You don’t want to be in this publication: caprylhydroxamic acid

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 I recommend upping your exfoliation to help slough off this skin and reveal your healthy skin underneath. ”

This is the worse advice I have ever seen. If your skin starts getting worse, stop doing what you are doing, and certainly don’t keep harming in your skin in additional ways. In this case, the problem seems to be caprylhydroxamic acid, a new ingredients used as preservative in this anti-paraben craze, that has produced an epidemic of allergic contact dermatitis.

This customer will end up in the emergency room is she follows this advice.

The ingredient list:  Aqua, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Yeast Extract, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Sorbitol, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex, Glucuronic Acid, Squalane, Xanthan Gum, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, and sh-Oligopeptide 1

This ingredient list makes no sense whatsoever.

Ackermann L,et al. (2017) An epidemic of allergic contact dermatitis caused by a new allergen, caprylhydroxamic acid, in moisturizers. Contact Dermatitis. 2017 Sep;77(3):159-162. doi: 10.1111/cod.12787. Epub 2017 Apr 19.