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September 2010 - Newsletter #62- Acne Kit, Granulysin

Skin Actives News

What's New at Skin Actives

Once again we are very proud to announce a new, exclusive, active. Granulysin is is an acne fighting protein that keeps pores open and has antibacterial activity. This month we are including it in our upgraded ZitEnder, next month it will be available for sale to our DIY customers for their own formulations. As well as the new protein we have upgraded all the products in our acne kit. See below for some great information about dealing with acne.

About a week ago I received a note from a customer who was worried that our packaging was getting too fancy and we were abandoning our product centered approach. While we continue to upgrade our packaging we want everyone to know that we are getting a good deal on it and are not passing extra costs on. The new packaging is also a bit lighter than the old one and will help us to keep our shipping charges steady even as postal rates increase.

I would like to thank everyone who sent me a note about their favorite bloggers, we have sent out lots of samples and hope for great reviews and new friends. If you have a favorite blog please send me the details and we will see if we can send out more samples.

Brief Notes

• October will be 'Do-It-Yourself' month. Our newsletter will focus on home formulators with new recipes, tips, and a bunch of new actives.
• We have signed a contract for distribution of our Trollskin tattoo 'aftercare' line. The line will be launched in Las Vegas at the tattoo convention at the beginning of October. Stay tuned for more details.
• Our Philippines partner has received the first batch of products and will be launching very soon. We are speaking with possible partners in Africa to see if we can figure out a good way to make products available to customers on the continent.
• Rosa will be contacting the winners of our August competition.

All our past newsletters are available on our customer forum.  Like us on Facebook September Bonus: (Ultra)Marine Nutrient Cream 1 fl oz sample free with Orders of $150 or more We have upgraded our marine cream with our Seakelp Ultramarine. See Below for details. A cream for everybody, anytime. Soothing, with anti-inflammatory liquorice, with antioxidants like tetrahydrocurcuminoids, astaxanthin and real vitamin E, and meaningfully nutritive, with ceramides, coconut endosperm, Coenzyme Q10, sea kelp ultramarine and more. Most Popular Canvas Base Cream  4 fl oz Seakelp Ultramarine 2 fl oz Collagen Serum 1 fl oz Epidermal Growth Factor 50 mcg KGF for Brows 10 ml Hyaluronic Acid 1 g Bright-I Cream 0.5 fl oz Sea Kelp Bioferment 2 fl oz DREAM Cream 4 fl oz Vitamin A - Twilight Awakening Cream 4 fl oz DMAE Serum Plus 1 fl oz CHAS Serum 0.5 fl oz BKRW-UV Cream 2 fl oz Alpha-Beta Exfoliation Towel Copper Peptide (GHK) 2 ml   Product Upgrade - (Ultra)Marine Nutrient Cream We are continuing to upgrade our products with our new Seakelp Ultramarine This month we are introducing our upgaded  Marine Nutrient Cream. Our signature cream now has the added benefits of our Seakelp Ultramarine. Start thinking of a gift (Christmas or whatever) that will be used and enjoyed and will improve the quality of life of the recipient.  Be nice to your skin and that of your mother, sister, father, brother, friend. Well, you get my meaning, right? Ingredients: Water, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Lactobacillus/kelp ferment filtrate and Porphyridium extract and Laminaria japonica extract and Arthrospira extract., Sorbitol, Butylene Glycol, Cetyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Sesame (Sesamum Indicum) Seed Oil, Almond (Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis) Oil, Avocado (Persea Gratissima) Oil, Tetrahydrocurcuminoids, Sodium Hyaluronate, Coenzyme Q10, Liquorice extract, Ceramides, Coconut (Cocos nucifera) endosperm, Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Seed Oil (and) Astaxanthin (and) Lycopene (and) Alpha-D-Tocopherol (and) Tocotrienols (and) Lutein (and) Thioctic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid, Dimethicone, Carbomer, Triethanolamine, Diazolidinyl Urea, Phenoxyethanol Methylparaben, Propylparaben. Find more information here. Product Upgrade - Acne Control Kit Dr. Sivak has finished reformulationg the products in our Acne Control Kit and has added a number of new ingredients. The new ingredients will be available for purchase on their own next month. T-Zone ingredients: Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment, azeloyl glycine (accelerates skin renewal, keeps pores open), niacinamide (anti-inflammatory, anti-itch), EGCG from green tea (decreases sebum secretion), nobiletin. Anti-acne cream ingredients: Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment, saw palmetto extract (inhibits 5 alpha-reductase activity and conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, inhibits binding of dihydrotestosterone to androgen receptor)., niacinamide, white willow bark extract, liquorice extract, green tea extract, beta glucan (enhances immune response), wild yam extract, oleuropein, nobiletin,  retinyl acetate (accelerates skin renewal, keeps pores open). ZITender (emergency gel): Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment,  EGCG from green tea, oleuropein, galangal (antibacterial) and white willow extract (antibacterial), Zinc PCA (anti-inflammatory, antibacterial), Coleus essential oil (antibacterial), granulysin. What the newly added actives can do about acne   Nobiletin (3',4',5,6,7,8-hexamethoxyflavone) inhibits synthesis of the type of fats (triglycerides) that is food for the acne bacterium and slows down proliferation of fat cells. It also has antibacterial activity. I think that in the near future you will hear a lot more about nobiletin, which also seems to have anti-aging and anti-tumor activity. Note: many thanks to the client who brought nobiletin to my attention. Oleuropein is a chemical extracted from the olive tree (Olea Europea) that has anti-inflammatory activity; it also inhibits arachidonic acid-induced edema, and is an antioxidant.   Granulysin is an antibacterial protease that will increase penetration of the other ZITender actives.   Beta glucan enhances the immune response. The stimulating effect of these carbohydrates is not acquired through encounters with pathogens the way we acquire immunity to most microorganisms, but is innate, i.e. present in our genetic make-up. When we come in contact with beta glucans, our immune system seems to activate so that, when we come in contact with a pathogen, we are better able to deal with it and stop an infection.   Ultramarine seakelp bioferment: adds Porphyridium and Arthrospira extracts, and fucoidan (for more information please see July newsletter), increasing the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory power of sea kelp. References: Johann, S.,  de OliveiraV.L.,  Pizzolatti, M.G.,  Schripsema, J.  Braz-Filho, R.  Branco, A., Smânia A. Jr (2007) Antimicrobial activity of wax and hexane extracts from Citrus spp. peels. Memorias Instituto Oswaldo Cruz: 102: 681-685    Sato T, Takahashi A, Kojima M, Akimoto N., Masamichi Y., and Ito, A. (2007) A citrus polymethoxy flavonoid, nobiletin inhibits sebum production and sebocyte proliferation, and augments sebum excretion in hamsters. J. Inv. Dermatology, 127: 2740-2748     Tanaka S, Sato T, Akimoto N, Yano M, Ito A (2004)  Prevention of UVB-induced photoinflammation and photoaging by a polymethoxy flavonoid, nobiletin, in human keratinocytes in vivo and in vitro Biochemical Pharmacology 68: 433-439     Kollár, R, Reinhold B.B., Petráková, E. , Yeh, H.J.C., Ashwell, G., Drgonová, J., Kapteyn, J.C., Klis, F.M. and Cabib, Enrico (1997) Architecture of the Yeast Cell wall beta (1-->6)-glucan interconnects mannoprotein, beta (1-->3)-glucan, and chitin. Journal Biological Chemistry: 272: 17762-17775. Kougias, Panagiotis; Wei, Duo; Rice, Peter J.; Ensley, Harry E.; Kalbfleisch, John; Williams, David L.; Browder, I. William (2001) Normal human fibroblasts express pattern recognition receptors for fungal (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans. Infection and Immunity: 69: 3933-3938. Brown, Gordon D.; Gordon, Siamon (2001) Immune recognition: A new receptor for beta-glucans. Nature (London, United Kingdom) 413: 36-37. From Hannah's Blog I wish my Biochemistry students at MSU cared as much about chirality as the consumers of skin care products! The impact of marketing is clear in the questions I get via email. Some molecules exist in mirror forms (D and L). These molecules have at least one asymmetric carbon atom, i.e. a carbon atom that has each of its four bonds occupied by four different atoms or groups of atoms. Ascorbic acid is one such molecule. L-ascorbic acid means that the compound’s stereochemistry is related to that of the levorotatory enantiomer of glyceraldehyde. Please see – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_(chemistry) Regarding chirality of ascorbic acid and skin care, there are two questions 1) Does it matter whether a chemical is D or L? Yes, it does, because the special distribution of atoms is part of the structure of the chemical and will determine some of its properties. 2) Does it matter whether you are using the L- stereoisomer or a racemic (a mix of D and L isomers) of ascorbic acid on your skin? No. When no enzymes are involved either isomer will do. You need a minute amount of L-ascorbic acid, a cofactor for enzymes involved in the hydroxylation of pro-collagen amino acid residues. A racemic mix of ascorbic acid will have will have more than enough L-isomer to do the job and it is much less expensive. We have chosen our ascorbic acid to be very fresh (reduced) and in very fine crystals so that it can do a better job. Natural ingredients are the “right” chirality. If I “worry” about a particular chemical’s chirality, I get the “correct” chirality. If I am not worried about it, I don’t bother getting it. It matters, for example, for vitamin E. as a small percentage of people can become allergic to the “wrong” stereoisomer of vitamin E. Because I am a biochemist, I am very familiar with chirality, stereoisomers, etc. Chirality is first taught with amino acids (all the amino acids in proteins are L-) and soon after with sugars (most sugars in humans are D-). So sodium hyaluronate, if anything, would be a D-, but the nomenclature is not really used for polysaccharides. Same for superoxide dismutase, biochemists don’t use L- or D- for proteins (although proteins are made of L-amino acids). I find it easy to tell whether a text has been written by marketing people or by scientists, the language is so different! Marketing people use “absolute” terms. A real scientist knows enough to know that he/she (in this case) does not know enough to promise you “purity”. Why do we tell you that an ingredient is L- or D-? Because for those ingredients it is part of the chemical name. When a chemical is made in the laboratory by organic synthesis, it will be a mix of the two steroisomers. If a chemical is made in the laboratory by fermentation, the chiral composition will depend on the microbe and the main synthetic pathway. Incidentally, some chemical may have several stereoisomers, if the have more than one “asymmetric” carbon. About chiral technology: the term should be reserved for very specific work done by organic chemists trying to direct organic synthesis towards a particular stereoisomer. As far as I know, that technology is not used for skin care ingredients, because it would be too expensive. It makes a lot more sense, at least for the time being, to purify the ingredient from natural materials, usually crops like wheat or rice. Check out Hannah's Blog at http://www.skinactives.com/blog/index.php   Hannah's Notes Acne is a serious matter, especially for the child/teen that has to live with it on top of all the other changes that adolescence brings.  I don't think that controlling acne will solve your teen's problems (nothing can do that), but it will help. As a mother of a former teen who struggled with this problem, I know that I was ready to do use any medication in order to improve my child's life. Now, through Skin Actives, we can provide a kit that should help the acne sufferer without long-term damage to the skin.   Acne is a "perfect storm" in which abundant sebum production and imperfect shedding of dead cells lead to the formation of a "plug" that makes the closed pore a great feeding ground for a bacterium that doesn't like oxygen, Propionibacterium acnes. Inflammation and mess follow. Cysts can develop when the contents of the sick follicle (keratinocytes, sebum and bacteria) spills  into the surrounding dermis, producing a superficial pustule, or a deeper papule or nodule.   In my opinion, the problem with most acne products is that they only address one or two of the causes of acne, and then you need to use a "cannon" like benzoyl peroxide or antibiotics to keep the whole process under control.  Although an antibiotic used at the right time on the right affliction can be a life saver, long term use of antibiotics is a bad idea. The same is true for benzoyl peroxide, which will also cause undesirable, long term changes in the skin.   As for other skin problems, the SAS approach is to address all the causes of acne simultaneously. Using this strategy, acne can be kept under control using lower concentrations of milder actives, and stress to the skin is kept to a minimum. The actives have different mechanisms of action, and  "cannons" like benzoyl peroxide, antibiotics, steroids and alcohol are avoided.   What are the objectives? 1)      Slow down conversion to the form of testosterone (male hormone) that binds to the androgen receptor in the skin 2)      control sebum synthesis and secretion 3)      normalize keratinization, preventing the exfoliated keratinocytes from sticking together and closing the pore 4)      decrease inflammation   5)      kill acne bacteria without decimating the normal bacterial flora of the skin. For women:  you may wish to discuss with your MD how to stabilize hormonal balance using oral contraceptives or other medication like spironolactone. Some genetic problems show themselves as acne, and only tests ordered by your doctor can tell you whether your acne is "normal", i.e. caused by the hormonal turmoil of adolescence or the menstrual cycle, or whether it is a symptom of polycystic ovarian syndrome or other health problems that cause an excess in the production of male hormones by the young woman.  Other resources: Salicylic wash to clean and decrease inflammation. Ultramarine sea kelp bioferment, salicylic acid (antibacterial, normalizes keratinization), Zinc PCA, disodium cocoamphodiacetate (mild surfactant).  Alpha/beta exfoliator will open pores and facilitate black head extraction using strips, until the retinyl acetate in the acne cream kicks in.  Let's make collagen serum seems to work nicely with post-acne scars.   Questions and answers: Q: Benzoyl peroxide works, why are you against its use? A: Benzoyl peroxide does work because it kills everything, starting with acne bacteria, plus all other bacteria plus your skin cells. This by itself is a huge problem, because it eliminates all bacterial competition and makes it easier for the acne bacteria to proliferate when you stop using benzoyl peroxide, so you are "chained for life". In the long term, this very strong oxidant will lead to DNA mutations and worse, but even if you don't worry about cancer, you still have to worry about skin aging.   Q: I am 50 and still battle with acne, why? A: it is true that in adolescence the initialing factor is the surge of hormones, including androgens, leading to increase sebum secretion. As women age, they certainly don't have that problem anymore, but they may still be supplying too many lipids topically, by using skin care products that are too emollient and promoting proliferation of the acne bacterium by using ingredients that are too occluding. So if you are over 40 and still battling acne, have a serious look at the ingredients in your every day skin care.

FAQs for Beginners

***Panda gives a very nice description of the DIY process:

 I am going to give you my version and hopefully others will chime in. My best answer is sometimes it's hard and sometimes it's easy. Sometimes it works well and sometimes it doesn't.

Start with a base that you like. That is the important part. Then mix small batches from there. As you prepare to add each active do a search on the forum and see what issues others have faced when trying to incorporate this active - like does it need to be mixed with water or heated. Add your actives one at a time and try the mix out for a few days before you add more. Some find that alpha lipoic acid stings, some don't. If it stings too much you may need to reduce the concentrationby adding more basemix. Some actives require a day or two to fully dissolve (licorice).

Some actives can make the base cream thin (DMAE), some can make it gritty (betulinic acid), some can make it too thick (hylauronic acid), and some can give it a color that will stain your skin (grapeseed). See why it is so hard to answer this question! But if you start slow and make small batches you can recover from most anything and end up with a beautiful result. I hope this helps! ***

FAQs for Beginners

How to layer products

After a shower or bath, the skin will be more permeable to water soluble actives. Take advantage of this by using serums first. Then you can layer on top oil-based serums or creams.

Exfoliators (acidic like alpha/beta, protease-based like pumpkin enzyme or physical like exfoliation kit) will increase skin permeability, take advantage of this and apply let’s make collagen serum immediately after an exfoliation.

Don’t mix serums together in the same bottle, they are O.K. as they are. Some cannot be mixed, like water-based (CHAS) and oil-based (ELS) serums.

Which actives should not be used together
There are not many rules here.

-Be nice to proteins (like epidermal growth factor, keratinocyte growth factor, SOD), by keeping them cold (NOT frozen) and not mixing them with acid solutions. For example, rinse well your skin after using the alpha/beta exfoliator, one of the few acidic products we sell.

-There is a theoretical point about vitamin C derivatives and metals like copper and iron, so don’t add copper peptide to CHAS serum.

General shelf life of products and refrigeration needs

Please keep refrigerated all serums and creams that contain proteins, like let’s make collagen serum and restoration cream (proteins are more stable when refrigerated, NOT frozen). For serums and creams, 6 months is a good estimate of shelf life. They are shipped to you very fresh, so you can count the 6 months from receipt. Remember that a cream will not work unless it is applied to the skin, so don’t just buy SAS products, USE them!

Powder actives are fine in a cool, dark place, and keep the tubes closed. Some actives (like carnitine) will absorb moisture more readily, so it is important that they are kept well closed. Most powder actives will last for years.

What are preservatives?

Nobody likes to use preservatives: they don’t help your skin or make you younger. But preservatives prevent the multiplication of bacteria and mold in the skin care product. If it were just a matter of throwing away a half-use product because there is some mold growing in it, I would not bother using them. But it is a lot more than that: even when you start with a perfectly clean product, spores are floating in the air, and nasty bugs, capable of causing very dangerous infections, could grow in the product unless the correct preservative (or mixture of preservatives) is included.

Clients ask me why we at SAS use preservatives in our products. My answer is that preservatives give me the peace of mind I need, because I know that our products will not cause a skin or eye infection

There has been a lot of bad press about parabens, and I feel pressed to come in their defense. Why? Because the arguments against parabens are bogus when the “evidence” is examined. Parabens have some estrogenic activity, but so are thousands of chemicals which we consume daily in our food. What matters is how strong is the estrogenic activity a chemical has. Strength in this case is measured by the concentration of the putative analog required to displace the natural ligand, in this case estrogen. If you need very high concentrations of the estrogen-like chemical to dislodge the estrogen from the receptor, then the activity is very low and unlikely to be of significance in real life. This is what happens with parabens: they have very low affinity for the estrogen receptor.

Parabens have a long record of safety. They are non-allergenic, effective at very low concentrations and they don’t contribute a smell to the finished product. Smell is one of the problems of natural preservatives containing a mixture of extracts from oregano, rosemary and more. The smell can be a overpowering (at least to my nose), plus several of the extracts are allergenic. In the words of Dennis Sasseville “The history of preservatives goes back to the 1930s, and ironically, the parabens, which the industry has sought to replace with "safer" alternatives, are still the most frequently used biocides in cosmetics and appear to be far less sensitizing than most of the newer agents.”

We (people who do like parabens) may eventually lose the "media war" against, as more people are convinced to avoid parabens. In this case, the general public will suffer, because there are no good substitutes for parabens that will work for all products. The result will be new preservatives coming to the market too early, without enough testing, because preservatives are essential to keep skin care products safe. Then, in one or two decades, or even sooner, we may start seeing side effects from unproven preservatives.

It is worth mentioning that preservatives are just part of the equation. It is important to start with a clean product, i.e. to limit the bacterial and fungal presence as much as possible. It has been shown that the concentration of parabens required to inhibit fungal growth depends on the initial concentration of the organisms. In short, if you are planning to make a serum, work clean, disinfect everything you will use with rubbing alcohol (let it air dry, do not blow on the utensils!) and add the preservative at the time of preparation, NOT as an afterthought one week after making the serum.

Organic, natural, synthetic

Scientists learn to use words carefully. Marketing people use words carelessly. This difference does not matter much unless you dislike to pay too much for a product or to be "taken". I don't like to be "taken", fooled, or pay too much for anything.

A client wrote to me asking how to use our sea kelp bioferment (one of our best-selling products) with an organic cleanser she bought elsewhere. She likes using organic products. Here is the ingredient list she sent me: “Water, shea butter, succinic acid derivatives, karite tree fruit extract, laurel berry deriv., coconut methyl glycol, essential oils, beta glucosamine, beta fructan, amino guanidine".

Sounds good, especially the laurel berry and the coconut. Except that there is no such thing as laurel berry derivative in the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients), used by the industry to put some order in the labels. The "laurel berry derivative" is probably sodium lauryl sulfate, a detergent that people don't like to see in the label because it is a known irritant, Unfortunately, it is the best ingredient when it comes to giving you bubbles for very little money, and manufacturers love it. This is an example of the "organic" label being used by people who have no problem lying.

Organic conveys a meaning of wholesomeness. When used for food, it means that the crop has been grown without adding synthetic fertilizers and that no pesticides have been used. The FDA has some rules about how to use the word for food products, but when it comes to cosmetics, there are no rules, so many irresponsible people will take advantage of the consumer (no rules means no punishment). My advice: whenever you see the word "organic" in a skin or hair care product, look at the ingredient list and make sure you know how to read it.

What is "natural"? My own definition: natural is something that has been taken directly from nature and has not been modified chemically.  Why is "natural" a marketing word? It sounds good, but in reality there is nothing that makes natural chemical better than a synthetic one. In other words: a chemical is not defined by how it was obtained but by how the atoms are arranged in the molecule. There is no way to differentiate between a synthetic and a natural chemical. Moreover, whatever the feeling the word natural conveys, natural can be bad. Just think "poison ivy".

Again, if you are faced with a product that is advertising "all natural", read its ingredient list. Most manufacturers use synthetic chemicals that have been optimized for use in cosmetics after many decades of testing. There is nothing wrong with that, as long as customers are not lied to.

Some manufacturers don't even know that they are using synthetic chemicals. For example, most botanical extracts used in the industry are made using hydroglycolic solvent: water plus propylene glycol, and include synthetic preservatives. By ignoring this fact, the manufacturer can list a "liquorice extract" and make you think you are using a natural product when in fact the extract has little liquorice in it and contains synthetic chemicals.

We at Skin Actives Scientific use many natural products, and many of them are organic. But we do not want to reinforce the idea (wrong, in our view) that natural is good and synthetic is wrong, so we don't emphasize the origin of the chemical.

How bad can it be? Very bad. What is sold as "grapefruit seed extract" is NOT grapefruit seed extract.

It has been shown in many scientific publications that commercial grapefruit seed extracts are adulterated with synthetic antimicrobial chemicals such as benzethonium chloride, 1,3,5-trimethoxybenzene, benzalkonium chloride,  4-hydroxybenzoic acid esters and more. Whoever ignores this evidence (I provide references in our forum) is because she/he wants to.

What about DMAE?

DMAE “firms” the skin, and it is one of the few “plumping” actives. I am having trouble remembering any others, except for our own Celestite. Because plumping is so effective in hiding wrinkles, DMAE has become very popular. It has also been used for decades without any problem. The problem with DMAE is that its mechanism of action is unknown. This is true for most actives, so it should not be a problem per se, but it exposes DMAE to claims from people who say DMAE is bad for you. There have been a couple of such scientific papers, and the quality of that research is so bad (yes, there is such a thing as bad quality scientific research) that no conclusions can be extracted from the results. So I have to say to our clients “use DMAE for short term only” and make up the rest of plumping and firming using actives that are better known.

Marketing “lingo”

“Nanoparticles, liposomes, energy, communication, peptides, youth proteins, decades of research” are words and phrases marketing people write to convince you of buying products that are disguised as technologically advanced. They also sell you products to solve problems that don’t exist, based on myths they invented.

Myth #1: The skin is impermeable
If the skin is impermeable, you clearly need the last delivery system consisting of these nanoparticles designed by that famous scientist in Switzerland. Unfortunately, that famous scientist in Switzerland does not exist, or never published anything in a reputable scientific journal. Even worse, they are lying about skin properties: the skin is not impermeable and your don't need any delivery system to get an active into your skin. It may help if you apply the serum after a shower, but that is more or less it. Whatever you apply to the skin, it will be absorbed, for better and for worse.

Myth #2: There is a magic bullet
There is no magic bullet and no ingredient is going to rejuvenate your skin ON ITS OWN. Your skin is a very complex system and has complex requirements. As we age, our body starts to "short change" the skin, even when you are having a healthy diet and take your multivitamins. Simply, there are less blood vessels reaching your dermis delivering less nutrients to the skin. Just one ingredient will not make a big change. Why? Because as soon as your skin has enough of ingredient A, another ingredient, B or C, will limit the capacity of your skin to regenerate. 

Myth #3: clean, tone, moisturize
Cleaning is important, even if you do not live or work in a polluted city. But, what on earth is a toner? Forget about those alcohol rich toners, they will only damage your skin. And moisturize? You need a lot more than that. Use a cream that will help your skin to keep water in, pollutants out. Silicones (the ingredient that gives "silky feel" to creams and lotions) is perfect for this job, but will do nothing else for your skin and may even slow down absorption of valuable nutrients. So go slow on silicones and think nutrition. Hyaluronic acid, natural active peptides, essential fatty acids, niacinamide and other vitamins will help your skin long-term. And if you are planning to live a long and fruitful life, you'd better thing long term.

Myth #4: DNA and stem cells will help your skin

Any skin care product that includes these is trying to take advantage of fashion. Your cells have your own DNA, which you inherited from your parents. Your cells will express certain genes, those that correspond to the organ (in this case, skin) and time in your life (a baby does not express the same genes than an adult).

DNA that belongs to fish, cow or whatever, when applied to your skin, may be used. Fortunately, it will not be used to make the proteins of the fish or the monkey. Our immune system will not let anything get to the nuclei of your living cells, otherwise it would play havoc. Havoc is what happens when foreign DNA does actually get to the nuclei of your cells: it is what happens when a virus cheats your immune system and manages to get in. It will take further action from the immune system to eventually get rid of the foreign DNA.

So what happens to the DNA that marketers get you to apply to your skin? Most of it will be washed away, some of it will be broken down and your skin may absorb the components: nucleotides, sugars, phosphate, etc.

Same thing will happen to the stem cells from cow, horse or whatever. If your immune system is working well, nothing will get in, unless it is broken down to skin food first.

This is one more example of how marketing uses "fashion" to promote useless ingredients. DNA and stem cells go directly to my "arghhhh" list. Yesterday in CSI NY the murderer was discovered because she had received a stem cell facial (from cow) before committing the murder. You can add this to the list of reasons why NOT to have a stem cell facial.

Myth #5: Natural is good, synthetic is bad

Just two words: "stinging nettle". Two more? "Poison oak". Plants can't run, and they have too many predators, starting with humans. Their defense? Producing chemicals that will stop (or deter) animals from eating them. "Natural" has lately become a buzz word, often emptied of any content. For example: "allantoin (comfrey)". It is true that you can find allantoin in comfrey, but the ingredient used in skin care products is likely to be synthetic. Not that it matters, the chemical extracted from the plant cannot be distinguished from the synthetic one, but this approach only perpetuates the myth.

Myth #6: Your skin needs extra oxygen!

No, it doesn't. Our skin gets more than enough oxygen from the air and through the blood vessels that irrigate the dermis. In fact, our skin gets too much oxygen, and oxygen is partly to blame for aging skin. The  "excess" does not result in more energy because our blood and mitochondria are saturated with oxygen (i.e. have as much as they need) but the extra free radicals will age the skin, increase mutations in our cells' DNA and break down the lipids in the cell membranes. So, if anybody invites you to an oxygen bar, run in the opposite direction. If somebody else wants to sell you a cream with hemoglobin (read: cow's blood) tell them that dead, yucky protein will do nothing for your skin. And run!