Ingredients
January 20th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Yes. But don’t expect a miracle. And be careful how much you add. Natural chemical, energy production. Synonyms: R-α-Lipoic acid (alpha-lipoic acid); Thioctic acid; 6,8-Dithiooctanoic acid Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is good and essential for cell function, but not essential in the nutritional sense because our bodies make it. Older skin may be hungry for this very important antioxidant and cofactor. Lipoic acid, a naturally occurring dithiol complex, is the prosthetic (i.e. non-proteic) group of several enzymes, including the transacetylase part of of the enzyme complex that catalyzes the decarboxylation of pyruvate so that the remaining 2-carbon group can enter the Krebs cycle. ALA also acts as a powerful micronutrient with…
January 5th, 2021 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Fatty acids, like all other ingredients, are what their chemistry says. Chemistry says Cell membranes are crucial to cell life (and health), and fatty acids are crucial to cell membrane structure. Deficiency in essential fatty acids shows as dermatitis. In general, fatty acids are central to the use of energy in the skin and are required to make new skin and maintain function and health. A fatty acid (example: palmitic acid) has a carboxylic acid attached to a long hydrocarbon chain. We, humans, use fatty acids as a significant source of energy during metabolism and as a starting point for the synthesis of phospholipids, the main category of lipid molecules…
December 27th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
The promise: IPeptide™ attenuates the exaggerated inflammatory response of the alarmin, IL-33. It prevents damage induced by sleep deprivation, presents melatonin-like properties against glycation & peroxidation, and reinforces the first line of immune defense. It is time to start biohacking your sleep to improve fatigue signs, dark circles, eyebags, and enjoy a cooling effect. There is so much wrong with this statement. Let counts the ways. Here is the actual composition of that skincare ingredient. INCI Name:Water (and) Glycerin (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Acetyl Hexapeptide-8. Much of the following is written in “scientific jargon”. Don’t panic, the take-home message is clear enough. In the INCI nomenclature, there are about 80…
December 8th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Numbers make statements look more “attractive”, and advertisers use this psychological tool to manipulate people into buying junk. What does it mean by “50x more effective than other forms of Vitamin C”? Nothing. But that 50X catches your attention long enough for you to pay $140 for 30 mL of nothing serum. Numbers are no good unless there is a precise description of how they were obtained. Numbers are no good unless you can trust the source. And yet, the advertised chemical, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (THD ascorbate) is likely to have 0 (zero!) vitamin C activity. How do you measure vitamin C activity? Scurvy is caused by vitamin C deficiency and…
November 30th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
But first, what is it? With a hint of poetry, I would say that SAS sea kelp bioferment brings you the beauty of algae of all colors, from the gigantic sea kelp that makes up the sea kelp forests to the microscopic unicellular algae, from the brown of the fucoxanthin to the coral of the astaxanthin, polysaccharides, and carotenoids. What will you find in our sea kelp bioferment Coral? Seakelp (Lactobacillus/Kelp Ferment Filtrate) Bioferment, Porphyridium Polysaccharide, Fucoxanthin, Astaxanthin. How to use it Sea Kelp Coral by itself will help with an itchy scalp. Sea Kelp Coral can be used as a hair conditioner, it will make your hair feel “softer”…
November 27th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Oil is a viscous liquid at ambient temperatures and is both hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils, literally “fat loving”). Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content; most are unsaturated lipids that are liquid at room temperature. Because they are non-polar, oils do not easily adhere to other substances, making them useful as lubricants, so oils are applied to hair to give it a lustrous look, to prevent tangles and roughness. Don’t get confused: essential oils are not oils! The word “oil” comes from the word for olive; in fact, common oils are all derived from living beings, plants mostly. Even what we…
November 10th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
KGF is a signal molecule, it will tell the keratinocytes in your skin to divide and synthesize macromolecules and make your skin stronger. It will encourage your scalp to grow hair, and your eye brows and eyelashes to be stronger, thicker and increase in density. How can you use it as an ingredient to make your skincare better? How? Add it to a cream, a serum, sea kelp bioferment, almost to anything. Exception: KGF is a protein and as most proteins, it does not like extremes of pH (acids, alkali) or alcohols like ethanol and isopropanol. Where? It will help your nails! It will help your scalp and hair! It…
November 5th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Once upon a time apocynin wasn’t a secret. Apocynin was first described by a German pharmacologist, and in 1883 and was first isolated by Horace Finnemore. In fact, in the 1900s, the root of Canadian hemp, rich in apocynin, was used for its known effectiveness against edema and heart problems. But we tend to forget good things and re-discover them, and that’s OK. In the meantime, scientists elucidate the mechanism of action of the herbal medicine and that’s fantastic because it means we can purify the active chemical and don’t have to worry about possible side effects by other chemicals present in the original plant material. What do we know…
October 31st, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
We make vitamin D and we may need vitamin D supplementation. Why? By definition, a vitamin is something we, humans, need to acquire because we can’t make it, but we can produce vitamin D. Why, then, vitamin D supplementation? Because to be able to make vitamin D we need two things: 7-dehydrocholesterol and expose our skin to UVB radiation. Vitamin D: not only for the bones Vitamin D has a significant role in calcium homeostasis and metabolism and is crucial for bone formation. Vitamin D influences the bones, but also intestines, immune and cardiovascular systems, pancreas, muscles, brain, and the control of cell cycles. And the skin. Vitamin D synthesis…
October 25th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Our skin has so many jobs! One of them is to defend us from pathogens, and the skin has the means (and cells!) to do this. What is the innate immune response? Is the one ready to fight even before our body has actually encountered the new enemy and will help to equip for the adaptive response. It is clear that if we depended solely on antibodies formed days or weeks after the encounter of a brand new pathogen, we could not survive long: the new virus or bacteria would invade, reproduce and kill before the first antibodies were even formed! Just like plants, invertebrates, and other living organisms, we…
October 20th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
If you go for aggressive retinoids, like RetinA, you will need to make up for a disrupted skin barrier, with occlusive ingredients like petrolatum or mineral oil. For all other retinoids that do not visibly disrupt the skin barrier, think about what the cell needs to follow the instructions given by the retinoid. Nutrition like that provided by SAS collagen serum and Every Lipid Serum will help you get the best results out of retinoids. What does a retinoid do? Go and divide! After retinoic acid enters the cell, it binds to specific nuclear receptors. These “activated” nuclear receptors, in turn, bind to specific regulatory sequences (called retinoic acid response…
October 18th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
These are terms used in the CBD industry: isolate, oil, full-spectrum, broad spectrum Why we chose CBD isolate? It is the ingredient to use if you want CBD “pure and simple”. It is actually almost pure (>99%) and simple, in the sense that there are no contaminants with unknown chemistry and properties. This is the natural chemical that binds to the skin cannabinoid receptors. FYI: Full-spectrum: contains THC — the psychoactive component of cannabis. Skin Actives does NOT use this, we are not in the psychoactive business plus there are regulatory issues involved. Broad-spectrum is a mix of chemicals, some of them identified (like hints of THC) and others not.…
October 9th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Why? Because our products support your hair, lash and eyebrows and don’t disrupt endogenous regulation. Look at the ingredient list and don’t get scared! Why so long? Most of the ingredients are nutrients, like amino acids, vitamins (Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine HCl, Riboflavin, Thiamine HCl), essential minerals e.g. Disodium Selenite, Stannous Chloride, Zinc Sulfate), plus lots of antioxidants, both plant-derived (Tocotrienols, Tocopherols, Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Xanthophyll, R-Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta-Carotene) and antioxidant proteins (catalase, thioredoxin, etc.) that ensure your scalp is well-defended from pollutants. What else? Supplements to your own growth factor, like keratinocyte growth factor, plus essential fatty acids (rosehip and pomegranate seed oils). Anything else? Yes, a few ingredients with…
October 9th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Anybody who wants to ensure the fast healing. I explained in my blog , and book, why more (of anything!) is not always better. For example, high concentrations of copper, complexed with a peptide or as a salt, will inhibit collagen synthesis. In other cases, more of a particular ingredient will not be deleterious but will not benefit you either; it will, however, be a waste of money. Let’s be clear: the EGF concentration in Skin Actives “normal” products is sufficient. In fact, Skin Actives products containing growth factors have been helping SAS customers for more than 15 years. But, if you are in a situation where you want to…
October 1st, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Yes. Here is why. Once upon a time, people thought of their skin as a passive “wall” that should be polished so that it will glow. Instead, think of it as a complex organ that contains neuronal networks, it is constantly self-remodeling itself, and modifying non-neuronal cells and mini-organs like the hair follicle and sebaceous glands. It is also a place where immunological machinery is involved in inflammation and immune defense. and a factory of growth factors, vasoactive chemicals, and hormones. The skin is a “feeling machine”, and it has to be because it is the means by which we interact with our environment. Figure: the skin is a complex…
September 10th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Vitamin E provides oil-soluble antioxidant capacity It can protect your cell membranes and break chain reactions Takes care of your lipids and lipoproteins Gives some protection from the sun (because UV damages through oxidative stress) Defends you from ozone, a pollutant What vitamin E can’t do: Can’t provide antioxidant power in the water phase, like the cytosol. It can be your enemy in malaria because it will protect the parasite from oxygen Can’t prevent sunburn (because nothing can prevent sunburn completely) What are the symptoms of Vitamin E insufficiency? They are many and nasty but infrequent unless there is a problem of absorption. The need for vitamin E was detected…
August 3rd, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Whether you are 13 or 31 you still have to think long-term: your skin will be the barrier to protect you from the environment for the rest of your life (which I hope it will be long and happy). Because you have to think long term, you have to be careful when you buy an anti-acne product. Why? Because many companies don’t think long term about your skin when they formulate their products. Many companies only think of making money fast and their interests are unlikely to fit with yours. What should be your objective? To control acne without damaging your skin or aging it prematurely. And yet, many ingredients…
August 2nd, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
I am very glad we have antibiotics and antivirals and vaccines. I would not have liked to live in medieval England when the Saxons (and Merlin?) were concocting remedies for various ills. In a 10th-century Anglo-Saxon medical text called Bald’s Leechbook you will find a remedy for eye styes, an infection of the oil gland in the eyelid. Bald’s eyesalve was made of cow’s bile, wine, garlic, and onions, and was meant to cure styes. Did it work? And, if it did, why and how? It works, as a group of scientists found when they made the salve with garlic, onions, white wine (from the area) and bovine bile salts.…
July 25th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Let’s not get confused: You have hyaluronic acid in your skin. You can apply a hyaluronic acid gel on your skin. The reasons why your own hyaluronic acid is so important to the health of your skin do not apply to the hyaluronic acid gel you can apply to your skin. How to preserve and augment the hyaluronic acid in your skin 1. Use actives that promote endogenous hyaluronic acid synthesis like epidermal growth factor 2. Avoid ingredients that can lead to a break down of hyaluronic acid in your skin like copper (salts, peptides, whatever). 3. Avoid the sun and wear sunscreen. UV radiation leads to the loss pf…
July 19th, 2020 by Dr. Hannah Sivak
Retinoids a.k.a. Vitamin A, and that’s why retinoids are an important part of nutrition, for our whole body including our skin. Vitamin A has been recognized as such since 1920, and it is required for vision, skin health, immune function, bone metabolism and, notably. embryonic development (that’s why excess vitamin A can affect embryonic development). The carotenes alpha, beta, and gamma can be transformed into vitamin A within our body. Why so many? For retinoids to work they must bind to the retinoid receptor in the nuclear membrane. Slightly different molecules can do that and all will have Vitamin A activity. But not all retinoids are the same. Some chemicals…