Science fiction and skin care… University of Illinois scientists are working with skin care companies using a flexible electronic sensor that is similar to a quarter size sticker and holds 100K of data measuring skin hydration, temperature and blood flow. Researches can collect the data on environmental pollutants and UV damage as well to increase and affect the efficacy of skin care product ingredients. Read more here…

http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Formulation-Science/L-Oreal-bringing-wearable-electronics-out-of-the-lab-and-on-to-consumers

Ever wondered why plants aren’t affected by UV damage? Interesting isn’t it?
Did you know that just like us, the DNA in plants can be damaged by UVR (ultraviolet radiation) and cause a decrease in the growth of the plant? Scientists at Purdue University discovered that molecules in plants called sinapate esters protect the outer leaves of plants from UVR damage, kind of like a plant sunscreen. Timothy Zwier said, “ This molecule is a fantastic sunscreen and can absorb a remarkably broad spectrum of UV-B light – the entire spectrum”. “ It also is incredibly good at soaking up those rays, with each molecule capturing an impressive amount of UV-B light.” New possibilities for sunscreen and Anti-Aging product ingredients... 

More info: 

http://is.gd/oezGcf

What does your life, your skin, the sun and English Ivy have in common?

Would it surprise you that compounds in the roots of the English Ivy have UV protectant properties?
Curious isn’t it, the same liquid excreted by the roots of the Ivy that bind it to surfaces, is part of a really cool, as Professor Mingjun Zhang, from Ohio State University calls, “a superfamily of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins present in the extracellular spaces of plant cells.”

What are they? Nanosperical araginogalactan proteins (AGPs).

The study submitted to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, (PNSA), by the team, “Nanosperical arabinogalactan proteins are a key component of the high-strength adhesive secreted by English ivy” , shows promise for not just adhesives for medical and cosmetic applications, arabinogalactans have some other super properties… I’ve come across them before and let’s just say you’ll hear more about this one from me soon!

More info:

http://bit.ly/1Y6DdRO

Skin dehydration is not just a problem in winter. Environmental changes in the seasons, heating and air conditioning, UV damage, medical conditions and lifestyle choices such as smoking, and dietary intakes high in salt, sugar and stimulants such as coffee and tea, all have an impact on skin hydration.

Here are a few helpful product ingredients that professionals recommend.
Niacinamide: A form of Vitamin B-3 that impacts ceramides and fatty acids in the stratum corneum of the skin. Research has shown that Niacinamide can decrease transepidermal water loss (TEWL), by up to 20% in 24 days.₁
More info click here:  
http://greatnewskin.com/pages/what-is-microdermabrasion
http://greatnewskin.com/pages/what-is-hydrophilic-balanced
https://greatnewskin.com/pages/siliconesandskincare

Hyaluronic Acid: Well known and loved for its hydrating properties, it also plays a critical role in wound repair and the healing process. When the natural levels of Hyaluronic Acid in our skin degrades, the skin can become dehydrated and fine lines and crepey skin can become more prominent.₂
See:
http://greatnewskin.com/products/chrysalyx

Acetyl Hexapeptide: Not only has this ingredient had a dramatic impact on the visible signs of aged skin, it also plays an important role in skin hydration. Aquaporin is a protein in the skin that plays a key role in the movement of fluids between the basal layers of the epidermis and the strateum corneum, which impacts hydration and collagen production.
More info click here:  
https://greatnewskin.com/pages/wrinkle-secrets
See:
http://greatnewskin.com/products/naturdermx
See:
http://greatnewskin.com/products/the-wrinkle-buster
http://greatnewskin.com/products/mini-lift-system
http://greatnewskin.com/products/transformaxion-system

1. D Bissett, Topical niacinamide and barrier enhancement, Cutis 70 6 suppl 8–12 discussion 21–23 (Dec 2002)
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyaluronan

“Make my pores smaller!” that’s what Mary P. Lupo, Professor of Dermatology at Tulane University School of Medicine says her patients ask her to do…

Leslie Baumann, professor and director of cosmetic dermatology at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, says genetics, skin type and age determine pore size, and as we age, the breakdown of collagen and elastin in our skin also has an effect on our pores.

Jeannette Graf, Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at New York University Medical Center says, "They begin to stretch and sag around the edges, which can make them look bigger. Pore-minimizing products will help your pores look clearer, and therefore appear smaller, if you use them on a regular basis.”

Dr. Mary P. Lupo says, exfoliation is key to a refined complexion, “ While we can't shrink our pores with any permanency, the right skin-care products and treatments can help keep the skin clear and tight, making pores less noticeable.” Dr. Lupo recommends the use of moisturizers that contain vitamin C or retinol. "These stimulate cell renewal and collagen production, which will firm up the connective tissue around the pores," Graf says. "Over time, they'll appear tighter and smaller."

Epidermx II is an easy effective way to improve the appearance of pore size. A quick nightly massage of 5-30 seconds removes all the debris from your day that is in your pores and boosts the ability of those great ingredients for absorption from Chrysalyx, which contains 4 antioxidants, Vitamins A, C and E, 16 botanicals, peptides, and DMAE to lift and rejuvenate the appearance of your skin – really! You’ll love it, best priced product of its kind and silicone – paraben free!

http://greatnewskin.com/products/basics

Did you know that Hand Rejuvenation is a big trend? Up to 90% of hand aging is due to UV damage and can be seen as age spots and a leathery texture. A great treatment is to massage Epidermx II on your hands daily and rinse - you’ll be surprised! Years ago when we first started out - this is what we did, the difference was visible even with children. Kind of like when you clean a carpet and you can see the area you just cleaned, it is that dramatic!

Boost the results of your Anti Aging products and the benefits of microdermabrasion...You won't believe the difference this one change in your skin care regime will have on your face!

http://greatnewskin.com/pages/benefits-of-microdermabrasion

 

 

Are targeted ultra – personalized products in your future? In a recent study, 76% of US anti-aging skin care users say they look for products specific to a particular need. Product developers are looking into DNA, gene expression and enzymes for new ingredients that mimic responses in the body and “microbiomes”, and how they affect skin disorders like dermatitis, eczema and acne.

 

You may see a lot of DIY recipes on the web for home remedy “cure alls” like the one below for baking soda (everything from blackheads and large pores to face cleansing)…there is a reason why formulators have backgrounds in chemistry. Not that it is a requirement but what you use on your skin, and in your body has more effects than you may be aware of…

For example this recipe for baking soda cleanser, which if you click on the link below, you'll see the pH of baking soda, you will find a pH level of 9. Your skin has an acidic pH level for a good reason, bacteria love alkaline environments, especially dark moist ones, like the pores of the skin. This is why cleansers and products that are not pH correct, require you to use a toner after use, to correct the pH level.

So if you’re going to experiment with home remedies (including egg which has a pH of 8) you may want to consider either using products that are pH correct to your skin (all NaturDerm products are pH correct) or make sure to use an acidic pH toner.

NaturDerm Face Foam cleanses and tones the skin in one step: http://greatnewskin.com/products/face-foam

http://www.healthyfoodhouse.com/beautiful-skin-6-treatments-use-baking-soda/

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Chem_AcidsBasespHScale.shtml

Great article on how to help lift sagging skin, lessen acne issues & dark under eye circles, smooth wrinkles, and relieve muscle tension and stress with facial massage. Meridian Massage has been shown to contour the face to help lift sagging skin and increase circulation for a more youthful appearance, improving skin tone & texture and radiance. 

http://skininc.texterity.com/skininc/january_2016?sub_id=Zus7FidfEa4b&folio=50&pg=52#pg52

Here's a great little article on chemical peels, microdermabrasion and dermabrasion... http://bit.ly/2dShxct  You can get great results without a $127 price tag for microdermabrasion, by maximizing the scientific properties of Corundum Crystal with daily use.  Epidermx II is the only product on the market with a proven 20 year track record of results, that is developed for daily use and used as a tool for skin health. Used daily you get the benefits plus remove daily dirt and grime that clog pores and cause blackheads, remove product residue and get rid of old dead hard skin, that only does one thing... make you look older!
http://greatnewskin.com/products/epidermxii

 

Is Blue Goo the New You?(sorry couldn’t resist...)Clever scientists have a solution so you’ll never again wonder if your sunscreen is still protecting your skin. Kids will love this! So they combined a mylar film, compounds, polymers and mix it into sunscreen, when the maximum UV exposure is met, it reacts with the UV light and turns BLUE, how about that!

Questions about other forms of deep exfoliation such as TCA, glycolic acid, and chemical peels, CO₂ , Erbium and Fractional lasers, dermaplaning, dermabrasion, microdermabrasion, how they work and how deeply they penetrate the skin?  Here is a good graphic from an article by Gül Ç. Zone.

read the entire article here:

http://is.gd/zHcQTj

 

Maybe you've never thought of this, especially for kids, your sunscreen choice and how you apply it may change...

You also may not have considered this before, but you can choose your sunscreen based upon your different exposure needs.

For example, if you’re going to be in the water, or sweating, you obviously want a water resistant high exposure sunscreen, vs. if you are just going about your daily events. I say that, because sometimes we forget that UV exposure occurs even with things as simple as driving in a car. Have you ever had pink, or even aged spot browning of the skin along your jawline and wondered where that came from?

Daily use, choose something less heavy, without silicones and a good zinc base.

Did you know that spray sunscreens make up 50% of total sunscreen sales? One thing to keep in mind, to tamp down an oily film, they often contain high levels of alcohol, which can impact your skin. So if you notice your skin reacting, or feeling dry and you tend to use spray sunscreen a lot, you may want to switch it out. Some are concerned about the risk of inhalation of ingredients, and with some ingredients, that is a valid point that manufacturers attempt to lower with spray systems that regulate the droplet size to > 10 microns in diameter, to lower deep inhalation into the lungs. A good practice is to make sure to turn your face and have someone else apply your sunscreen for you, and especially when you are spraying sunscreen onto your child, have them turn their face away from the spray.

Stick products contain more waxes to help the product hold its shape over 120”F.
Perhaps you are a cyclist and need a higher level of protection on certain areas of your body, or you need to keep your sunscreen with you in an easy format that won’t explode out the cover when you open it up, due to heat or pressure.

Lotions and creams fall into the category of with emulsions or without. Think of a bottle of oil and vinegar. You can shake it up, but it settles out. Something has to be added to bind the properties. When you apply a lotion, or cream, the water evaporates leaving the oil and sunscreen component on the skin.

A Lotion, or cream that is a water-in-oil emulsion will feel heavier, or greasy on the skin, and are more water resistant. A lotion, or cream that is oil-water emulsion can be as much as 60% water. Looking at an ingredient list won’t disclose which type of emulsion is present in the lotion, or cream. An easy way to see, is to place a drop of product into a glass of water, if it disperses it is an o/w (oil – water) if it forms a ball it is a w/o (water-in- oil) emulsion.

More info:
http://www.skininc.com/skinscience/ingredients/Anatomy-of-a-Sunscreen-370696051.html?utm_source=newsletter-html&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SI+E-Newsletter+03-02-2016

 

A new study by the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals studied 54 body lotions. Their findings showed 24% of these products available in the Danish market contain ingredients that can either be highly allergenic, or in animal test studies have been shown to impact hormones via the endocrine system, also known as EDC compounds (Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals).

This list includes parabens and cyclopentasiloxane, a silicone commonly found in skin care and anti aging beauty products, which the EU Environment Agency has recently declared “unsafe” and is expected to be banned for use in products.

According to Christel Søgaard Kirkeby, of the Danish Consumer Council THINK Chemicals, “Now there are several reasons why cyclopentasiloxane should not be used in for example body lotions. In part scientists have suspicions that the substance is endocrine disrupting, and in part the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety does not consider the substance to be safe due to the risk of damage to the liver.”
 

More Info on silicones in skin care:

http://greatnewskin.com/pages/siliconesandskincare

 

Photo: SpecialChem Industry News, Published on 2015-08-26
Danish Consumer Council Reports Allergens and EDCs in Body Care Products

 

According to Michelle Calvarese PhD., a comedogenic ingredient clogs pores by increasing the keratin production in hair follicles. This process can occur quickly, or over a period of months, and is influenced by many factors, including the enzymes and genetics of each person. Human sebum is a comedogenic substance, and avoiding ingredients that are prone to “clogging” is not prevention. Many “comedogenic ingredient” lists online lack scientific testing protocols, however, a common list of tested comedogenic ingredients include:

Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol, Butyl Stearate, Cetyl Acetate, Coal Tar, Coconut Oil, Ehtylhexyl Palmitate, Glyceryl-3 diisostearate, Isocetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl isostearate, Isopropyl linolate, Isopropyl myristate, Isopropyl palmitate, Isostearic acid, Linoleic acid, Laureth - , Lauric acid, Linseed oil, Myreth-3 myristate, Myristyl lactate, Myrityl myristate, Octyl palmitate, Oleic acid, Oleth-3, Olive oil, PEG 16 lanolin, Polyglyceryl-3 diisostearate, Steareth-10, Squalene, Stearyl heptanoate, and Xylene.

The extraction process of an ingredient, and combining ingredients can have direct effects on the comedogenicity of a substance, and can turn a non-comedogenic substance into one that is comedogenic. As a result, regulatory guidelines from the FDA do not include of list of comedogenic substances, but merely a definition of a comedogenic ingredient as being one that clogs pores.

For more info: http://is.gd/VAifPz

Anyone find this curious? 

An article in beautyhigh.com based upon a panel presentation of MD’s reported this on silicones:

Unless accompanied by a penetration enhancer, silicones stay on top of the skin—and that’s why they feel so great.
“Silicones by themselves just stay on the skin, and that’s why you feel that silky after-feel when you put something on that has silicone,” said a dermatologist. “There are certain things that are penetration enhancers, but I don’t know why you would use [them] unless you’re trying to really drive an active ingredient into the skin.”

Products with silicone feel better—and are more likely to be used.
“I think the silicone issue is a very valid point, because there are biodegradability issues with it, but there’s also one of these other things: people love to have products that feel good,” said a Counsel dermatologist. “Silicones are not all bad; they’re different types of chemical structures. But the silicone question is a big one because you can formulate wonderful products, but if they’re not aesthetically pleasing, your consumer base and your patients will not use them.”

Let’s see, silicones just sit on the skin and prevent active ingredients from being absorbed and have biodegradability issues that these MD’s acknowledged is a valid issue, but not to worry, they have to be used in skin care or customers won’t like the way products feel… Really?

Thousands of people worldwide love the silky botanical serums of NaturDerm products and the high level of performance, without silicones…you do have a choice, you don’t have to compromise!

More info on silicones: http://greatnewskin.com/pages/siliconesandskincare

More article info: http://beautyhigh.com/10-parabens-silicones/

 

Here is a dramatic video, by Thomas Leveritt, showing UV skin damage. When you are exposed in the sun,or refractive light - like driving - use your zinc sunscreen!  Working on a series that shows you, due to the ingredients, many skin care products have an occlusive nature to them that look the same way under UV light.

 

Are you a Millenial woman? A current skin care trend for the savvy Millenials is towards multi-funcitonal products that delay the appearance of aging. Millenials, whose trend is to desire a younger appearance than their age may show in their online interactions, also look for an interactive experience with their product brands and other consumers.

NaturDerm products are all multi-functional, like the Basics Plus: http://greatnewskin.com/products/basics-plus
and Mini-Lift Systems:  http://greatnewskin.com/products/mini-lift-system
3 products that do the work of 12 and 13 to save you money and time!

More info:  http://is.gd/X4YCVm

A study of over 306 responses in an industry trade journal, shows an upcoming trend for the next 2 years in anti-aging products.  The largest amount of votes? Combination products with moisturization, skin protection, anti-aging, and anti-wrinkle formulations that also benefit skin health.  Do you agree?

diagram ref: http://is.gd/Wh6xeq

 

A new short amino acid peptide, called Tylotoin, from the skin of the salamander stimutates EGF (epidermal growth factor), and growth factors beta1 and interleukin6, and is being used in the treatment of wounds.  Salamanders are able to re-grow lost limbs and damaged tissue.  Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, says "Until now, rapid wound healing has been the stuff of superheroes and science fiction...Now, we are taking concrete steps to mimic this ancient, and forgotten, healing process in our own bodies."

Sodium Hydroxide (and Aluminum Hydroxide) use in Anti Aging and Skin Care product ingredients is an alarming new trend. A lye base:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lye  and highly alkaline. Healthy skin pH is 4-5.5 on average, nor do bacteria like acidic environments.

Wikipedia says this:

A lye is a liquid obtained by leaching ashes (containing largely potassium carbonate or "potash"), or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" is commonly the alternative name of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) or historically potassium hydroxide(KOH).

Some of the products containing Sodium Hydroxide include:

Murad Advanced Active Radiance, SkinCeuticals A.G.E. Eye Complex, VERSO Day Cream, Caudalie Anti-Wrinkle Defense Serum & Cru, Caudalie Premier The Eye Cream, Proactiv Complexion Perfecting Hydrator, Algenist Anti-Aging Eye & Genius Cream, and Clarisonic Opal Anti-Aging Sea Serum, Epionce Melanocyte Pigment Perfecting Serum, and Epionce Facial Lotion.

http://greatnewskin.com/blogs/news/tagged/anti-aging-product-ing