Say Yes to Chocolate

Is chocolate good for your skin? According to a German study, the topical application of chocolate produced the following benefits:

·         25% reduction in UV light induced skin reddening

·         30% reduction in scaliness

·         16% increase in density

·         13% increase in moistness

·         11% increase in thickness

THE TOP 5 REASONS TO MAKE CHOCOLATE

A PART OF YOUR SKIN CARE:

1.    Chocolate contains cocoa butter, which is has skin softening and smoothing properties.

2.    The fibrous coating of the cocoa itself breaks down free radicals. This helps to prevent wrinkles by protecting your skin’s collagen and elastin.

3.    Dark chocolate contains a minimum of 35% cocoa, making it a powerful antioxidant.

4.    The magnesium found in cocoa produces progesterone, a hormone that counteracts stress-related breakouts.

5.    Chocolate also contains caffeine which revitalizes and tones the skin.

Fresh Faced Skin Care is featuring dark chocolate for the month of February. Call and ask for the Sweet Passion Facial. This powerful anti-aging facial includes passion fruit enzyme for exfoliation, followed by a dark chocolate mint mask.

For a limited time only: February 1- February 29, 2012. Call 302-689-3223.

www.freshfacedskincare.com

Professional Wins by Knockout

You get bombarded in department stores by attractive saleswomen, bright displays and awesome packaging as you walk through seeking skin care products. Why not take a look and hear the sales pitch? This 0.5 oz. jar of eye cream must work because it’s $90, right? Is there truly a difference between professional skin care products and the alternative, over-the-counter (OTC) skin care products?

Billion-dollar cosmetic companies manufacture OTC products containing all the latest ingredients such as antioxidants and alpha hydroxy acids, but will not disclose the percentages of such ingredients. This is because: 1. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require OTC products to list product efficacy (i.e. percentages and/or pH) and 2. OTC products must be well tolerated for the average user. These products are designed to not cause irritation, even in the most sensitive of skin types.

Are the active ingredients in OTC products even effective (i.e. are they chirally correct)? Many companies manufacture OTC products with chirally incorrect ingredients because they are cheaper and easier to produce. Ingredients that are not chirally correct are one of the main reasons why certain skin care products do not deliver on the results that they claim. For more information regarding the importance of chirality, please read our blog post The Reality of Chirality, January 26, 2012.

Because OTC products are mass produced, thousands of a single cream can potentially sit in a warehouse for a year or more before it even reaches the retail shelf and eventually making it into the hands of the consumer. For the most part, the skin care products you purchase over-the-counter are aged, neutralized, and heavily preserved. Would you want to put that cream on your face? What if the cream was on sale for an unbeatable $20? Remember that OTC products include those sold in brick-and-mortar stores, the internet and on television. If anyone can purchase a product without a professional license, how do they know what they are getting or even how to use it?

This is where the professional esthetician plays an important role in helping to improve and/or clear up skin problems. Skin care specialists are knowledgeable about product ingredients and guide you to products that work with your skin type and particular skin problems. Salespeople generally don’t have access to scientific data on the product line they are selling nor do they know how ingredients will affect the skin while someone is taking medication, pregnant, have allergies or a health condition.

The health of your skin shouldn’t be taken lightly. Do your research before you invest in a skin care product and consult your licensed skin care specialist for more information.

The Reality of Chirality

All living things contain chiral molecules. The concept of chirality is this: molecules existing in two forms that are mirror images of each other. They are related but are not superimposable, just as your hands are. Chiral molecules are often described as being left-handed or right-handed. Chirality is very important in skin care when it comes to ingredient efficacy. Chirally correct ingredients are easily recognized by your body. Because of this, your cells can better absorb and utilize these ingredients.

Here are some examples:

Vitamin C:  Exists as L-ascorbic acid (L for levo meaning left) and D-ascorbic acid (D for dextro meaning right). D-ascorbic acid promotes drying, itching and burning. In fact, the D form of Vitamin C is used in turpentine and for recycling tires.

Vitamin E: D-alpha-tocopherol is the chirally correct form of Vitamin E. DL-alpha-tocopherol is a mixture of both right- and left-handed molecules. Some skin care companies use the DL form because it is cheaper and easier to produce. However, this form of Vitamin E is known to cause irritation. This is because the L form is not utilized by the body correctly and therefore does not produce the soothing property of the chirally correct D form.

So, what do these examples tell us? Basically, if an active ingredient is chirally correct, it will do the job it is intended to do. If the ingredient is not chirally correct, it won't work or may even do actual harm. Most importantly, ingredients that are not chirally correct are one of the main reasons why certain skin care products do not deliver on the results that they claim. For best results, use professional skin care products manufactured with chirally correct ingredients.

You Don’t Know Retinol!

There is an awful lot of talk these days about retinol and retinoids, Retin A® and Retinyl Palmitate. What is the difference in these ingredients and how exactly do they help your skin?

Both retinols and retinoids are the precursors to Vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin.  Retinoids, such as retinoic acid (tretinoin), are the most active form of Vitamin A and are prescription ingredients found in the topical medications Retin A and Renova®. Isotretinoin (Accutane) is an oral retinoid used mainly to treat cystic acne by reducing inflammation and oil secretion. Topical retinoids are thought to stimulate cell growth and differentiation, promote drainage of existing acne, and prevent the development of new acne lesions in the skin. Tretinoin has been approved for use in the treatment of acne and for improving photodamaged skin.  Specifically, tretinoin has been shown to reduce wrinkles and create a smooth skin texture by increasing dermal collagen production and decreasing melanin (skin pigment).

Retinols, on the other hand, are less irritating than retinoids and are found in a wide variety of over the counter products. Once retinols penetrate the skin, they are ultimately converted to retinoic acid and become active.  Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A palmitate) is known to normalize skin and readily penetrates into the epidermis and dermis. Products containing retinyl palmitate are substantially more stable than those containing retinol.

 Like retinol, retinyl palmitate must be converted by enzymes in the skin in order to become active. However, the metabolic pathway to convert retinyl palmitate to retinoic acid is longer. Because the conversion rate of retinol to retinoic acid is low and even lower for retinyl palmitate, a larger amount of these ingredients are needed in order for the cells to increase retinoic acid levels and produce effective results. Okay, so all we have to do is look for skin care products with high levels of retinol, right? Not necessarily! The following factors must be considered when selecting/using a retinol product:

1.    Skin care products with high concentrations of retinol may cause skin irritation, especially individuals with sensitive skin. If you can’t use the product due to irritation, it can’t possibly give you any benefits!

2.    Conversion rates of retinol and retinyl palmitate differ among individuals. The same product having the same concentration may benefit some people, but deliver little to no results in others.

3.    Retinol can degrade from oxidation if it is not formulated, stored, or used properly.

Considering all of this information, what is the best Vitamin A form for your skin? Well, the best way to get all of the skin rejuvenation benefits of retinoic acid is to actually use retinoic acid at an optimal concentration. However, this may not be a viable option for two reasons: 1. Retinoic acid requires a prescription and is relatively expensive. 2. Tretinoin tends to cause skin irritation, especially in sensitive individuals or if used incorrectly. However, well formulated products containing retinol and/or retinyl palmitate provide an additional alternative that may be cheaper and, at least for some people, less irritating.

Ideally, it is important to find a stable, sufficiently concentrated formulation that does not irritate your skin. Consult your skin care professional as to which retinol product will work best for you.

Antioxidants: Worth the Hype?

Everyone has heard of antioxidants and that they help fight free radicals. Blah, Blah, Blah. So, what exactly are free radicals and what kind of damage do they cause?

A free radical capable of producing damage is an oxygen atom that has an unpaired electron. Because of this unpaired electron, it is unstable and highly reactive. Free radicals can damage cells by disrupting the cell membrane. If the cell membrane is damaged, it cannot do its job of delivering vital nutrients to the cell or removing toxic waste products from the cell. Therefore, the unhealthy cells cannot function properly or reproduce new, healthy cells. Advanced aging can take place due to the decreasing number of cells and the resulting lack of tissue function. In addition, if the cell’s DNA is damaged from free radical exposure, mutations may occur and could potentially result in cancer or other diseases.

Where does one encounter free radical exposure? Free radical exposure can occur from external sources, such as UV radiation or air pollution. Internal sources include alcohol intake and smoking. Then, how exactly do antioxidants help fight free radicals?

Antioxidants stabilize the spinning, out of control, agitated free radical by contributing the electron that it needs to function normally. More specifically, antioxidants reduce these reactive oxygen forms to usable water or oxygen for the cells. Antioxidants are vitamins, minerals and enzymes that can be taken internally (diet) or applied topically (skin). However, antioxidants taken internally may never even reach the skin. This is because the body absorbs or excretes them before getting to the capillaries that supply nutrition to the skin’s dermis. In order for the skin to achieve the benefits from antioxidants, they must be delivered topically to obtain effective levels.

There are plenty of skin care products on the market containing antioxidant ingredients. However, these ingredients must: 1. Be able to be utilized by the skin (i.e. chirally correct molecules) and 2. Be of sufficient quantity in order to achieve efficacious results. The following is a list of skin care ingredients with powerful antioxidant properties:

·         Alpha Lipoic Acid

·         CoQ₁₀

·         D-Alpha-Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

·         Green Tea

·         L-Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)

·         L-Glutathione

·         L-Superoxide Dismutase

·         Resveratrol

·         Squalane

·         Silymarin

The bottom line is we all need antioxidants both internally and externally working synergistically to help fight disease and the signs of aging. Ask your skin care professional which products will work best for you.