Cosmeceuticals
Cosmeceutical is the term given by Dr Albert Kligman in the 80s when he was working on the retinoids. During that time, encouraging discoveries were found on the anti aging effects of retinoids on the skin. However since cosmeceuticals are not used to treat for cure of skin disorders, they are not regulated and scrutinized like the pharmaceuticals. The line separating cosmeceuticals and pharmaceuticals is getting more blurring as more biomolecular advances are being made.
Currently indications linked to the use of cosmeceuticals are far and wide, ranging from anti aging to skin lightening, from sunscreen to scar reduction, from antioxidants to hair growth, from acne to melasma. As much as we want these indications to work when using these advanced skin actives, not all are created equal. It depends on how the product is formulated to keep the active ingredient intact, and how it can be delivered in its biologically active form to reach the target site in the skin.
Caught in this exciting era of science, given the immense interest in cosmeceuticals by consumers and aggressive claims from the manufacturers, we can ask these three crucial questions to help us from falling into the fallacy of make beliefs and to better understand the benefits and limitations of any cosmeceuticals we may be using.
- Can this active ingredient penetrate the skin barrier? Know that to penetrate the skin barrier, the substance has to be small enough in the range of 500 Dalton in molecular weight, it has to be lipophilic, slightly acidic in pH, and in concentration high enough and stays on the skin long enough to allow absorption and penetration into the skin.
- Is there a known specific biochemical mechanism of action at the target cell in human skin? Is there a required concentration for it to work?
- Are there any published scientific papers of double blind, peer reviewed, placebo controlled, statistically significant clinical trials? Almost all research papers on cosmeceuticals are by the industry’s own R&D hence unbiased peer reviewed papers are scarce to be found.
More often than not there will be more questions raised than answered when we start to think along this line as we pick and choose what we put on our skin especially on our face. Although we may not find the one hundred percent perfect cosmeceutical for our needs but for sure we can filter out bogus claims with confidence.
At X’Factor, we don’t just follow trends—we rely on cutting-edge skincare science to create formulas that deliver on these principles. Our products harness the power of cosmeceuticals to provide visible, lasting improvements to your skin. By merging the beauty of cosmetics with the science of pharmaceuticals, X’Factor ensures your skin gets the best of both worlds – ingredients that truly make a difference.
Experience X’Factor here.
