Some dermatologists advise their patients to restrict daily skin care regimens to three or four products. Still, most people use too many products at once. The skin picks up environmental debris during the day, which gets covered by occlusive creams. The end result is clogged pores that, in time, get larger and lead to skin inflammation, irritation, whiteheads and blackheads. The build-up of dead surface cells makes skin look dull, dry and flaky, causing it to reflect light poorly. This effect makes skin appear lifeless.

Exfoliating skin care products breakdown and eliminate keratinized cells and restore a healthy translucent glow to the skin. Achieving this glow often requires a thorough scrubbing with a loofah. Exfoliation should be attempted when there are visible changes in skin texture. This happens because the cell turnover slows down over time and using products with exfoliants provide beneficial results. Body exfoliation has several major health benefits—it stimulates blood flow, increases circulation and sloughs off dead skin cells. To keep skin looking good, exfoliate at least once a week with physical scrubs or chemical washes. Good exfoliation brightens and smoothes skin surface, shrinks pores and prevents breakouts and stimulates replacement of these dead cells with newer cells. There are two broad classes of exfoliants, physical and chemical. Here are short reviews of all these methods.

Physical & Chemical Exfoliants

Natural exfoliants have been around for centuries. Exfoliating ingredients range from very abrasive, potentially irritating ingredients such as apricot or walnut kernel and pumice, to gentle exfoliants like jojoba beads, nylon puffs, coarse bath salts and synthetic microbeads. They all are usually fine granular particles that gently scratch the skin surface to remove dead cells. It is important to use them with caution. They should not be rubbed too vigorously on delicate areas such as under eyes. They should be used very carefully on severe acne. For the skin areas with hardened calluses such as elbows, knees or feet, a vigorous use of pumice stone accomplishes satisfactory results. There are many physical exfoliants available on the market. The sand-like granules should be kept away from the eyes, because they could easily scrape the cornea. Sometimes “natural” exfoliants can cause severe irritations or allergies. Most common allergic contact dermatitis results from skin contact with certain botanicals that release oleoresin and cause red, swollen, blistering itchy skin inflammation and irritation. If this happens, prompt relief is accomplished if the affected area is immediately washed with water. These ingredients are available as cleansing grains, gentle abrasive sponges, waxy creams, loofahs and brushes. Clay exfoliants consist of bentonite, hectorite and kaolin. They have a suctioning effect on clogged pores to dislodge compacted dead cells and tighten the appearance of pores. Often these are used for acne blemishes.

Chemical exfoliants may be broadly divided into the following five categories: AHA, BHA, enzymes, acne actives and retinoids. Here’s a closer look at each of them.
AHAs, including citric, glycolic, malic, tartaric and lactic acids, increase skin cell turnover by dissolving protein bonds between cells. AHAs are water soluble and are less effective in entering the oil glands because they cannot get through the sebum content of the pores. As a result, the dead skin sloughs off, revealing fresh soft skin underneath. Acids only penetrate the epidermis or the outermost layer of the skin. The chemical difference between alpha hydroxy and beta hydroxy acids is the location of the hydroxy group on the carbon chain of the acid. Alpha indicates that the group is on the first carbon atom, whereas beta means that the group is on the second carbon atom. The most critical efficacy parameters are use of correct isomer, concentration and pH.     Do not apply product on the damaged skin. It could provoke burning or itching. Avoid exposure to sun. Use a sun protection cream. Avoid use in pregnant women. These products usually may cause transitory mild itching, burning or blushing. If such symptoms persist, it is advisable to discontinue use. It is advised, however, not to overdo this by using many different AHA products a day. Always wear broad spectrum sunscreen, since AHAs thin out the top layer of the skin. For callus skin and elbows, use a leave-on product like a cream with good exfoliating ingredient glycolic acid.

BHAs are a group of organic acids, including salicylic acid, used in the skin care products for their exfoliating and antibacterial properties. They are gentler than AHAs and are oil soluble. This oil solubility permits them to mix with sebum and exfoliate skin cell residue. This is the reason why BHAs are effective in the treatment of blackheads and blemishes.

Acne actives remove dead cells. Benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and sulfur resorcinol are strong exfoliants found in OTC acne products and cleansers, rinsable scrubs, soaps, creams and lotions. Their concentration is governed by the acne monograph, and work best when left on the skin for a while before rinsing.

Enzyme Power

Enzymes include papain (derived from papaya), bromelain (derived from pineapple) and pancreatin (a pancreatic enzyme derived from pork or beef processing). All of them dissolve protein in the dead cells. These enzymes are called proteolytic because they dissolve protein to exfoliate and improve skin. Enzyme based products are available as peels or powders which are reconstituted with water prior to use. Kinerase, a plant growth factor (N6-furfuryladenine), has cell turnover efficacy comparable to retinoids on the skin. It plumps plant leaves by causing the surface layer to retain water. In skin care products, it enhances cell turnover. It is available as formulated into products containing AHA and retinol. It is available in prescription and OTC strengths.

Retinoids are vitamin A derivatives also known as tretinoins. They exfoliate skin and stimulate collagen production, resulting in plumper, firmer skin to diminish the appearance of wrinkles. Because vitamin A could inhibit the skin’s healing abilities, avoid waxing, microdermabrasion and laser resurfacing.

Masks, pore cleansing strips, scrubs, sponges, puffs and washcloths, also exfoliate skin. Masks provide moisture to make wrinkles less pronounced and pores look smaller. Their cooling ingredients increase blood flow to impart a rosy glow. They are available in four basic categories: wax-based, vinyl- or rubber-based, hydrocolloid and earth-based. Wax-based masks are generally administered in salons or spas. These masks temporarily restrict trans-epidermal water loss. Vinyl-based masks are easily applied and removed. They are popular for home use. They are based on film-forming substances such as polyvinyl alcohol or vinyl acetate. They also temporarily restrict trans-epidermal water loss as long as it is in contact with the skin. Hydrocolloid masks are formulated with gums and humectants and are very popular because they are easy to incorporate specialty ingredients such as benzoyl peroxide or sulphur, which soak up oil from oily or acne-prone skin. Earth based masks, also known as mud packs, are formulated with absorbent clays such as bentonite. Kaolin clay has an astringent effect on the skin, which is further enhanced by ingredients such as salicylic acid, AHA and menthol. Pore cleansing strips contain an acrylate adhesive that is placed on oily areas. The strip is left on for few minutes and allowed to set. When removed, it pulls off follicular debris that sticks to the strip. Scrubs, sponges brushes, puffs and washcloths all exfoliate unevenly and are impossible to keep clean. Abrasive sponges such as loofahs are very irritating on the facial skin and are also very difficult to keep clean. They also get easily contaminated with bacteria that can cause infection. Facial scrubs buff away excess oil, dirt and dead skin, but they may cause irritation due to uneven sharp surfaces. Waxy creams are easy to use but they can clog the pores and leave a film on the face. Some contain harsh ingredients like alcohol or menthol which dry skin and cause irritation.

Professional Procedures

Of course, you can choose from dozens of professional treatments performed by aestheticians and dermatologists. AHA and BHA peels are administered at a spa or doctor’s office. Low concentrations of acid produce a superficial peel and high doses are used for deeper exfoliation. AHA peels using over 50% concentrations are usually administered by physicians. To obtain significant lasting results, subsequent treatments are necessary. BHA peels at concentrations of 10 to 13% at a pH of 3 are administered with satisfactory results.

Microdermabrasion uses a small amount of aluminium oxide crystals, which are swept across the face with a small hand-held vacuum, gently sloughing off dead skin cells to reveal the fresher, finer-pored skin underneath.

Lasers use a single wavelength, but light source uses multiple ones to treat the under-layer of skin, prompting it to create new collagen in order to heal. In dermaplaning, the dermatologist grazes a sharp scalpel across the face, skimming away dead cells and evening out skin’s surface, while also removing unwanted hair.

In ultrasound, skin exfoliation is accomplished through a process called cavitation, where water or gel molecules are driven by the low frequency sound waves to spin rapidly over the skin. This removes dead skin cells safely without inflammation. These ultrasound machines are available for home use and they do improve the skin appearance.

Skin really needs exfoliation. It improves all skin types. Just remember to use a gentle exfoliator daily, nothing that will remove natural oils. Exfoliation makes skin more active. But, whatever exfoliant you choose, make sure to use it very carefully—there is chance of scarring

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The Skin Society products have been copied!

The same label with the same order of ingredients could be very different!To be copied is very flattering indeed; but there is a problem! To copy a label is very easy; to do. To copy quality is an entirely different task. There are no secrets in product ingredients: by international laws manufacturing companies have to disclose the ingredients used in their product. They have to be mentioned in the label according to the descending order of the quantity used in the product. This is the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients) regulation. Before you can include any ingredient in a cosmetic formulation this ingredient as to be approve and registered by the INCI. Furthermore the INCI list MUST be included with every product sold. Cindy Crawford she is lying to you when she talks about her new product with a secret ingredient extracted from melons. As a matter of fact when pitching any product celebrities will tell you anything. It is just how much the marketing company is willing to pay for their lies! And it can be very expensive. (I worked for large cosmetic companies; so I know). One of the problems with the INCI regulation is that: they do not account for the potency of the active material. Let say I buy an extract with 100% of active ingredients for $1000.00 an lbs and use 10% in my formulation which put it in the second place after the water. Let say another manufacturer buy a similar product for $100.00 a lbs. with only 10% of active ingredient, and use 10% in is formulation. Because he can prove that he use 10% of the extract in his formula, he can list it also in second place in the descending order on his label but with 90% less of the active material that of my product. Beware of expensive newspapers and television ads. The manufacturer in order to make a profit has to pass that cost to you! It is scientifically proven that expensive advertising and packaging provides no benefit whatsoever to your skin!

The advantage to the INCI is that: If you get an allergic reaction from a cosmetic product, no matter where you are in the world, the medical staff that will treat you has immediate access to a detailed listing and history of every ingredients used in the product which give you the allergy. In this instance the INCI labeling can be life saving.

Mike Hegi PhD.

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By Dr. M. A. Hegi, PhD.

Senior scientist for The Skin Society

The essence of a successful cosmetic product lies in the cosmetic performance it delivers to the consumer’s skin. The old patent from the Geneva Switzerland based The Skin Society: of Phytoferments http://www.theskinsociety.com have been reformulated to better work with the newest developments in skin care science. To better penetrate the deepest part of the skin we have entrapped those already very active ingredients into liposomes.

The sensual experience depends on various factors like perfume, texture, skin feel of oil components and emulsifiers or the performance of active ingredients. And there are ingredients that can still improve products that already are close to perfect. Our fermentation of botanical range of active ingredients has been designed to improve and refine the skin feel in skin care products. The basic ingredient of these active raw materials is Amylose, which is a natural polymer from starch. Thus the name Phytoferments explains the nature of this class of compounds. Produced on the basis of plants and renewable materials, chemically modified to obtain high performance, Phytoferments is an ideal compromise between natural sourcing and chemical engineering for the improvement of the cosmetic performance.

Skin conditioning anti wrinkle, skin whitening, Anti aging and skin treatments such as cellulite and body sculpting have been the main target in the development of Phytoferments products. The use of different molecular sizes of amylose and the chemical modification to form this class of active materials guarantees a high flexibility in designing valuable skin care active material. Various compounds are created by this variation and we have developed perfect plant extract for different types of skin. A combination of different Phytoferments grades or the addition of other plant material opens new possibilities for specialized skin care for every type of skin condition. The balance between substantivity and removability is one key to optimization of skin care products. We have obtained it by combining different types of Phytoferments. According to their size and chemical modification they target different sites skin problems. Skin conditioning is the application that has been targeted with our Phytoferments. The assessment of several sample products showed us that the skin feel of cosmetics and toiletries is improved by addition of certain Phytoferments types. Smooth and silky skin is the result of formulations with starch based Phytoferments plant extract. This effect can be used in rinse off products such as cleansers for a rich and velvety after feel, as well as in leave on products, where a luxurious skin feel is achieved. Ease of application is something hardly found in starch based active ingredients. Proven efficacy is the ground for a successful application.

Therefore we have extensive test protocols for our raw materials. We incorporate the different types in various state of the art formulations to test the performance with our In-house facilities. UV-resistance and other tests are done to carefully evaluate the performance of our Phytoferments materials in our products. Natural materials are the basis for Phytoferments, renewable sources like potatoes and tapioca provide the starch used for the production. The raw starch is refined and chemically modified to yield cosmetic ingredients with the desired functionalities.

Mike Hegi, PhD.

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Oil components are the heart of a cosmetic composition, strongly influencing the skin feel and performance of the whole product. They are easily perceived by the user and together with the perfume are likely to decide about the first and probably remaining impression of the product. This is the reason why it is so important for cosmetic developers to carefully choose the oil components for the formulation. Many oils with different characteristics are available and it is crucial to balance the desired skin feel and the functionality that is to be achieved.

Natural oil components are in the focus of many cosmetic manufacturers and there are many native oils and solid fatty materials for cosmetic formulations. These natural oils have the advantage to occur in the metabolic pathways of every living cell in our body. When they are absorbed into deeper layers of the skin, they will be built into biological structures or simply be digested by the cell’s enzymes. On the other hand native oils sometimes are susceptible to oxidative deterioration and they often lack certain functionalities to play the role of functional materials in cosmetic formulations. This is why natural refined oil components are often preferred for specific applications. We do not recommend oil from animal origin; vegetable oil will be more readily used by the skin therefore preferable for introduction in high end Skin Care products.

Price consideration often is the reason why animal and mineral oils are used. Unfortunately their use is to the detriment of the quality of the final product.

Skin feel is certainly a subjective criterion that will influence the general product perception by customers. The tactile properties of a cosmetic formulation are commonly mediated by the employed oil components. Their spreadability and other attributes like polarity or viscosity is responsible for the subjective sensation of smoothness, permeability or greasiness to the customer. Ideally a mixture of different basic oil components is employed to create a broad spreading cascade, giving the best consumer acceptance. Within the range, nature offers a series of functional oil components with different spreadability which can furnish your product with an elegant sensory profile. Also the viscosity shall be in a range that is accepted by the customer. Therefore the strong increase of viscosity and poor spreadability of products with high pigment load are bothersome for the development of sunscreens. In these occasions it may be helpful to use oil components that can carry a high pigment load, as it is required for compositions with high SPF. On the other hand the resulting viscosity shall not increase to a level that will have a negative impact on the convenience of the product. For sun protection

Mike A Hegi, PhD.

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The skin Society New natural preservative

Oxidative processes are all around us. As the metabolism of every living organism depends on conversions of chemicals with a high energetic content, and oxidation is involved in every cell, it does not wonder that nature has learnt to cope with oxidative systems and exploit them for energy production. On the other hand, our life expectancy is growing and the intensity of solar radiation is increasing. Thus, the oxidative stress for our skin is much higher than years ago and we are approaching a natural limit of our skin’s resistance against the influence of sunlight, oxygen and other unavoidable oxidative burden. The results of changes in the skin’s integrity, triggered by harmful oxidative reactions, are commonly known as premature aging of the skin. Therefore we have to protect our skin against oxidative reactions to avoid premature skin aging.

As nature offers perfect antioxidants, developed in many millions of years, it doesn’t appear useful to invent new compounds. We have to identify the right compounds and blend them to obtain the best possible effect for different applications. And as described above we have identified exactly two different systems that need protection with different requirements due to their nature. Cosmetic formulations are nowadays increasingly complex formulations with sometimes expensive and often sensitive raw materials. There are growing numbers of active concepts in modern cosmetic products, many of them from natural origin. And all these products have one thing in common: they are not living systems and lack restorable antioxidant systems. Therefore they are subject to quick deterioration if not protected. In cosmetic compositions it has been found that the natural mixture of α, β, γ- and δ-tocopherols is more active against deterioration than the single species. The natural blend of Tocopherol guarantees a strong and long lasting effect for product protection. For natural cosmetics tocopherols with organic sunflower oil as solvent is the right choice.

The protection of human skin in the sense of antiaging concepts follows other concepts. It has been shown that here it is the pure D-α−Tocopherol that shows the highest activity of the naturally occurring tocopherols. Furthermore, Natural restoration of tocopherol happens by reduction with ascorbic acid to re-establish the tocopherol’s antioxidative capacity in living cells. This cycle can be mimicked and thus additional synergistic activity can be achieved by addition of ascorbyl palmitate. This component will make the tocopherols available for a longer time.

Slowing down oxidation is also achieved by addition of a chelating agent. It is well known that certain heavy metal ions (e.g. iron, copper) act as catalysts for oxidative reactions.Therefore by adding a chelator like PA (INCI:Phytic Acid) and inactivating the metal ions by complexation the oxidation will slow down and thus be a first line protection against oxidation. Phytic acid is one of the strongest natural chelating agent, exceeding the complexing power of EDTA for many metal ions. Phytic acid can be used over a broad pH range (3-10), is derived from 100% natural sources and is fully biodegradable. commercially available synthetic D,L-Tocopherol is not as effective as the natural pure D-Tocopherol. That’s why our recommendation for an effective anti-aging concept will point at. This is pure D-α−Tocopherol sourced from certified non-GMO plants. Another elegant way to protect the skin is the use of Tocopheryl Acetate This material is stable in the cosmetic formulation and unfolds its antioxidative properties only when it is applied on the skin. There, with the help of enzymes present in our skin, fresh Tocopherols are generated from the precursor and will protect the skin. The possibilities for anti-aging concepts are completed with our green tea extracts. The Phenon group of products with its high content of polyphenols delivers well known antioxidative protection to the skin.

Mike Hegi PhD.

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Some fallacies and other misrepresentations made by Skin Care Products Manufacturer!

By Mike A. Hegi, PhD.

Caveat Emptor!

I will start by telling what’s working and what’s not and listing the ingredients you should look for and the one who are just filler or “label dressing”. Label dressing is known in the industry as ingredients used in the product which will not arm and often have no proven benefits but got extensive publicity by their manufacturers. They add some perceived value to the products or just make it look and sound expensive by adding exotic names and almost always unnecessary raw materials in the final product. Their name on the label and on the product advertising material will incite the unaware customer to buy it.

A good example was in the 1960’s some giant company came up with the Idea to use the waste material from the login industry (Small branch, twigs and leaves) and extract the chlorophyll out of it. So they built a big extracting plant on the Canada US border and started the extraction process. When they extracted millions of tons of Chlorophyll and did some researches they found out that Chlorophyll is very useful for plants to photosynthesize the sunlight but has no other redeemable values. But by that time hundred of million of Dollars where invested in the process that was to be recovered in one way or another. So they hired a marketing company and pretty soon every body was chewing gum with Chlorophyll wearing shoe sole with chlorophyll smoking cigarette with Chlorophyll and the list goes on. Very soon the stock pile of Chlorophyll was sold out, the extracting plant was reconverted and Chlorophyll disappeared from our life just like magic.

That’s marketing at is best! Do you know: Marketing for big cosmetic company can be as much as 90% of the final cost of the product? What are they trying to sell you? A famous saying in marketing is: sell the sizzle not the steak. The problem with this picture is that: the sizzle has no nutritional values.

The cosmetic industry has a long history of using waste material from other industries

Now, about the raw materials you should stay away from:

Mink oil, is a by product of the mink farmers. After they removed the pelt the rest of the animals are wasted, but it contains a lot of fat. In order to maximize the revenues they must found a market for it. Again some good marketing made and the cosmetic industry was eager to use it.

Emu’s oil is a byproduct of the Emus Farmers after removing the feathers and the skin. All the fancy animal fat can be replaced by Olive oil in my opinion by far the best emollient on the market. It contains Squalane previously extracted from Shark’s liver. Please make sure when you buy your Skin Care product the Squalane comes from Olive oil and not from sharks. The fishing industry did a good job promoting Squalane from Sharks. Again uses the rest of the animal which is fished essentially for Japanese and Chinese fish fins soup.

Caviar that’s a good one too! Do you know that broken Sturgeons eggs cannot be sold? So … some good marketing and again the cosmetic industry is there to absorb it. One can argue that fish eggs contain vitamins, marine’s lipids (another fancy name for fat). But again Algae extract and vegetable derived vitamins and Olive oil can easily replace it.

Caviar is expensive, so it must be good on your skin. In my opinion Caviar might have a place on toast if you like exotic, expensive, greasy, fishy, tasting stuff. It has no useful purpose on your skin. But it sure makes the product sound expensive if nothing else.

To sum all this up let me give you my opinion about a good Skin Care product: It must contain

Peptides, Olive oil or Squalane and some plant extract, but are careful not all plant extracts are the same! Do your research Some vitamins B5 (Niacin amide) is a good one as is vitamin C and don’t forget the fatty one:

Vitamin A, B, E, and F also contains in the oil, if virgin Olive oil is used. Also a good manufacturer whom stands up to their motto: No hype No fuss Quality first! Is The Skin Society, visit them at: http://www.theskinsociety.com the quality of their product is really outstanding.

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How to make your own skin care
By Michel A. Hegi
Senior Scientist for The Skin Society

First Clean your kitchen zinc real good…..Just kidding

But in the good old days it might just had started this way. Today with modern technology it has became more difficult. But you can still do it with normal kitchen utensils just make sure they are very clean. Every cosmetic lab has one day or another bought stainless steel pots from a restaurant supply. They are made by the same company   than you can buy in lab supplies store, just less expensive.

Is basically 3 different ways to make a Skin Care product: Gel, Emulsion and fat mixing.

I will start with the easier one: Fat mixing:

Very easy to make and very simple, all you have to do is to choose  oil and fat material of different viscosity and mix them together until you get the wanted consistency.
The best example is of this can of product is the well known Eucerin cream. This product is made of 70% Petrolatum 20% Lanolin and 5% Cholesterol. This formulation is over a century old and is why is made this way.
Lanolin and Cholesterol are the actives ingredients and is essentially the same product. Cholesterol is the active ingredient in lanolin and is extracted from lanolin, when Eucerin was made the only form of lanolin available was very smelly, so to minimize the smell and increase the active ingredient content the manufacturer added cholesterol. Petrolatum is the carrier for the active ingredient. You can buy petrolatum in a very extensive number of viscosities, from  water like to a very heavy grease, so it is easy to formulate product of many different viscosity from hard to very fluid. As a philosophy, I myself do not believe that petrolatum is good for your skin, and  I do not use animal by product either, which are mainly waste material from other industries. Lanolin is the only exception. Lanolin is a byproduct of the wool industry, is removed from the wool in the processing of the fiber and it is not destructive of the sheep. You can make a similar product by using cocoa butter and olive oil, starting by heating cocoa butter and adding olive oil very slowly and  cooling it down to check the viscosity. You can redo this process until the viscosity is what you want, when it is… Voila! you have made your first skin care product. At the end you can also ad your favorite fragrance and be as creative as you want, you can use one solid one liquid, five solids 10 liquids whatever suit your creative mood. Products have been made with everything from lard (pig fat) to caviar. One thing I just want you to know and not to fail victim of slick advertising campaign: The cosmetic industry has been the dump site for the waste material of many other industries. For example to maximize their profit the fur industry after removing their skins cook up the mink cadavers skim up the fat and sell it to you as mink oil! So does the emus, broken sturgeons eggs cannot be sold either so they sell caviar extract. Most animal by product are waste from other industries. Furthermore no matter what is said you can get better ingredients for vegetable sources!

Now lets talk about emulsions:

Those are the most difficult, you need a well balance of fat materials, water and water based material such as extract and an emulsifiers. Emulsion cream in skin care are varying between 40% to 90% water 10% to 60% fatty material and 5% to 15% emulsifier. The best known emulsifier is a mixture of 60% Stearic acid and 40% Cetearyl alcohol and use 6% to 12% of this mixture in your oil phase.(You can buy  fished emulsifying wax from many vendor on eBay ) An emulsion can have a minimum of two phases to 5 or more. We will keep it simple and demonstrate a three phase emulsion. First gather all your fatty material including the emulsifier and heat them to 75 degree Celsius, this is your oil phase, next heat water and water soluble materials to the same temperature of 75 degree Celsius, this is your water phase. (Do not heat the extract at this time, the active ingredients in botanical extracts do not resist to high temperature). When both at 75 degree Celsius mixed them together, at this time you will ad at least 1% to 6%  of Triethanolamine (TEA) to stabilize the emulsion and raise the pH. Keep mixing until the all thing cool down to  40 degree Celsius. At this point you can add the heat sensitive products, and this is your third phase. If you add preservative  be careful usually preservative are heat sensitive too. Bravo…you just made your first skin care emulsion!

And now Gel:

Gel are very interesting, all you need is a gelling agent Methyl Cellulose is a good one and also Carbomer  better known as Carbopol, but you can choose over 100 suppliers.(You can buy  Gelling material from many vendor on eBay ) All you have to do is dissolve 0.5% to 1% of gelling agent in water, when completely dissolved you ad your water soluble extract and raise the ph with (TEA) Triethanolamine et voila you have just made your first skin care gel!
If you like to cook you will love to make your own Skin Care product. If you run in to any difficulties post a message on this Blog:

I will help you. I may even make you a base in to which you can ad your own secret ingredients. Have fun!

Mike A. Hegi PhD.

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Glycolic Acids: Its use and Benefits in Skin Care

To start: What is Glycolic Acid? Glycolic acid is marketed mostly as Fruit acid. But there is a lot more to it.

Also to have a complete understanding of the acids role and use in Skin Care products we have to back track and try to understand how skin care was manufactured in the previous century. In the Forties and Fifties most Skin Care product where essentially made of Spermaceti Oil (from Sperm Whales) Paraffin Wax, Petrolatum, and for the most expensive and most progressive manufacturer using Lanolin and Olive Oil. (There is some evidence that Cleopatra used those last two oils) In the Sixties a French manufacturer (Yves Rocher) a pioneer of natural skin Care started to use Botanical extracts. At this time we had no evidence of the potency of the active ingredients. And, most of the botanical extracts available on the market, where extracted for the Tobacco Industry as flavoring agents. Only recently a standard has been established for the content of active ingredient in botanical extracts. Also the ph balance of the product where on the acid side of the scale. (The ph scale goes from 0 to 14 from maximum acidity to maximum basicity, and 7 being neutral) The acidity of most products where usually in the range of: ph 5.5 to 6.5. This acidity level was controlled using most of the time Citric Acid (from Citrus Fruits) In the Fifties large skin care manufacturers went on a craze of “dementia grandiose” and decided that: skin care has to be of a neutral ph of 7. A lot of advertising ensued, every body was buying neutral ph Skin Care and every manufacturer where making neutral ph product. One as to understand that: in the first part of the last century nothing much was happening for the Skin Care industry. The big money was in Make up. Those where the days of: false claims, erroneous statements, bad science, and unfounded testimonials, where constant occurrence. Also the killing of Sperm Whale became prohibited and a lot of animal fat showed up in the market. This was a bounty for the mink/fur industry to market their otherwise wasted carcasses of dead animals.

No back to Glycolic acid. There are many forms of Glycolic acid: we have Alpha and Beta Glycolic acids. Alpha Glycolic acid is for the most part Fruits acid and produced primarily from sugar cane, pineapple, Citrus and other. A milder form of Glycolic acid is Lactic acid produced from milk. Now for the Beta Glycolic acid: Beta glycolic acid is Salicylic acid, it is an organic acid made from the amino acid Phenylalanine. It is also the main component of Aspirin.

Salicylic acid is use as a component in many brands of anti Acne products. Its use in anti wrinkle cream is less widespread, probably for the difficulties encountered by the formulator when adding it in an emulsion. Our short history of Skin Care manufacturing bring us in the Nineties when a miracle happened: The industry rediscovered that acidic products are really better for your skin than products with ph of 7or higher. Now the craze for acidic products as started! The war of the acid percentages is on.

Who is the most acidic of them all? In the north they bring you a 10% AHA. Immediately the South responds and brings you 20% AHA. And so on to exhaustion. Is the morning after the war the sun is raising on the battlefield, the dust settled and the Generals of both side are counting their casualties, they now, realized that the war was unnecessary and a

Middle ground must be found for the balance of life as we know it!

Studies of percentages of Glycolic acid usage in commercial, over the counter cream and lotion products found that: 5% to be a good average. The reason behind this is as follow: As you increase the acid content the ph goes down. Low ph burn your skin so to raise the ph to an acceptable level you have to ad Calcium hydroxide and it defeat the purpose of the high acid content. Studies conducted to test the efficacy of Alpha versus Beta glycolic acid are inconclusive at best. Both acids seem to be equally effective, however the effect from Salicylic acid showed more sustained effectiveness and less adverse effect than AHA. Other studies found that the ph at which Glycolic acid is the most effective is below a ph of 4. But it may give you a burning sensation when you apply it on your skin. In medical offices up to 80% Glycolic acid have been used for peel. For the general use I will suggest around 5% in cream and lotion and 10% in do it yourself peels. But for peels be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions conscientiously! To long of an exposure may give you temporary redness. Is my opinion that Glycolic acid is a good and beneficial ingredient in skin care, and I would recommend it as a good treatment for Acne, wrinkle and aging skin! Different brands may have different concentrations, Try different products from different manufacturers. Good luck!

Michel A. Hegi PhD.

http://www.theskinsociety.com

http://www.theskinsociety.com/syo.html

http://www.theskinsociety.com/wrinkle.html

http://www.theskinsociety.com/breast.html