by Dana Perdue
Much like a recipe, the chemistry of skin care is a process. For best results, not only must the finest ingredients be used, but each must be introduced and combined in just the right amount, and at just the right time. Anyone who’s ever had a cake fall flat can appreciate the delicacy and precision of the process; however, while a botched recipe may hold dire consequences for cooking ware, a poorly formulated skin care product can wreak havoc on skin.
Choosing the Right Ingredients
Depending on the product’s intended purpose, ingredients can range from exfoliants and cell stimulators to antioxidants. Often, cosmeceutical products combine different types of ingredients to treat multiple aspects of a condition; however, simply mixing raw ingredients will deliver limited results at best, even if they are the best ingredients available.
For a product to achieve its desired result, every aspect of handling, storing and combining its ingredients must be taken into careful consideration. Are the ingredients cold processed or cooked? How long are they cooked? How long are they stirred? Each factor must be carefully measured and monitored throughout the formulation process to ensure optimal product efficacy.
An Issue of Purity
How pure an ingredient is will also affect product efficacy. While most ingredient manufacturers “purify” their products by removing common pollutants, many scientists stress the need for more intensive screening that looks at a substance’s molecular makeup. Since many ingredients are made up of chiral compounds—a state in which two molecules of the same substance have opposing “spins,” each producing a separate effect—unfiltered, raw ingredients are only partially effective, with only the “correct” spinning molecules producing the desired effect. Largely inactive, and in some cases harmful, “incorrect” molecules only dilute a product and weaken its effectiveness.
Using the Right Amount
While skin care companies are required by law to reveal the contents of their products in percentage-descending order on the packaging, they are not compelled to disclose the actual amount of each ingredient used. Given the myriad products developed to address common skin concerns, it is not uncommon for two or more to display similar—sometimes even identical—ingredient lists. However, even if two different products list the same ingredients in the same descending order, they can produce entirely different results.
Consider two products with the following ingredient list: water, arbutin (a skin brightener) and lactic acid (an exfoliant). With 90 percent water, 7 percent arbutin and 3 percent lactic acid, product A is a powerful skin brightener. Meanwhile, with 88 percent water, 6 percent arbutin and 6 percent lactic acid, product B gives more exfoliation and is thicker. Such slight variations in processing, concentrations and percentages can mean the difference between a product that delivers results and one that falls short.
The Right Combination
In order for a product to have a positive effect on the skin, the ingredients must first be able to interact and communicate with each other. While it is important to know what is in a product, if the formula’s star ingredients don’t cooperate as intended, the results can be disappointing and, in some instances, may spark irritation, redness and inflammation.
Take vitamin A, for example. The industry standard for skin rejuvenation, vitamin A poses a challenge to product developers due to its caustic nature. While low doses render it almost ineffectual, high doses of the ingredient can cause significant irritation.
Retinol—a form of vitamin A important for bone, vision and skin health—has the ability to stimulate the growth of healthy, new cells and increase the turnover of older ones, especially when applied topically. However, just by doing its job, retinol has the potential to irritate.
While this key ingredient still appears in its original form in many products, scientists have since found ways to cope with retinol’s signature irritation through innovative formulation. One such way combines chirally corrected retinol with arabino-galactan protein conjugates from wine. Known as AGP Complex, this combination of purified retinol and skin-sensitive proteins and amino acids helps neutralize irritation, allowing for higher concentrations of retinol in a formula that delivers results without the downtime associated with past vitamin A treatments.
To gauge the effectiveness of skin care products, such as those containing AGP Complex, one has only to consider the time, effort and care put into each step of the formulation process. From ingredient purification and combination to product handling and storage, each factor plays a crucial role in determining how successful a product will be and how happy consumers will be with their results.
Choose products that work with the skin, not against it, and remember to keep it simple. The ingredients, formulation and cutting-edge technology inside the product are what really matter, not the pretty package you put around it.
Dana Perdue is the national director of education for CosMedix and dermatological expert on the PBS special Face Facts.