthesis of the type of fats the acne bacterium likes, and slows down proliferation
of fat cells.
9) sea kelp bioferment, to enhance the immune response and get the acne lesion to a immediate stop.
There are many more actives, and I use many of them in our formulation. I prefer to use several actives that affect the process
in different ways and enhance each other, always taking into account that acne control should not be done at the expense of the long term
health of the skin.
Most of us don’t choose to lose eyelashes. Bad health happens, and chemotherapy to treat cancer is sometimes unavoidable. If you, a friend or family member is in such a situation,get the Skin Actives KGF serum. This setum contains nutrients known to help regrow eyelashes, and it also includes the hard to find (we at Skin Actives make our own) keratinocyte growth factor. This is a serum not just for those who wish to have longer and thicker eye lashes just because they look nice but because our faces look different without or with few eyelashes.
Eye brows can also be lost in the course of an illness or chemotherapy, but fashion can also be a cause. Fashion is fickle, and sometimes, especially in some cultures, it demands thin eye brows. By the time fashion changes, eye brows are reluctant or simply unable to re-grow, even if you finally leave the tweezers aside. If you decide it is time to get back the natural (usually beautiful) shape of your eye brows, it may be too late. Try then Skin Actives serum with KGF. We can’t make any promises, because results will depend on the individual situation, and years of tweezers may have killed the follicles. But it is worth trying. If you have used electrolysis or laser treatment to kill the follicles, it is very unlikely that there will be anything left to grow, but you can always try.
The Skin Actives serum with KGF does NOT use any glaucoma medication (like bimatoprost), so you will not need a prescription. Most important, our product will NOT cause a change in eye color or skin pigmentation.
Always come to Skin Actives for the best quality skin care products, we have the scientific knowledge necessary to do a good and safe job.
Skin Actives Scientific sells copper peptide, a tripeptide (three amino acids linked in a short chain). This peptide must be used at the concentration indicated, because high concentrations will promote collagen breakdown rather than its synthesis. Also, avoid using copper (or other metals) it before or after vitamin C (ascorbic acid or derivatives) as metals can interact with ascorbic acid and form undesirable products.
Contrary to what marketing tries to sell, copper peptide is no magic elixir. There is no credible evidence that it will help with hair loss or acne. Use copper peptide “properly” and you will get the best results.
In human serum, copper spontaneously binds to glycyl-histidyl-lysine (GHK), a tripeptide complex that has high affinity for the copper (II) ion. This complex has been shown in vitro and in vivo to accelerate wound healing. One study reported that the addition of GHK-copper complex to human fibroblasts induced a specific, concentration-dependent stimulation of collagen synthesis. A later study demonstrated a dose-dependent stimulation of glycosaminoglycan synthesis, specifically heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate, by adding GHK-copper complex to human skin fibroblasts.
At Skin Actives we have created this solution to be most useful in skin care products – easy to handle, but not sufficiently concentrated to liquefy a cream. By stimulating collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis, characteristic features of the postinflammatory phase of wound repair, the GHK-copper complex may contribute to the formation of the extracellular matrix and promote wound healing.
The name “copper peptide” is used for a synthetic tripeptide that is complexed with copper (Gly-His-Lys·Cu·HAc), a faithful imitation of one that actually exists in our body. Unfortunately, some people in marketing started using the name copper peptide for a completely different (and much cheaper) thing: soy protein (or any other inexpensive protein) hydrolyzate mixed with a copper salt (usually copper gluconate or copper chloride). This is NOT a copper peptide!
The whole point of scientific language is to be clear, and calling two different things with the same name is a no-no. On the other hand, it seems that sometimes the point of marketing is to confuse people and, for that, nothing better than to call two very different things with the same name. So it is not YOUR fault if you get confused.
So don’t be surprised if the suggested concentration for the real copper peptide is, say, 0.2% and for the other “fake copper peptide” is 4%.
I don’t know where the 4% concentration is coming from, but I have to assume that it is for the protein hydrolizate. Protein can be added in any concentration to a cream, the worse that it can happen is that the cream will look ugly. But 4% copper is too much for anything, as copper is needed by the body in very low amounts, as a cofactor of some enzymatic reactions (not like calcium that is used in large amounts). You can hurt yourself by taking too much copper.
Another common source of confusion is that manufacturers sell actives in dilute solutions. One example would be Matrixyl. So if a manufacturer suggest using Matrixyl at a 3% concentration, that is the concentration for the extremely diluted solution of the active palmitoyl pentapeptide, NOT for what Sederma calls Matrixyl, which is mostly solvent.
The way I choose a concentration of an active is by looking at the scientific publications that refer to that active. I am careful to stay low if the active has the potential to cause damage. Because copper peptide can also promote proteolysis of dermis proteins, it is important not to go too high, so that the user will get the good effects of the copper peptide but avoid the drawbacks.
NOTE: Amino acids are the subunits that make up a protein. Amino acids can join each other in a peptide bond through the loss of a water molecule: two amino acids joined in a peptide bond constitute a dipeptide, three a tripeptide, a five a pentapeptide, etc. A protein can be made up of just one or several polypeptides.
The sun is source of all life on Earth, but is not necessarily good for your skin.
The light of the sun comprises infrared (heat/invisible), visible light and ultraviolet. With the help of chlorophyll and other pigments, plants capture visible light and transform it into chemical energy usable by us, humans, and the rest of living creatures incapable of doing photosynthesis.
Ultraviolet light is classified into three categories: UVA (long wave, black light, 315 to 400 nm), which causes tanning, UVB (medium wave, 280 to 315 nm), which causes sunburn and UVC (short wave, germicidal, 100 to 280 nm), which is filtered out by the atmosphere and does not reach us.
All the (known) ways that the sun can damage your skin
Not everything UV light does to you is bad. Ultraviolet light (between 270 nm and 300 nm) reaching our skin breaks down 7-dehydrocholesterol flowing in the bloodstream, converting it into Vitamin D.
Now, look at the sun exposed part your arm: patches of hyperpigmentation, whitish areas where there is little melanin, and wrinkles, plus a little scar made by your dermatologist when she excised a dark, menacing looking mole. Now look at the “shaded” side of your arm and you will find youthful, elastic and smooth skin. Ultraviolet light stimulates melanin production and the melanin formed absorbs the UV radiation in sunlight, so it protects the cells from further UV damage, but significant melanin production takes about a week, so the first day on the beach your skin is fully exposed to the fiery sun, and unprotected by melanin.
Sunburn is a delayed ultraviolet B-induced erythema caused by an increase in blood flow to the affected skin that begins about 4 hours following exposure, peaking between 8-24 hours. The underlying cause of this vascular reaction is direct and indirect damage to specific cellular targets from photochemical reactions and the generation of reactive oxygen species. Damage to DNA, and the activation of several inflammatory pathways, particularly involving prostaglandins trigger this reaction, ultimately leading to vasodilation and edema. The development of redness implies that enough UV damage has occurred and that inflammatory pathways have been activated. Redness is not only painful; it is also a marker for severe UV damage and a predictor of worse things to come in years or decades.
There is a correlation between erythema and DNA damage; the UV wavelengths more efficient at producing erythema are also the most effective at forming pyrimidine dimers. Sunburn can be viewed as a marker for ultraviolet over-exposure that has some predictive power for skin cancer risk. There is a link between a history of repeated, severe sunburn and increased risk for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer.
And now, how SAS can help your sun damaged skin
Even if we are good at avoiding the sun and wearing sunscreen, few will have skin undamaged by the sun, because childhood exposure also counts. This is why it’s important to do regular skin checks. What else can you do? At Skin Actives, we developed a product that is unique: be kind rewind
cream. No other product has been designed to reverse sun damage, and together with our Vitamin A cream, you have the best actives to “rewind” both the visible and invisible effects of the sun. Look at our website for more information about the very special actives that SAS put together for you.
FDA proposes new sunscreen rules
The FDA has released a document with new rules about how a sunscreen can be labeled. I think these are great regulations which should help, at least a bit, to lift the myth that a cream, applied thinly to your skin, can make you impervious to damage by all powerful UV radiation. It can’t.
So forget about buying a “sunblock”, because in one year this designation will not be allowed anymore.
The following text is taken, almost word by word, from the FDA website.
The FDA regulations, which become effective in one year, establish a standard test for over-the-counter (=sold without a prescription) sunscreen products that will determine which products are allowed to be labeled as “Broad Spectrum.”
Products that pass this test will provide protection against both ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) and ultraviolet A radiation (UVA). Sunburn is primarily caused by UVB. Both UVB and UVA can cause sunburn, skin cancer, and premature skin aging. A certain percentage of a broad spectrum product’s total protection is against UVA.
Under the new regulations, sunscreen products that protect against all types of sun-induced skin damage will be labeled “Broad Spectrum” and “SPF 15” (or higher) on the front.
The new labeling will also tell consumers on the back of the product that sunscreens labeled as both Broad Spectrum and SPF 15 (or higher) not only protect against sunburn, but, if used as directed with other sun protection measures, can reduce the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging. For these broad spectrum products, higher SPF (Sun Protection Factor) values also indicate higher levels of overall protection.
By contrast, any sunscreen not labeled as “Broad Spectrum” or that has an SPF value between 2 and 14, has only been shown to help prevent sunburn.
FDA has been developing testing and labeling requirements for sunscreen products for decades. However, only recently have the data become sufficient to establish an accurate and reliable test for broad spectrum UV protection, he says.
To help consumers select and use sunscreens appropriately, the final regulations include these additional labeling provisions:
Sunscreen products that are not broad spectrum or that are broad spectrum with SPF values from 2 to 14 will be labeled with a warning that reads: “Skin Cancer/Skin Aging Alert: Spending time in the sun increases your risk of skin cancer and early skin aging.
This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging.”
Water resistance claims on the product’s front label must tell how much time a user can expect to get the declared SPF level of protection while swimming or sweating, based on standard testing. Two times will be permitted on labels: 40 minutes or 80 minutes.
Manufacturers cannot make claims that sunscreens are “waterproof” or “sweatproof, or identify their products as “sunblocks.” Also, sunscreens cannot claim protection immediately on application (for example, “instant protection”) or protection for more than two hours without reapplication, unless they submit data and get approval from FDA.
Our new Skin Actives Scientific sunscreen, coming soon, will follow the labeling rules proposed by the FDA, so we will be ready for when the changes become effective in 2012. To comply with the rules, especially to provide good protection against both UVA and UVB, we had to make some changes to the formulation, but we think you will be happy with the new sunscreen.
