Vitamin C in Skincare
September 22, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
Research published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine has found Vitamin C can help promote wound healing according to scientists who investigated the effect of Vitamin C in human fibroblasts.
The research found the addition of Vitamin C helps stimulate fibroblasts out of their dormant state. This helps the skin to heal and affects the cell’s ability to move to the damaged area.
Study co author Marcus Cooke from the University of Leicester in the UK, said the team would like to further study the potential of Vitamin C in skin care products. Regarding the application of Vitamin C he stated either topical or oral administration could be effective.
In addition, Vitamin C also helped stimulate the ability of DNA to repair damage and also had strong antioxidant properties.
Skinsaviour skin care products have Vitamin C in all their range of moisturisers - www.skinsaviour.com.au
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Anti-Aging gene
September 16, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
Scientists in Singapore and Germany have joined together in a research project and have claimed the discovery that genetic mutations lead to premature skin aging.
The international project led by Bruno Reversade, from the Singapore Institute of Medical Biology, was made up of an international team of researchers from thirteen different countries and representing fifteen different research institutes.
A mutation in the PYCR1 gene can cause a rare genetic condition that leads to premature aging. The research showd a clear link between the PYCR1 protein and the extent of the skin wrinkling, as well as other age related conditions such as loss of bone density.
The scientists say that by increasing the levels of the PYCR1 protein they have been able to reverse the gene mutation that causes the wrinkly skin condition. Developing therapies to increase the activity of this protein could possibly reverse the effects.
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Sand removal made easy
September 13, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
A group of entrepreneurs in the United States have formulated a product called Sandstation that makes it easy to remove sand stuck to the body after a day at the beach.
Product co-creator Michele Calluzzo-Grunhaus, one of the four product co-creators, claims she thought up the idea during a trip to the beach, when she realised how difficult it was to remove sand from the skin when on the beach. Sand that isn’t removed from the skin properly then ends up in the car and in the house.
The four product co-creators said the product took months to develop, mixing large numbers of ingredients together to discover which would be the best and most effective combination to remove sand from the skin.
Some of the ingredients used in the formula include Zinc Oxide, Aloe Vera and vitamin E, which combine to not only make sand removal easy but also soothe the skin. Sandstation also comes in four different types, including coconut, melon and unscented.
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Fat Burning Lip Balm?
September 12, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
LA based lip balm manufacturer Pacific North Shore Holdings launched a ‘fat burning’ lip balm claiming that the lip balm had been scientifically tested to stop the wearer from snacking between meals.
Although the lip balm had already been sold in the North American market, it only recently launched the lip balm onto the UK market where it was met with a storm of criticism from UK consumer groups.
Although the US have the FDA as a regulatory authority on advertising claims that insist on ’substantiated evidence’, the product and the associated campaign with the fat burning claims has gone unchecked in the USA.
In the United Kingdom the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an essentially self regulating body that responds to claims from consumers and consumer groups. Their involvement typically comes when manufacturers make claims that go beyond the accepted cosmetic and into physiological as has happened with the fat burning lip balm.
Consumers, although often seduced by cosmetic company claims are also becoming aware that cosmetic manufacturers prey on this susceptibility in their marketing. A number of consumer complaints to the ASA have been upheld recently including anti aging creams claiming to reverse the signs of aging and creams that claim to have the same effect as Botox.
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ACA – Cosmetic Claims
September 11, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
The Australian Consumers Association would like to see the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia have the power to fine the cosmetics industry for violation of their Advertising code.
ACA health policy officer Viola Korczak said the companies were making claims that continually pushed the boundaries.
“It is in the companies’ interest to put out an ad with a misleading claim because if someone does lodge a complaint, by the time it is processed the ad could have run for weeks or months.” She stated “There is little incentive for them to follow the rules.”
The committee for the TGA was under resourced she said and did not monitor ads itself but relied on consumers making complaints about fanciful and misleading claims, although cosmetic companies have made complaints about each other for competitive advantage.
In the past year, the companies that own Lancome, Clinique, L’Oreal and Payot have all been ordered to withdraw advertisements.
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Lead in Lipsticks
September 10, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
Health Canada has released a study of lead in lipstick that found that 21 out of 26 lipsticks they tested contained lead levels that ranged from .07 to .84ppm. The highest reading of lead in a lipstick tested was 6.3ppm.
Infertility, miscarriage, kidney damage and behavioural problems can all be symptoms of high levels of lead exposure and lead poisoning. Continued exposure to lead poisoning can be fatal. The most vulnerable are children and pregnant women.
United States group of consumers, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics also did their own tests of 33 lipsticks and found two thirds of the lipsticks tested had detectable levels of lead in them.
Lipstick is often ‘eaten’ off the lips or absorbed through the lips or ingested with food.
Class actions in the United States have been gathering momentum against major cosmetics companies who own well known brands including L’Oreal, Dior and Covergirl.
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Quat Preservatives in Cosmetics
September 9, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety (VKM) claims that the use of quartery ammonium compounds (QACs) in cosmetic formulations may be contributing to the growing problem of antibiotic resistant microorganisms.
QACs, commonly known as Quats, are used as preservatives in cosmetic formulations. The report found that the most commonly added QACs to cosmetic formulations were benzalonium chloride, stearalkonium chloride, cetrimomium chloride, cetrimonium bromide and cetylpyridin chloride.
“QACs in cosmetic products will inevitably come into very intimate contact with skin or the mucosal linings in the mouth, and it is likely that in such products they will add to the selection pressure towards more QAC resistant microorganisms among the skin and mouth flora.”
The UK cosmetics trade association has said the use of the ingredients is widespread and that the evidence was not in real life situations, although they did accept that the laboratory tests have shown some evidence.
Skinsaviour products at http://www.skinsaviour.com.au have no QAC’s in any of their skin care formulations.
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Anti-aging injections
September 8, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
A group of British women who claim they have been disfigured by cosmetic injections, are grouping together to form a lobby to persuade the United Kingdom government that tighter regulations need to be put into place for the cosmetic treatment industry.
The women also want to bring greater awareness of the danger of cosmetic injections and the unwanted side effects they can produce.
In the united Kingdom there are currently about 140 different types of cosmetic inject-ables used by the cosmetic industry. Part of the problem is the injections are able to be given by any beauty therapist who may not have sufficient training or expertise.
Compounds used are many an varied and some are known to cause skin reactions that can be quite severe.
Anyone choosing to undergo such treatments should check the credentials and experience of the therapist or doctor.
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Chocolate and your Skin
September 7, 2009 by Jo · 1 Comment
Eating chocolate produced in a process that preserves the high antioxidant content found naturally in chocolate can help protect the skin against UV damage.
MED which stands for the skin’s minimal erythema dose can be increased by flavanols in chocolate and relates to the dose of UV the skin needs to turn red.
Author of the study Stephanie Williams stated “A 20g portion of the chocolate contains 66mg of flavonols, whereas one green tea serving would contain 47mg and red wine about 160mg.”
She also warned that this would not replace sunscreen but was an additional means of sun protection.
In the study which ran over a three month period, half the subjects ate 20 grams of the high flavanol chocolate a day and half low flavanol chocolate. The MED was almost double in the high flavanol chocolate eaters than the low flavanol chocolate eaters at the end of the test period. The chocolates were made to the same recipe but with a different process.
Chocolate manufactured under normal conditions does not retain its flavanols to the same degree and the Acticoa technology used to create the high flavonol chocolate has been patented.
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Cosmetics – Use by Date
September 4, 2009 by Jo · Leave a Comment
Cosmetics don’t come with a use by date on and many women hang on to products long after they should have been discarded. Mintel, a survey company found that sursprisingly ‘funny smells’ or product discolouration would only push 28% of women surveyed to throw away products such as make up and bath and hair products.
Especially products where fingers or brushes are used, bacteria from the skin is transferred to the product which then become a breeding groung for bacteria and ultimately unsafe to use. Of special concern are products that are used around the sensitive eye area.
Mintel’s survey also found that women were not convinced by the idea of use by dates on cosmetics and would continue to use the product until it had run out.
Look for products like the Skinsaviour products that come in opaque containers to keep out the light and in a pump to avoid any contamination that may occur from using fingers in cream jars. http://www.skinsaviour.com.au
Basic safety would suggest throwing away any product that has detiorated and changes colour or smells.
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