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Cosmetics

Thursday
31Dec2009

Research Finding New Properties of Vitamin C Supporting Youthful Skin Renewal

DateDecember 31, 2009 Author Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis

Photo courtesy of vitamincskin.com

Everyone’s always looking for healthy ways to look better. Well, here’s some research that might make you consider increasing your citrus intake, and maybe adding some beauty products containing Vitamin C to your regiment.

In a collaborative study, researchers from the University of Leicester in England and the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Portugal found a form of Vitamin C that helps promote wound healing and also helps protect the DNA in skin cells from damage.

The findings were published in the journal of Free Radical Biology and Medicine. On a technical note (and I will try to keep the jargon to a minimum), a free radical in medicine is commonly defined as an atom or molecule that has at least one unpaired electron and is therefore unstable and highly reactive.

In animal tissues, free radicals can damage cells, and there are theories that they can contribute to the accelerated progression of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and age-related diseases.

In the Vitamin C research, Dr. Tiago Duarte said the study analyzed how the human dermal fibroblasts (large flat cells in the connective tissue that secrete collagen and elastic fibers) are effected by “sustained exposure to a Vitamin C derivative, ascorbic acid 2-phosphate.”

A researcher with the IMCB, Duarte added, “We investigated which genes are activated by Vitamin C in these cells, which are responsible for skin regeneration. The results demonstrate that Vitamin C may improve wound healing by stimulating fibroblasts to divide and by promoting their migration into wounded areas.

“Vitamin C could also protect the skin by increasing the capacity of fibroblasts to repair potentially mutagenic DNA lesions.”

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Friday
06Nov2009

White Tea Outperforms 22 Other Plant Extracts as Best Wrinkle Fighter

DateNovember 6, 2009 Author Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis

Photo courtesy of islandteashop.com.

Many synthetic cosmetics try to cover up skin damage, but the truth is that the best way to give ourselves a clean youthful complexion is to feed our skin with the nutrients and anti-aging compounds that nature has already provided us with.

Mankind has yet to outdo Mother Nature in this department, as the scientists at the School of Life Sciences at Kingston University, London, found out at the end of a recently concluded study. It found that out of 23 plant extracts, white tea has the highest concentrations of antioxidants that minimize wrinkles.

“We’ve carried out our tests to identify plant extracts that protect the structural proteins of the skin, specifically elastin and collagen,” said Professor Declan Naughton, who led the university team that worked in conjunction with Neal’s Yard Remedies, a maker of natural and organic bath and beauty products, which provided the study with all of the plant materials that were tested.

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Thursday
10Sep2009

Dark Henna Tattoos: A Risk in Beauty

DateSeptember 10, 2009 Author Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis

Image courtesy of Healthinformer.net.

Dark or black henna tattoos are popular all over the world. They are beautiful and temporary, but recently a number of clinical reports have come out about cases of allergic reactions to the dye when containing Para-phenylenediamine or PPD. This chemical is often added into the product to make the color darker and speed up drying.

“PPD is a known skin sensitizer. This isn’t a huge concern when used in hair dyes because the material comes into contact with the skin only briefly. The real danger—many dermatologist are reporting patients with severe allergic reactions from dark henna (also known as mehndi) temporary tattoos,” said the Cosmetic Ingredient Review.

The CIR seven-member panel of experts (doctors and scientists) declares that its mission is to “reviews and assesses the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics in an open, unbiased, and expert manner, and publish the results in peer-reviewed scientific literature.”

In addition, the National Center for Biotechnology Information, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, cites several case studies of severe allergic reactions to PPD in temporary tattoos.

“We report here a 17-year-old girl with blisters over her hands of five-days duration that appeared within 72 hours of applying a temporary henna paint to her hands during a social occasion.

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Thursday
30Jul2009

Study Says: Many Major Personal Care Products Getting Safer, But Not All

DateJuly 30, 2009 Author Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis

Photo courtesy of All Natural Baby.

There is good news to report about some of the world’s leading personal care products. The Organic Consumers Association has released a study finding that 23 products from 16 major brands showed significant improvements from the last time they were examined a year ago, where the results showed potentially dangerous levels of the contaminant 1,4-dioxane.

The contaminant is generated as a byproduct of manufacturers using ethoxylation, a cheap shortcut process that provides mildness to harsh cleaning ingredients. In addition, since 1,4-dioxane is a byproduct, consumers won’t find it labeled on the ingredient lists of any products they buy.

The danger is that 1,4-dioxane is considered a possible carcinogen to humans by health agencies including the: International Agency for Research on Cancer, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

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Thursday
25Jun2009

Jiade Organic’s Motto: Make Cosmetics That Are Food For Your Skin

DateJune 25, 2009 Author Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis

Courtesy of Jiade Organic Cosmetics.

PORT COQUITIAM, British Columbia- Jiade Organic Cosmetics Inc., a new company with the philosophy that cosmetics should be food for your skin, will be releasing two new serums this month.

“The serums are made only of organic compressed oils and essential oils,” said Eva Savova, the company’s vice president and chemist. The company’s president, Walter Dullemond, is also a microbiologist. The two develop and manufacture all of their products in their small laboratory.

Jiade is currently awaiting certification from Oregon TILTH, which provides a system that combines strict production standards, on-site inspections, and legally binding contracts to protect the producers and buyers of organic products.

“We make everything by hand. We don’t have any line equipment. Everything is made in very small batches and quality control of the products, the raw materials, and the way we do things is very high,” added Ms. Savova.

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