Fort Worth, Texas
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Improving one’s skin care regimen hasn’t often made the list of annual
resolutions, but according to David Pollock, vice president of product
development for Texas-based Medi-Cell Laboratories, New Year’s is a perfect
time to re-evaluate the skin care products you’re using.
“Products used for several
years may no longer meet the needs of people who have aged and incurred sun and
environmental damage. They often do not
contain recently discovered therapeutic ingredients or incorporate the latest
technological advances,” he said.
He said
that recent breakthroughs in skin care technology have resulted in anti-aging
formulations that can prevent and reverse skin damage by boosting collagen
production, increasing hydration and reducing fine lines and wrinkles.
“Products
have evolved from old-fashioned oily substances that softened skin’s epidermis
to those absorbed at the stratum basale level where new cells are produced,”
Pollock said.
The newest
contain topical vitamin C, essential for connective tissue in the skin, which
also works as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant to eliminate free
radicals.Most importantly, vitamin C
increases production of collagen, the fibrous protein that gives skin firmness
and a youthful appearance.
“Products
containing collagen do not increase collagen production,” Pollock said, “but a
sufficient level of vitamin C delivered to the new-cell level does.”
He added
that botanical extracts such as ginseng, green tea, sea kelp, kola nut and
ginko biloba, as well as other vitamins, have proven to be effective in
replenishing skin cells, while alpha hydroxy acids remove wrinkle-producing
dead cells at the skin’s surface.
Pollock said that Hydrox-C
therapeutic skin care products are among the newest anti-aging systems
available at drug stores and supermarkets.
They combine three types of non-irritating, stabilized vitamin C,
non-irritating alpha hydroxy acid and beneficial botanicals.
“When
re-evaluating a skin care regimen, remember that all products are not created
equal,” he cautions. “In some cases,
only small amounts of beneficial ingredients are added so that manufacturers
can tout them in their marketing.”
He cites an example from a
recent product comparison study. A “vitamin C cream” was as white as milk,
instantly revealing that there was virtually none in the product, because
vitamin C naturally is light tan in color.
Younger-looking skin is
possible for 1999, but resolve to do your homework on which products to try.
Editor’s Note – David Pollock has been instrumental in the development of therapeutic
skin care products for the some of the most well known companies in the industry. He also serves on the board of Clinical
Results, Inc., an independent product development laboratory.
