Ingredients
January 28th, 2023 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Yes! Niacinamide is great! And you can make your own niacinamide skin care easily: just add it to Skin Actives base spray and serum. It’s very soluble in water, one of those few actives that it’s easy to use on your own. Niacinamide is a frequent ingredient in skincare, and for good reasons: it’s a vitamin, so it will be useful even at very low concentrations. It has many more benefits for the skin, so read on! Figure. Chemical structure of niacinamide (nicotinamide) Why a vitamin? No niacinamide, no NAD+, no respiration! Niacinamide is one of the components of NADPH (reduced niacinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate) the coenzyme that provides the…
January 15th, 2023 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
“Nona” from Latin, having nine (remember hexagon, heptagon, etc.?). Is a nonapeptide better than an octapeptide? Or than a decapeptide? It doesn’t matter how many amino acids; the sequence is what matters. In this case, the stereospecificity also matters because a couple of amino acids used in this particular peptide are not present in proteins, which are all Levo amino acids. The actual sequence of this nonapeptide, described by Jayawickreme et al. (1994), is Met-Pro-D-Phe-Arg-D-Trp-Phe-Lys-Pro-Val-NH2Why does it matter? Because it has to do with a spatial 3-D structure that will bind to the hormone receptor, blocking access to the normal hormone and preventing it from working. The idea is to…
November 18th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Why? In the past, Royal Jelly may have been the only source of complete nutrition for a very sick patient hoping for recovery. It’s good for the skin, good for the hair, and good for so many human needs. These days, we have many other sources of vitamins and nutrition; we don’t need to “steal” from the honey bees feeding the queen bee, which is the colony’s future. The methodology to produce royal jelly these days is surprising in the many ways that it wastes resources, including the waste of honey bees. Colonies in movable frame hives are stimulated to produce queen bees. Royal jelly is collected from each individual…
November 18th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Our new ingredient is a bioidentical protein with the power of Royal Jelly defensin-1, a.k.a. Royalisin. It has its own INCI name, Honey Bee Defensin-1 Why love it? 1) Uses the power of technology to make a valuable protein affordable and free of allergenic components 2) simulates re-epithelization 3) antibacterial 4) antifungal 5) accelerates healing 6) accelerates skin renewal 7) It does all of these while preserving the environment, allowing honey bees to do what they do best: pollinate so many beautiful flowers, preserve nature and make honey! Find it in our new serum, Regenerating Defensin Serum. Read more about bee defensin 1: What’s new in Skin Actives? Defensin…
October 21st, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Here you see, once again, the usual chain of events/people: herbalists and shamans (using the herbs), phytochemists (identifying the active chemicals), and biochemists (purifying the active chemicals and, eventually, clarifying the mechanism of action). Centella asiatica (Gotu kola, a.k.a. Hydrocotyle asiatica). This oriental herb has been used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine for centuries. The active chemicals in the extract are terpenoids, including asiatic acid, madecassic acid, and asiaticoside. Centella asiatica helps wounds heal, by stimulating the production of type I collagen and decreasing the inflammatory reaction and production of myofibroblasts. Triterpenes from gotu cola may also affect various stages of tissue development including keratinization (the process of replacing…
October 2nd, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Revela ingredients: Water, Denatured Ethanol, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Propanediol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Caffeine, Serenoa Serrulata (Saw Palmetto) Extract, Apple Extract, Niacin, L-Lysine, ProCelinyl (furanyl methylthio methyl sulfanyl triazole), Biotin, L-Methionine, Inositol, Thiamine HCI (Vitamin B1), Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5). If you are about to buy Revela because you think that $90 is all you can lose, think again. Nobody knows what this novel chemical can do to a human body because humans had never encountered it before it was created and added to these products. The loophole in medicine/cosmetics, as seen by the FDA is a temptation to people wanting to make a fast buck.…
September 26th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Magic foods are magical because of the chemicals they contain. What chemicals give honey and royal jelly, products of the western honey bee (Apis mellifera) hard work, their power? honey and royal jelly have been used for millennia to help with wound healing.Historically, honeybee products, such as honey and royal jelly, have been used to treat injuries. Before sulfonamides and other antibiotics, which were discovered in the XX century, that’s all there was: natural products that had antibacterial or antifungal activity. Royal jelly is secreted by worker bees’ hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands, which is then used to nourish the larvae. Royal jelly has antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties and also has…
September 21st, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
This case is about a new skincare brand created in Spain by a plastic surgeon who is telling Spaniards that it’s not necessary to go under the (his) knife to have a young face. All they need is his new line of skincare products. What’s this all about? His theory is that skin ages because of the accumulation of a toxic protein, called “progerin” that causes all the symptoms of aging skin, including thin skin, wrinkles, non-uniform pigmentation, enlarged pores, etc. He then asserts that his new skincare products, containing an alga extract, plus two other plant extracts, can destroy this toxic protein and restore skin to its younger appearance…
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,…
August 5th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Castor beans are cultivated for the oil extracted from the seeds; it is produced by cold pressing the seeds followed by clarification of the oil by heat. . The castor bean from which oil is extracted contains toxic and allergenic chemicals, but these are not present in the oil itself, because ricin does not partition into the oil. The toxicity of the seeds makes them harder to cultivate and process. Castor oil has better low-temperature viscosity properties and high-temperature lubrication than most vegetable oils, making it useful as a lubricant for engines. It’s also a great material for use as a raw material in chemical synthesis: the chemical reactivity of…
July 20th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Question: “I bought apocynin powder to add to my creams but cannot find any information on HOW to add it or liquefy it. Please help! You should include a recipe with the Order.Thanks.” A solid is a solid at room temperature, you can melt by increasing the temperature a lot; it’s called the melting point. For apocynin, that’s 115°C. But you are not looking at melting apocynin not what you are looking for. You need to dissolve a solid, apocynin, in a liquid or lotion at room temperature or as near as possible to it so that you can apply it to your skin and get its benefits. DIY skincare…
July 4th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Polyphenols come in all kinds of shapes and from very different plants. They need antioxidants just as we do. For some tasty polyphenols have a beer Let me tell you about hops, a critical ingredient of beer for many centuries. Before hops, beer didn’t taste “right” and did not last very long before going bad. What is so special about hops? The “common” hops plant is a very uncommon factory of beneficial phytochemicals, some of them unique to hops. This genus Humulus is related to cannabis, they both belong t the Family Cannabaceae and they have many chemicals in common, like the terpenes myrcene. The hop plants are dioecious, i.e.…
July 4th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
INCI Name:Saccharide Isomerate (and) Aqua (and) Citric Acid (and) Sodium Citrate The consumer may see nothing strange in this ingredient list, but the chemist or biochemist or biologist will ask “what on earth is saccharide isomerate”. If you are Hannah you will think that you must have forgotten something important because I used to know everything about sugars and polysaccharides. Is it age? No. It’s not my age. Saccharide isomerate is an invention of the ingredients industry, great at pulling names out of the proverbial magic hat. Saccharide isomerate is a soup, a mix of unknown sugars made in the laboratory. And, as its composition is unknown, it can’t be…
July 3rd, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Why are Skin Actives ingredient lists so long? It’s not because of “label value”, the skincare industry practice that uses plant Latin names to hide the “baddies” and make you think you are getting value for money. Not at all. Each ingredient in our list has a good reason to be there. We at Skin Actives understand how complex the skin is. To address a skin problem, or to improve skin health, or reverse skin aging, we need to address that complexity, and this is how our ingredient lists become so long. Look, for example, at how eczema develops (for a more detailed explanation, please see this post). You have…
July 2nd, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Actually, kefir bioferment for your scalp, not just your hair. It will improve scalp and hair and work as a pre-biotic, modifying, for the better, the complex scalp microbiota (when it goes wrong, think dandruff). The scalp makes the hair, a “finished product” protein, not live cells. We can help maintain the health of the scalp, so that our hair looks better and feels better. Still, the kefir bioferment has a nice conditioning effect on the hair, which will feel softer and more manageable. Bioferments by Skin Actives We use the name “bioferment,” an INCI name. INCI refers to “International Nomenclature for Cosmetic Ingredients.” By law, we must use the…
July 1st, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
What is atopic dermatitis? It’s a common, chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by skin barrier dysfunction, inflammation, and itch. Steps to control eczema and atopic dermatitis Patch-up skin barrier disruption with topical occlusive products Keep the skin well hydrated. Avoid further disruption: avoid bubble baths, alcohol, abrasion, and prevent scratching at all costs Avoid ingredients that are allergenic like some fragrances and tea tree oil. Unfortunately, some “natural” products supposedly formulated for sensitive skin, contain allergenic ingredients, practically ensuring that eczema will develop or worsen. Avoid UV: this type of radiation promotes inflammation and production of ROS* (reactive oxygen species) Control opportunistic allergens like Malassezia with antifungals and pre-biotics (bee…
June 19th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
A ubiquitous biological material, keratin represents a group of insoluble, usually high-sulfur content and filament-forming proteins, constituting the bulk of epidermal appendages such as hair, nails, claws, turtle scutes, horns, beaks, and feathers. These keratinous materials are formed by cells filled with keratin and are considered ‘dead tissues’. Nevertheless, they are among the toughest biological materials, serving various interesting functions, like scales to armor the body, horns to combat aggressors, hagfish slime as a defense against predators, nails, and claws to increase prehension, hair and fur to protect against the environment. Thinking about keratins familiar to us, it’s hard to think of how they could make an ingredient in skincare,…
May 22nd, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
What is a solvent? A solvent is a liquid used to dissolve a powder; the solute dissolves because its molecules interact with the molecules of the solvent. For example, sugar will dissolve in water but not in oil. In skincare, solvents are ingredients used to dissolve other solid ingredients. The usual solvents include water, vegetable or animal fats, silicones, alcohols, etc. When I plan a formulation, my objective is to use actives at the optimal concentration. If the active ingredient is not soluble in water or oil, I may have to find an alternative solvent because the un-dissolved active will just “seat there”. In most Skin Actives products, there are…
May 18th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I am worried about all that talk about “plant-based” you see in skincare advertising. Why? Because it seems that in pursuit of anything and everything “plant”, we are going in the wrong direction. Example: alkanes. I love alkanes: linear carbon and hydrogen chains, make up waxes that will protect leaves and fruits from losing water. They also work great at preventing water loss from our skin, and the most expensive skincare products use inexpensive petrolatum and mineral oil to make a cream that will prevent water loss and accelerate healing. Most of the petrolatum and mineral oil we use comes from ancient organic matter, the same source of the gas/petrol…
May 13th, 2022 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
When we were living in caves and fighting wild lions, we didn’t make it to menopause. Now, we do. Estrogen does a lot for our bodies, including our skin and scalp. Estrogen deficiency, like the one that comes with menopause, leads to aging and delayed skin repair. In addition to “normal” menopause (around 50), many women go through early menopause, have to contend with the effects of removal of the ovaries or deal with estrogen suppressants (to control the growth of a tumor that responds to estrogen). How does menopause affect skin and hair? The answer is complicated, so I hope you will bear with me. But first, why is…