Anti-irritants make up another vital aspect of any skin-care formulation. Regardless of the source, irritation is a problem for all skin types, yet it is almost impossible to avoid. Whether it is from the sun, oxidative damage from pollution, the environment, or from the skin-care products a person uses, irritation can be a constant assault […]

One of my favorite examples of how the cosmetics industry takes an ingredient and either misleads or exaggerates to the point of fabricating information about it is acetyl hexapeptide-3. This synthetically derived peptide is used primarily in skin-care products claiming to have a muscle-relaxing effect similar to Botox injections. Typically, the claims have to do […]

Peptides are a group of cell-communicating ingredients that are showing up in lots of skin-care products these days. They are tiny portions of proteins, which are made of long chains of amino acids. In the human body, peptides regulate the activity of many systems by interacting with target cells. Enzymes break proteins into peptides so […]

Cell-communicating ingredients are getting a lot of attention for their role in helping skin function more normally. Medical journals refer to these as “cell signaling” substances—but I think “cell communicating” is more descriptive of what they do in relation to skin care. Where antioxidants work by intervening in a chain-reaction process called free-radical damage, “grabbing” […]

We are trained by the cosmetics industry to worry about getting more moisture to our skin, yet dry skin is not about putting moisture in the skin but rather helping our skin to keep the water it has. You can give skin all the moisture in the world but it won’t be absorbed where you […]

Antioxidants are an essential part of any state-of-the-art moisturizer. An immense body of research continues to show that antioxidants are a potential panacea for skin’s ills, and ignoring their benefit while shopping for moisturizers (or any products with names like anti­aging or anti-wrinkle or treatment) means you’ll be shortchanging your skin. What makes antioxidants so […]

Antioxidants are all about reducing something called free-radical damage, a term you may already be familiar with. Free-radical damage occurs on a molecular, unseen, unfelt, atomic level but it is nevertheless one of the most destructive internal processes affecting the body, which causes both the body and the skin to “age.” It is also responsible […]

Remember these terms – Antioxidants, Cell-CommunicatingIngredients, and Skin-Identical Ingredients Regardless of the name on the label, and whether it’s a moisturizer, anti-wrinkle or anti­aging product, serum, treatment, or whatever clever term that appears on the label, what all these products should contain are antioxidants, cell-communicating ingredients, and skin-identical ingredients. All skin types need these ingredients […]

What is a moisturized (The answer Will Surprise you) A moisturizer should moisturize, right? But then what does an anti-wrinkle or anti-aging product do? What about a treatment or serum? Moisturizer is an overused term that has lost meaning over the years. With all the anti-aging, anti-wrinkling, lifting, firming, nourishing, organic, works-like-Botox, eye cream, intensive […]