Blog
March 11th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Hyaluronic acid (HA, a.k.a. hyaluronan) is a natural component of the skin and a major component of the dermal matrix. A huge molecule capable of retaining 1000 times its volume in water, it facilitates the exchange of nutritional and regulatory metabolites.In our skin, it stabilizes the intercellular (in-between cells) space in the dermis, and contributes significantly to cell proliferation, migration, and skin repair, activities essential to skin health. Hyaluronic acid is a linear polysaccharide, made by animals and by some bacteria, with long chains made of N-acetyl-D-glucosamine alternating with glucuronic acid. By definition, the molecular weight of hyaluronic acid is in the millions. Small fragments of broken hyaluronic acid can’t…
March 6th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
1. What is the number one mistake that women make when it comes to anti-aging skincare? Following “tradition”. Tradition is not necessarily based on science or experience but rather a set of rules that may no longer valid. Clean your skin? Yes, but be careful not to remove valuable lipids that make up the skin barrier. Toner? Why? Toners used to contain alcohol to dehydrate the skin and make it feel taut. Now we know better. Then, moisturize to try and replace the valuable skin components that you removed by following the first two rules? Silly! 2. Which key ingredients should a woman look for in an anti-aging product? Epidermal…
March 4th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
If you think about it you can tell that this is all rubbish. Your face is not made of butter but of skin and muscle and bones. Maybe it can be changed using Photoshop but otherwise you will need the surgeon knife. And then, anything can happen, most of it bad. And yet, skin care advertising uses “sculpting” with abandon. Then, it is time to look at ingredient lists, like the one from City Multi Action Sculpting Cream. And no, don’t expect Skin Actives to sale anything like this! Without the solvents and thickeners, this is what the ingredient list looks like: Caviar Extract 2 (fish egg puree), Hydrolyzed Silk…
March 1st, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The composition of any product you apply to your skin or hair is always important. When is the time to re-examine your skin care products? If possible, when you start “trying”, even before you find out that you are actually pregnant. It is very important to examine carefully what you put in your body and what you apply to your body when you are pregnant. Because lactation continues the connection between your body and the body of your child, you will still have to remember to check the ingredients of your cosmetics after birth. First recommendation: if you are in doubt, ask your doctor: show him/her the ingredient list of…
February 27th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Si usted vive en este mundo, su piel necesita antioxidantes. Suero Antioxidante En Skin Actives hemos incorporado nuestro ROS * Terminator en el Suero Antioxidante Hidrófilo Completo. Los ingredientes clave son: magnesio ascorbil fosfato (vitamina C), tetrahidrocurcuminoides, ácido ferúlico, epigalocatequina galato (EGCG del té verde), hesperidina metil chalcona, licopeno, glutatión, tiorredoxina, glutaredoxina, superóxido dismutasa (SOD) y catalasa. Crema Día Antioxidante Si utilizamos una crema como vehículo, podemos agregarle una mezcla antioxidante aún mejor, incluyendo antioxidantes hidrófilos y lipofílicos, además de nuestros mejores antioxidantes botánicos. Los principales ingredientes son: isoflavonas de soya, ácido alfa lipoico [R (+)], ubiquinona (coenzima Q10), resveratrol, pterostilbeno, tocotrienoles, alfa-D-tocoferol (vitamina E), astaxantina, licopeno, luteína, beta caroteno,…
February 25th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Mi libro está disponible en versión digital y en tapa blanda. Para muchas personas, su cara y la edad que su rostro proyecta al mundo, determinarán si han de obtener un trabajo en particular o si llegan a una segunda cita. Puede que no nos guste, pero es un hecho. La forma en que luce nuestra piel es increíblemente importante. Si su vida es buena y desea seguir viviendo en sus 90, la piel sana hará una enorme diferencia. La delgada piel de papel de los muy viejos no puede hacer su trabajo correctamente – mantener a raya a los agentes infecciosos, mantener un cierto contenido de agua, etc,- y…
February 24th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
If you are older than 5, you probably don’t believe that unicorns actually exist. If you find an ingredient list that mentions “nature derived” then, unless you are under 5, you should say “of course it is nature derived, so what?!”. We live in a world where everything is derived from nature. From water to chickens to soap, everything is nature derived. So, please, don’t add those words to a list of ingredients to a skin care product where everything, except for water, has been made in a laboratory following methods designed by a very human chemist. If you want to distinguish between natural chemicals and chemicals made in a…
February 24th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Well, not literally, but we can help your skin survive that long flight you are dreading (I will have a 20 hour flight in March and a 24 hour flight in April). What you will need: Intense lip repair treatment for your lips and ELS serum for your skin. Intense lip repair treatment: Cholesteryl Oleyl Carbonate (and) Cholesteryl Nonanoate (and) Cholesteryl Chloride (and) BHT, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Tocotrienols, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)s, Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Xanthophyll, R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Mentha Piperita Oil. ELS: Squalane, Linum Usitatissmum (Flax) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Lecithin, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel…
February 23rd, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
1) the skin barrier is broken 2) almost any product you apply will sting and/or hurt 3) they can be self-inflicted ailments. In the case of diaper rash, it can be inflicted by a mother on a baby if the mother does not know how to read an ingredient list and she is obsessed with “natural products”. A mother obsessed with “natural” “honest” “green” etc will choose a dangerous product for her baby. How, you will say, if the FDA does now allow dangerous ingredients in skin care products? The FDA does not legislate on allergy, it can’t, because allergies depend very strongly on the individual. This, however, depends on…
February 23rd, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Skin Actives Scientific Collagen serum, our #1 bestseller, started as a list of actives that DIYers (do it yourself aficionados) could put together to make a great serum. The objective was stimulate synthesis of macromolecules (proteins, carbohydrates, DNA, the whole shebang) in our skin and to protect skin structure and function from aging and deterioration in general (newsletter February 2007). Soon after, we started selling a serum that had all of those components, mixed in our lab and dispensed in small glass bottles with droppers. From our June 2007 (12 years ago!) Newsletter “Let’s Make Collagen” Serum We will be adding a new prototype serum. Our clients asked us to…
February 21st, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
First, do no harm. The people selling the EGF activating serum of Stacked Skin Care by Kerry Benjamin forgot this elementary piece of advice that should guide anybody who is doing ANYTHING. To a customer complaining about “acne” that got worse after using this product, this customer dis-service person says: “…congestion can appear to get worse before better as this EGF Serum is pulling the congestion and bacteria from your skin to the surface and treating thoroughly. With continued use your congestion will be alleviated and the EGF Serum will maintain the health of your skin to ensure clear glowing skin. As this serum does greatly increase your cell turnover…
February 21st, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
A former favorite baby skin care line of mine, Mustela, seems to have forgotten all about biochemistry. They have chosen to add an ingredient, which they call “biomimetic” to their products. Biomimetics is the “imitation of the models, systems, and elements of nature for the purpose of solving complex human problems”, like Velcro, for example. The new ingredient used by Mustela has a function in avocado fruit: it regulates maturation. Avocado, of course, is a plant. Babies are not plants. They have no fruits to mature. This does not mean that the chemical in avocado, cutely called “Avocado Perseose” does not have an effect on humans. It does. My guess…
February 20th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Probably in both. Bot not in pills. Chicken soup is good for the soul, helps with colds and tastes great, especially in the middle of winter. But when it comes to pills, it is highly unlikely that the small amount of collagen peptides in a pill (750 mg) will ever reach your skin. Just have the soup instead, depending how you make it it will contain about 10 g of amino acids. What do we know about collagen? Collagen is a protein made by many animals, including us. Amino acids are joined together in long chains to form a protein. The bond between amino acid residues is made by losing…
February 18th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
https://skinactives.com/every-lipid-serum/ The ingredient list for our Every Lipid Serum (or ELS, for short) sounds as boring as any other ingredient list: Squalane, Linum Usitatissmum (Flax) Seed Oil, Rosa Canina (Rosehip) Seed Oil, Lecithin, Salvia Hispanica (Chia) Seed Oil, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil, Tocotrienols, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Xanthophyll, R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Docosahexanoic Acid, Ceramide-3, Cholesteryl Oleyl Carbonate (and) Cholesteryl Nonanoate (and) Cholesteryl Chloride (and) BHT, Phytosterols, Oryzanol. Plant names (common and their Latin counterparts), chemicals with fancy names like astaxanthin and others even harder to pronounce like docosohexanoic acid, and more. But ingredient lists are anything BUT boring. Good (always good in…
February 18th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Aloe vera has been used for centuries in traditional medicine in many cultures. This, however, is not enough. We should be more demanding of our skin care ingredients; we can’t accept, at face value, what traditional medicine has been saying, even for centuries. After all, it was not so long ago that a very sick person was further weakened, using bloodletting, by “doctors”. Bloodletting may look romantic in Sense and Sensibility, but this does not make it OK nor remotely reasonable. Nowadays, we have the scientific method to examine the evidence. So, what does the evidence say about Aloe vera extract? Aloe vera, leaves, like many plant extracts, contain many…
February 17th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The years don’t always bring wisdom. I see plenty of older people who seems strangely passive when it comes to their bodies, including their skin. You can’t just stand there and let your skin and hair deteriorate because you will need them for many years to come. Expressions like “I have dry skin” or “I have sensitive skin” are misleading, they make you feel like a passive observer, and that is dangerous. I prefer to say “these days my skin is sensitive” because it implies that it is a temporary situation, not fate. Then you can start looking for options that will allow you to change the status quo. Think…
February 17th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
No, your skin doesn’t (can’t) glow, fortunately. You can get (sort of) a glow if the photographer plays with the lighting, or the make-up artists plays with micas and light reflectants, or if you use Photoshop. But human skin does not emit light. What organisms emit light? There are organisms that possess bioluminescence. Luciferins are chemicals that can be oxidized by a specific enzyme, called luciferase, and the oxidized molecule is in an excited state that emits light before decaying to the ground state. There are bacteria, fungi and some animals, including the firefly, that are bioluminescent. Bioluminescence has also been adapted as a research tool in many areas of…
February 14th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The answer: it depends on what we are talking about. When it comes to cosmetics, the FDA is in charge of keeping you safe from tainted or dangerous products. We want your skin care products to comply with FDA regulations. But when it comes to “medical devices” sold for use at home, it is a very different situation. The FDA does not “approve” a device because it is useful or not bad for you. It is “approved”, most of the times, because it is similar to something that is already available for sale. And that is not necessarily good news for your body. It has become somewhat popular to use…
February 14th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Stop! Before you apply make-up you must stop to think of the step that comes after the party. How will you remove it? Why is this important? I don’t know which make-up are you using, but I know that most makeup will interfere eventually with skin function if you leave it for long enough. It seems that Nefertiti, the beautiful Egyptian queen, used an eyeliner made of Kohl, ground galena (a mineral made mostly of lead sulfide). She could afford to use a highly toxic material on her eyes because she died when she was about 40 years old. We will probably live to 80 or 90, so we need…
February 14th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
In chemistry, the structure and definition of “peptide” is straightforward: two or more amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Amino acids are relatively small molecules: the smallest is glycine, with just two carbon atoms; one of the carbons is in the acid group (COO-) and the other has the amino group (NH4+) attached to it. Other amino acids have longer carbon chains; some have a couple (instead of just one) of amino groups or acid groups. There are many amino acids, but only 20 are common in proteins. Naturally occurring amino acids occur in two forms which are stereoisomers of each other. The naturally occurring form in proteins is the…