DIY recipes
August 5th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
O ATP! I could write poems to ATP, sing to it, or maybe build a sculpture! It’s the most beautiful molecule in the world. Or maybe Rubisco is, or chlorophyll. I have many favorites. But ATP is the energy currency of life. Life “runs” on ATP, the energy that allows cells to make order out of disorder and build molecules using what, ultimately, it’s the sun’s energy. But let’s keep it simple: our cells make ATP out of the food we eat. Our skin uses ATP to do almost everything, to keep everything going, make new cells, and keep going for almost 100 years. Figure: the ultimate energy currency,…
May 10th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Why do plants have so many antioxidants? Because, however different from us, plants use oxygen, and their metabolism produces ROS* (reactive oxygen species) just like us. They also live in an environment where ROS* are present. Just like we do. Let’s use their antioxidants, so varied and effective, they will delay skin aging and help reverse the effect of ROS* and UV reaching our skin. We hear a lot about astaxanthin and Skin Actives offers it in many of our products and also for DIY enthusiasts. Our astaxanthin can increase the active value of your “potions”. Why? Figure: chemical structure of astaxanthin From my glossary Astaxanthin Plant pigment, antioxidant Astaxanthin,…
April 3rd, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Kinetin (6-furfurylaminopurine) is a derivative of adenine, one of the nucleic acid bases that form DNA and RNA. Kinetin would be more effective if you were a plant looking to grow some shoots, but it has some benefits for human skin. Figure. Kinetin (6-furfurylaminopurine) Kinetin on human skin Kinetin (a chemical with plant hormone activity) and zeatin (a natural plant hormone) have been shown to have some growth-modulating, antioxidative and antisenescence effects in human skin cells. Kinetin application also stimulated the formation of elastin and fibrillin-1 deposition in the upper dermis and stimulated their perpendicular organization to the dermo-epidermal junction. Kinetin may affect keratinocyte differentiation to improve skin moisture content,…
March 24th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
But first, what’s in it? What can it do for you? The ingredient list wants to convey “natural” and “plum” (just because plum and plump together sound like fun), so you will find many label value ingredients below the 1% concentration, which is the boundary after which you can list the ingredients in any order. This is a good way to hide preservatives, but here there are a couple at the end of the list (Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol). Plums are a type of fruit of the genus Prunus, but this product uses fruits that may look like plums but belong to many different, unrelated species. There are some nice ingredients…
March 24th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
How to start?Buy some self-stick labels and write with a golden marker the following: Magic! Elixir! Golden! Crystal! You are halfway there. Next, I will tell you how to make your own, improved version. Ignore ingredients labeled by me as “label value”, LV. They are there to “plump” the ingredient list and help hide synthetic ingredients and fragrances. Charlotte’s Magic Cream | Charlotte Tilbury Ingredients: Water (solvent), Homosalate (chemical UV filter)), Glyceryl Stearate SE (lubricant), Ethylhexyl Salicylate (exfoliant), Butylene Glycol (solvent), Glycerin (humectant), Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane (chemical UV filter), Octocrylene (chemical UV filter), Cetyl Alcohol (emulsifier), C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate (emollient), Cyclopentasiloxane (silicone, feel), Dimethicone (silicone, feel), Phenoxyethanol (preservative), Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea)…
January 16th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
You can buy ceramide powder from Skin Actives here 1.2 grams may not look like much but it will go a long way. This is because the role of ceramides is to form layers that will prevent water loss from your skin. That’s all they do, just like the ceramides that your skin makes (starting with fatty acids). Ceramides in your skincare products are more important if your skin barrier is damaged, but don’t expect miracles (you can expect those from epidermal growth factor). What matters is not the type of ceramide but its capacity to form layers. Natural ceramides don’t have an advantage over synthetic pseudoceramides (like ours is).…
January 4th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
There are acne patches that will cover up the lesion, they are small, sticky, and made of hydrocolloids. What can they do? Very little but they may be enough if the acne lesion is very minor. The hydrocolloid will absorb the fluids produced by the acne. It will also hide the lesion and help prevent you (or your kid) from touching the zit and spreading of infection. You can improve on these “inert” patches by using them in conjunction with Zit-ender. Apply just a hint of Zit-Ender to the pimple and stick an acne patch on top. If you don’t have acne patches at home, you may be able to…
December 9th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
What is a lip balm? What can it do? Lip balms are used to help with painful lips, dried by the dry weather, central heating and the sun. What’s special about lips? With its three to five cellular layers, the skin of the lips is very thin compared to the skin in the rest of the face, which has up to 16 layers. The lip skin does not have sweat glands or hair, so it does not have the usual protective layer of sweat and body oils, which keep the skin smooth and somewhat protected. For these reasons, the lips dry out faster and become chapped more easily. They are…
October 20th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
In my opinion (this is Hannah), there are three cornerstones to skincare: mitochondria, antioxidants, and protection from UV. And these needs, protect skin from UV and strong oxidants, and protect the integrity of mitochondria, are NOT age specific. What do mitochondria do?Let me explain why mitochondria are so important and so worth the best possible care we can afford. Mitochondria provide energy as adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the form of energy our cells can use to do “housekeeping,” grow, and divide. This is true, not just for us humans, but for all eukaryotes (organisms with nuclei). Mitochondria use molecular oxygen to extract a lot of energy that would otherwise be lost,…
September 23rd, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is crucial to life. It works as an electron/hydrogen carrier that facilitates the transfer of energy between nutrients and the cell’s energy currency, ATP. In these oxidation-reduction reactions, the active part of the coenzyme (the one that gets reduced and oxidized again and again) is the nicotinamide. Note: the name used in chemistry is nicotinamide, but the skincare industry uses “niacinamide”. The rose by any other name… Although NAD+ is crucial to life, some live forms can make it and other can’t. Humans can’t, and we have to ingest it as food (or vitamin supplements). It is a vitamin, a form of vitamin B12, also plays…
September 12th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
What is a beta-glucan? β-Glucans are large molecules made out of small sugars like glucose bound to each other in a particular way called a beta glycosidic bond. These basic characteristics leave a lot of variation in size, branching, and sugar composition, leading to great variation in physical properties like solubility, capacity to form gels and films, viscosity, and the physiological effects on animals, including humans. Figure: beta 1,4 glycosidic linkage in cellulose (by NEUROtiker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). The orientation of a linkage (as alpha or beta) changes the properties of the resulting oligo o polysaccharide. Starch, for example, has glucose monomers linked to each other in alpha…
September 5th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
What do we mean by healthy hair? The hair is made by cells but is not made of cells. Hair is “just” protein but, such complicated protein! The hair we see is the hair shaft, which has no biochemical activity and is considered dead: the cells that the hair bulb formed a while ago, inside the scalp, are now mostly keratin. Keratin structure (not completely elucidated to date) makes hair so resilient that it can resist harsh conditions. Hair will grow for years without noticeable damage, although UV light will bleach the melanin in the hair shaft and lighten hair after a sunny summer. So, what do you need to…
September 3rd, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Oxidation is good (most of the time) We are not plants, so we can’t make “food out of air” like in photosynthesis, by which plants make carbohydrates out of carbon dioxide and water using light’s energy. No, we humans (and all other animals) need to eat carbohydrates and other stuff made by the plants and oxidize them using respiration. This is the way we get ATP and reducing power to live on and make exactly what we need to grow and reproduce and keep making more humans. If oxidation is good, why do we need anti-oxidants? Once we make our beautiful proteins and nucleic acids, and our skin, etc. we…
July 11th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
If you buy a lip gloss that has a glass container and a brush applicator, it is possible to add a couple of drops of a serum that will convert make-up into lip care. Why take the time (and trouble)? This is why: Polybutene, Diisopropyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Tridecyl Trimellitate, Polyethylene, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Crambe Seed Oil, Avocado Oil, Phospholipids, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Atelocollagen, Hyaluronic Acid, Tocopherol, Soluble Collagen, Synthetic Beeswax, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Palmitic Acid, Aluminum Calcium Sodium Silicate, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Benzoic Acid, Fragrance, BHT. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Cl 77891), Yellow 6 Lake (Cl 15985), Red 28 Lake (Cl 45410), Red 33 Lake…
July 10th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The objective of a foundation is to cover up skin imperfections with a color that approximates the color of your skin. There may be some light reflecting particles (mica) in there too, but it is mainly a solution of medium viscosity that keeps pigments (iron oxides, etc.) in suspension. Titanium and zinc oxide will provide some sun protection and will reflect light.These are the ingredient of a typical foundation: Water, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Dimethicone, Isohexadecane, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trehalose, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Propylene Carbonate, Lecithin, Laureth-7, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Dimethicone Silylate,…
July 10th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Using actives available from Skin Actives, it is possible to improve many make-up products. There are, however, some make-up products that can’t be “redeemed”, mascara is one of them. In fact, mascara is terribly effective at destroying eyelashes. Why? Let’s look at an ingredient list: The following is an example of a mascara “disguised” as care product: Water, Synthetic Beeswax, Paraffin, Stearic Acid, Acacia Senegal Gum, Triethanolamine, Butylene Glycol, Carnauba Wax [cera Carnauba], Glyceryl Stearate, Polybutene, Triacontanyl Pvp, Phenoxyethanol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Dehyrdroacetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Glycerin, Tourmaline, Rose Damascena Flower Oil, 1,2-hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Benzoic Acid, Myristoyl Pentapeptide-17, Sodium Benzoate, Iron Oxides, Fragrance (Citronellol, Geraniol, Citral, Eugenol). Even…
July 5th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
DIY (do it yourself) allows the consumer to be creative and make a product that is designed to his/her liking. But DIY also allows the consumer to evade limits to the concentration of ingredients, including those affecting acidity and toxicity of the final products. Don’t! Unless you are a chemist and MD, you are unlikely to know enough to avoid costly mistakes. This is especially true about “hacking” skincare products using the ingredient lists. You may not notice the word “sodium hydroxide” towards the end of an ingredient list that includes glycolic acid and says on its label “70% glycolic acid peel”. Now, they even omit the strong base on…
July 4th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The easiest, and perhaps, most rewarding, way to DIY (do it yourself) skincare is to personalize a ready-made product you already like. You don’t need to start from scratch making a serum or cream or lotion. Just take a product you like and make it suit your body even better. Do you want a product that will firm your skin? Maybe you like our Canvas or European cream? Or our sea kelp bioferment? Add to either of these a hint of any of the following sea kelp bioferment (with extra fucoidan), collagen peptides or hyaluronic acid. What other benefits, besides instant skin tightening, will you get? Pullulan (from my glossary)…
June 28th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I love L’Occitane. But once I read the ingredient lists, it becomes clear to me that I like the idea of L’Occitania: a romantic part of France, Provence, that I haven’t visited (yet), where a strange language was spoken, it makes me dream of exotic fragrances. But it’s just an idea, crystallized in products that are made of the same ingredients, synthetic fragrances, and colors used by everybody else including Korean and French, and American skincare companies. Artists put together the colors and pictures that make me want to buy a $8.50 soap (3.5oz) or spend $34 in 2.5 oz of water, glycerin, cetearyl alcohol, etc. If I am this…
April 4th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
First, you don’t need to have “issues” to take special care of your hair (or eyebrows. By the time you detect hair problems, you may have already lost a lot of it and the rest may be thinning. By taking care of your hair you are actually taking care of your scalp, where the hair is formed. You can read more about the subject here and here. I have posted too many articles about hair, but these two should be enough. And when do you have hair problems? Going on a low calory diet, menopause, pregnancy, illness, are some of the many conditions, good and bad, that will affect your…