Dr. Sivak’s Lab
October 26th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
…and I am still trying to work out an answer Hannah Dear Dr. Sivak,Your exit from Skin Actives was definitely a surprise, but, I get it.You are staying true to your heart and passions.I just want you to know how much you improved the life of a nurse, a wife, a daughter. In 2004, I was diagnosed with melasma, none of the prescribed treatment worked, and after months of searching, found one line of products I could use on my sensitive face. You see, I’m a nurse, and I worked with patients, doctors, and the public daily. And, after always having very good skin, and rarely wearing makeup, I…
August 19th, 2024 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
We had a good run! We did great work, designed and made great products, and improved many lives (including mine, during and after cancer treatment and several ongoing surgeries). Working at Skin Actives was my longest job ever, even longer than my research work in England and Michigan. Now it’s time to say goodbye, and of course, it hurts, but there is still a lot to be achieved. Keep an eye on my blog, I will keep posting, and I will find a way to communicate with you, receive questions and reply to them. Hannah
November 17th, 2023 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The original name for this serum, 20 years ago, was “let’s make collagen.” It was soon shortened to “collagen serum” for convenience, but this serum never contained collagen, an insoluble protein that would settle at the bottom of the bottle and do nothing for your skin. From the get-go, the serum’s purpose was to push your skin to make its own collagen. You can read all about skin collagen in my book, but in my blog post on collagen, you will find more than enough to understand why collagen has to be made inside your skin. This serum started as a list of actives that DIYers (do it yourself aficionados) …
February 9th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
A list of my scientific publications and you will find that most of them were authored by Mirta, not Hannah. When I was born in Argentina, I was named Mirta Noemi because my parents had to choose from a short list of permitted names (the list is much longer now). My family always called me Hannah (Chana), like my grandmother. When I came to the USA, I chose to change my first name from Mirta to Hannah; maybe it was a silly idea (my daughter thinks so), but there you are, and I like having the same name as my beautiful grandmother, of blessed memory. Publications a) In refereed Journals…
September 22nd, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Treat your body nicely, starting with your skin, most of us we will live much longer than an Homo sapiens in prehistoric times. As we age, and the environment works on our skin, what do you see? Scars here and there, wrinkles (but less than in your face), broken capillaries, dry to very dry skin, thinning skin, and more, depending on your genes, your life style, your age. But, first, what is skin tightening? It probably means, for most people, to restore elasticity and firmness to our skin. In more “biochemical” terms, it means to promote synthesis of macromolecules like elastin, collagen and hyaluronic acid, and protect their integrity. And…
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…
January 7th, 2019 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
We don’t think about the value of our eyebrows until something goes wrong with them. This may happen as early as the teens, when we discover tweezers and decide that they can improve upon Nature (they can’t). By the time we are in our 20s, we may realize our mistakes and start using whatever is around to try and get back the lovely eyebrows we used to have. Not long ago, the only options to choose from were brow pencil, permanent tattoos, glued-on fake eyebrows, etc. Not only do they look fake (because they are), but they also weaken the remaining eyebrows. What about eyelashes? If you wear thick mascara it…
December 7th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I made 100 grams of she butter “mousse” like this. I added 50 grams of refined shea butter into a plastic cup compatible with my electric beater with the whip attachment. Heated it in the microwave until almost melted. Don’t over do it! Out of the microwave I added 50 grams of rosehip oil and mixed well. Left it to cool down in the kitchen (room temperature). Took a long bath (this is important for the success of the recipe!). When I came out it was still liquid. When it started to thicken I used the whip attachment and whipped the mix. If nothing happens, let it cool a bit…
October 31st, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
We’ve added a phytic acid to our reformulation of Vitamin C Serum 15%. Phytic acid is used in some alpha hydroxy acid serums because it is a weak acid like ascorbic, malic, etc. Phytic acid is the way we and plants and other organisms store phosphate. Why do we need to store phosphate? Because it is vital for everything that has to do with energy production and use and synthesis of everything that is important to life so it is very useful to have it handy while at the same time without interfering with what is going on at the time. Hence, storing it as phytic acid makes sense. Why…
October 4th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
It is bad when you are feeling unwell/ill/sick/low and on top of that people tell you to “take care of yourself”? At the time, it feels impossible because, where is the energy to take care of yourself? And yet, there is truth in that annoying admonition. Why? Because there is only so much that doctors and medicines can do for you, and there is a lot that you can do to get better sooner. For example, when arthritis hits you (and it will hit everyone who reaches a certain age) the tendency might be to walk “funny” to avoid putting pressure on that knee, or whatever it is. Next step…
June 3rd, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Corals are among the most amazing and beautiful and complex living beings. What we see is an exoskeleton made of calcium carbonate that has been formed slowly by the whole colony, made of identical individual polyps. These polyps are marine invertebrates of the phylum Cnidaria; in this phylum, members of the class Anthozoa are the reef builders, but you may be more familiar with other members of the phylum that include the nasty, if beautiful, jellyfishes. Corals are even more complicated than “just” the colony of tiny polyps making a beautiful exoskeleton that used to end up as beautiful earrings and necklaces (this practice is not heavily regulated). How do…
May 19th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Why do women spend so much money and time taking care of their skin and men don’t? Is this because the skin of men and women are so different in anatomy and physiology and biochemistry? No. The difference is in the expectations we have: women rely on their appearance more, while men are judged by society by other parameters. There are a few differences: men’s skin tends to be thicker. Another: if they wear a beard, it will cover more skin blemishes. Because they don’t wear makeup, there will be less makeup caused damage to the skin (and eyebrows and eyelashes and hair). Not all differences are advantages: acne tends…
April 28th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
What is cancer? All the cells in our body, and in all multicellular organisms, are regulated in multiple ways to make it possible for the organism to function as a whole. Cell division is a very tightly regulated process, and many genes participate in its regulation. As we age, our cells divide again and again and, despite all the corrective mechanisms that ensure that there are no major “typing errors” when DNA duplicates, errors occur. These are called mutations. We can see that our skin cells have mutated in the sun spots that accumulate as we age. This means that the DNA mutations have affected, in one way or another,…
April 3rd, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
For other brands, the most relevant questions are “does it feel good, does it smell good”? But at Skin Actives Scientific we are looking for activity, not just for a pleasant feel that will appeal to your senses. For SAS products the main question is: “does it work?” So far, for every product we make, the answer has been “yes”. Our products are based on good science and we make them very well. How long do they take to work? The time line is different for different products, because aside from products that aim at increasing skin moisture (like ELS, instant comfort), the others may only show benefits when the…
April 1st, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The evidence published in scientific journal shows that, as many other chemicals, vitamins, etc., copper (and copper complexed in a peptide) can be beneficial at very low concentrations and detrimental at higher concentrations. This makes sense: a significant portion of the toxicity of copper comes from its ability to accept and donate single electrons as it changes oxidation state, producing reactive free radical. This same property of copper is used by come enzymes that are crucial to cell metabolism, like superoxide dismutase, tyrosinase and more, and this is why copper is an essential micronutrient. Enzymes use copper in a carefully orchestrated reaction, free copper is another matter. With its capacity…
March 29th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
You decide to go on a diet, trying to shed just a few pounds or a maybe large fraction of your weight. Why do this? Our bodies evolved to face a natural world with food scarcity and occasional bounty. Our stomachs are large and our bodies can accumulate large amounts of fat that can support us during the lean times, and even to support the growth of a baby to term despite the scarcity of food. However, if we live in the developed world in the XXI century, there are no times of scarcity. A visit to Costco can supply enough calories to support a small Iron Age village for…
March 9th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Maybe I should have written the title in ALL CAPS! It should be obvious but it is nice to show you pictures of eyelashes growing and of what were before empty areas of scalp, now regrowing hair. I had a medical procedure last year that ended with me losing a lot of hair, adding to the misery of months of recovery, but our SAS hair serum worked and I am now back to my usual hair. So go and get our KGF containing products, they work. As for me, it is nice to do the right thing and succeed, and helping people on the way. And it is nice to…
March 8th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Rosacea update 2018 New scientific evidence has shown that rosacea’s diverse features may be part of a progression of inflammation, which initially may not be visible to the naked eye but can be detected by looking at the changes in the anatomy, physiology and biochemistry of the skin. It starts with the common presentations of flushing and then stable face redness, and then it may progress to include papules and pustules, and potentially lead to development of external nodules and swellings called phymas. Research on rosacea has intensified over the last 15 years and it suggests that there will be no simple answers. It seems that, underlying rosacea there is…
March 7th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Your vegan hand bag is made of plastic. What is the plastic used to make your “vegan leather” handbag? From Wikipedia: “Plastics are typically organic polymers of high molecular mass and often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, most commonly derived from petrochemicals, however, an array of variants are made from renewable materials…” Plastic is used to replace leather as an inexpensive alternative. What is remarkable is the changes in nomenclature used to sell it. Maybe in the past buying fake leather may have made you feel “cheap”. But buying vegan leather may make you feel virtuous, and you may be willing to pay more for vegan than for…
March 7th, 2018 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
If you can read this, you are probably a human. Next question. What is a stem cell? “It is a an undifferentiated cell of a multicellular organism that is capable of giving rise to indefinitely more cells of the same type, and from which certain other kinds of cell arise by differentiation.” We have stem cells in our skin that will be able to heal your skin if the part of your skin in charge of renewal (stratum basale) gets damaged. Your stem cells have your DNA. If you have been careful (wear sunscreen!) your steam cells’ DNA is intact and non-mutated. What are apple stem cells? Just like your…