Everyone wants healthy and radiant skin. The recent decoding of the human genome has opened Pandora’s box revealing mechanisms associated with cellular damage leading to premature aging. Luckily, these scientific advances have illuminated once-hidden pathways to combat cellular damage and slow the aging process. For those of us with skin, this is good news.
The rapidly growing field of nutrigenomics, “(T)he study of the effects of nutrition and lifestyle variables on the expression of an individual’s genetic makeup” [i] has application in skin care and skin health. An off-shoot of nutrigenomics called dermagenetics (the study related to better skin health by the use of nutraceuticals or skin creams enriched by cosmeceuticals) has led to a number of effective products.[ii] Although this term was coined over two decades ago, most people have never heard the term cosmeceutical.
Cosmeceuticals represent a new category of products placed between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals that are intended for the enhancement of both the health and beauty of skin[iii] and they represent the next generation of skin care. Extensive research has shown ageing skin cells have a decreased ability to combat environmental stressors secondary to their decreased antioxidant capacity.[iv] This has led to formulations using natural compounds shown to restore antioxidant enzymes in skin cells such as olive fatty acid derivatives, marine algae products, and other plant-derived compounds such as green tea extract, milk thistle, ashwaganda and brassica oleracea.
Better Skin Mirakle Cream is an all-natural product with green tea extract, algae extract, peptides, and hyaluronic acid designed to moisturize skin and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Mirakle Cream is vegan, cruelty free, made in the USA and winner of 2017 Clean Beauty Award
(CertClean is North America’s leading certification for safe beauty and personal care products).
Another skin care product using phytonutrients for healthier skin is True Science. Their
formulation uses 12 botanicals scientifically proven to induce protective mechanisms to combat oxidative stress by stimulating NrF2. NrF2 is a cellular protein, that when activated, results in the expression of genes that encode cytoprotective enzymes and molecules.[v] This skin care line showed promising results with increased Nrf2 in skin cells, decreased cellular byproducts seen after UV exposure, and decreased wrinkles and healthier looking skin in test subjects.
None of these skin care products claim to cure or treat disease but they can make you look more radiant and younger and help your skin be healthier.
M. Nathaniel Mead, Nutrigenomics: The Genome–Food Interface. Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Dec; 115(12): A582–A589.
[1] M.T. Ravi Subbiah, PhD, Application of Nutrigenomics in Skin Health Nutraceutical or Cosmeceutical? J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2010 Nov; 3(11): 44–46.
[1]Martin KI1, Glaser DA. Cosmeceuticals: the new medicine of beauty. Mo Med. 2011 Jan-Feb;108(1):60-3.
[1] Osborne, R, Hakozaki, T, Laughlin, T, Finlay, D. Application of genomics to breakthroughs in the cosmetic treatment of skin ageing and discoloration. The British journal of dermatology, 166 Suppl 2, 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2012.10960.x 2012/06/01
[1] Chevreau, N, Kazerouni,A, Peno-Mazzarino, L. A new four-product skin care regimen for the treatment of intrinsic and extrinsic ageing, Presented at the 23rd IFSCC scientific conference in Zurich, Oct 23, 2015