Kristen’s curious: I just read about La Prairie Cellular Cream Platinum Rare. It is currently the most expensive skin cream on the planet at $1,000 for 1.5 ounces and is infused with Platinum. So Beauty Brains- what’s the REAL deal with this face cream?

The Right Brain responds:

The real deal is that La Prairie’s tiny, $1,000 jar of skin cream is worth every penny! Yeah, right.

Medicinal Platinum

Platinum is a precious, gray-white transition metal used in jewelry, dentistry, automobile emissions control devices and, apparently, La Prairie skin creams. Does platinum have ANY beneficial healing properties whatsoever? Yes, as a matter of fact it does. Complexes made with platinum, like cisplatin, are well known cancer treatments and somewhat less well known for their ability to treat skin diseases that involve accelerated cell growth. Some studies even indicate that platinum complexes can be helpful in treating rheumatoid arthritis and certain allergic diseases. So in a medical context, platinum is a powerful ally in the fight against disease. 

Pretty Platinum

So does this magic metal do anything in cosmetics? We tried to find out what La Prairie had to say about their Cellular Cream Platinum Rare, but their website is woefully lacking in specific information. Here’s what they have to say:

The most precious metal on earth now empowers your most precious asset: your skin. Modern science has shown platinum to be not only one of the rarest elements on earth, but most astonishing in its abilities: impervious to time, incapable of being oxidized by air, so precious, all of it that has ever been mined could fit in a single room.

When La Prairie scientists discovered that platinum had the incredible ability to bond with human skin, they knew the implications were tremendous. La Prairie’s distillation of the rarefied powers and pleasures of platinum into an extravagant anti-aging masterpiece is the most exciting advance in skin science of this decade. The result is Cellular Cream Platinum Rare, a skin-transforming formula that recharges the skin’s electrical balance with pure platinum to ensure ageless performance, protects the skin’s DNA, and replenishes moisture continuously for a look of soft splendor.

This is pure science at its best, offering unparalleled benefits; quite simply, the skin looks, feels and moves like younger skin.

While we don’t doubt that this cream can “replenish moisture” we’re very skeptical about the rest of their claims. Especially since we could find no reference in the technical literature to cosmetic benefits from topical application of platinum. Aside from the the medical applications mentioned above, all we could find was an article in W magazine written by Jane Larkworthy that featured several quotes by Jacqueline Hill, the chemist who worked on this product. According to Ms. Hill “The skin has an ionic buffer zone that holds in moisture while protecting against free radicals and other damaging forces…. When the balance between negative and positive is out of whack due to exposure to pollution, sun damage or stress, the buffer can’t do its job properly, leaving skin both dry and more vulnerable. Platinum re-established a good electrolyte balance, improving moisturization and helping protect the skin.” 

We don’t doubt that the Platinum product can improve the moisture level of skin (since ANY skin cream will do that). But we’re disappointed by the lack of evidence that platinum metal can have this effect.  And we’re not the only ones who aren’t convinced that platinum is worth a pretty penny when it comes to skin care. Ms Larkworthy also quotes New York dermatologist David Colbert who says “Although some precious metals are used in medicine as anti-inflammatories, they require large amounts to be effective, platinum is a very stable precious metal that can act as an antioxidant, but its use in a skin cream in nano amounts is unlikely to exert any visible effect on skin.” Requires large amounts, eh? Well since platinum currently costs about $1,500 per ounce La Prairie should raise their prices! 

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Color us skeptical on this one - if La Prairie had really developed such an incredible breakthrough we’d expect to see some discussion in the technical literature on platinum. At the very least we’d expect evidence of patents in this space. Without any kind of evidence we’ll pass on La Prairie Platinum but, as always, we would be happy to review any technical literature that La Prairie would care to share with us on their behalf.

References:
“W” magazine article by Jane Larkworthy

The effect of platinum complexes on human skin cells in vivo and in vitro. Author: Featherstone, J : Dykes, P J : Marks, R Citation: Skin-Pharmacol. 1991; 4(3): 169-74

The Japanese Journal of Pharmacology Vol.15 , No.2(1965)pp.131-134 EFFECTS OF GOLD AND PLATINUM ON NECROTIZING FACTOR, SKIN SENSITIZING ANTIBODY, AND COMPLEMENT YUTAKA MIZUSHIMA1) and HIROSHI OKUMURA1)

Heather Hopes the Brains Can Help. Hi there. I’m a big fan of Lush products and the company’s responsible philosophy, but I have to wonder what exactly do they mean by “safe synthetics”? Are they non-toxic to humans, the environment, both? I’ve found conflicting information about the toxicity of ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (which Lush would call a “safe synthetic”) et al., and I’d love to know once and for all what’s safe and what’s not. Thanks!

The Right Brain Replies

Thanks so much for your question.  Unfortunately, the answer is not simple and depends mostly on your perspective.

Chemical Phobic

If you are the type that is naturally afraid of chemicals then you won’t believe there are any “safe” synthetics.  People like this believe that the best things come from nature and when we start modifying them, we make them less safe.  This is an extremist attitude but not one that is easily debated. The truth is, it is impossible to “prove” that any chemical is safe.  In science, you can’t “prove” a negative (e.g that a chemical won’t be dangerous).

But this doesn’t only apply to synthetics.  You can’t even prove WATER is safe.  And for some people, WATER isn’t safe.

In the cosmetic industry what happens is that raw materials (whether synthetic or natural) are tested for safety following validated protocols.  If the raw material passes these tests than manufacturers & governments feel confident to say that it is safe.  This doesn’t guarantee safety, but it does help weed out the chemicals that will cause immediate harm.

Chemical Fearless

Another type of person are those who don’t think about their chemical exposure at all.  These people will use any cosmetic or personal care product no matter what’s in there.  It’s all about product performance.  They trust that the government, industry, and industry watchdog groups are doing their jobs and protecting people from problems.
This is not an unreasonable position to take because for the most part, people have used cosmetics in the US for decades with minimal incidences of problems.  Some might disagree with this position and would suggest that there have been problems that we just haven’t seen yet, but there is little proof supporting these connections.

However, this position is extreme too.  We are all genetically different and will react differently to different compounds.  A chemical that is perfectly fine for Sarah Bellum might be horribly irritating to your skin.  Reviewing cosmetic ingredient lists can keep you aware of things to avoid.

Chemical Quizzical

Most people fall in between the two examples listed above.  What often happens is they will hear a sensationalized story about a raw material in the news media or on the Internet and become concerned.  When your well-meaning mom sends you an email telling you that SLS causes cancer or Propylene Glycol causes brain damage, it can make even the most caviler chemist nervous.
And because there is a rampant chemophobia in our society, people readily believe what they’ve read and don’t investigate further.  If they investigated more from reliable sources, they would find that claims of danger are more ambiguous than they’ve heard.

Consider also that the media only reports news that is scary.  Who would be interested in (or even believe) a story like “Lauramide DEA Shown Most Likely To Be Harmless”?  What would watchdog groups like the Environmental Working Group do if they couldn’t find anything scary about the chemicals in your cosmetics? Both have to exaggerate conclusions of the science just to preserve their own existence.

Safe Synthetics

In the United States, the FDA requires that all consumer product manufacturers sell only safe products.  They must do the appropriate safety testing or face recalls, financial penalties, and litigation.  The industry trade group, the PCPC, sets guidelines that legitimate companies follow to help ensure that ALL of the chemicals (whether synthetic or not) are safe.

The Beauty Brains Bottom Line

What are safe synthetics?  Based on the best available science, all synthetic compounds used in cosmetics are “safe synthetics.”  The Lush marketing department is taking liberty with the truth by implying that some synthetics used in cosmetics are not safe.  This is unfortunate.

Sofie searches for science: Thanks for running this blog and speaking so clearly about cosmetic chemistry! Having been here for a while, I thought to de-lurk and ask a question. While doing some research and looking around to figure out a better way to take care of my rather coarse, frizzy, curly hair, I came across the Curl Conscious shampoo for thick hair from Bumble & Bumble. They claim that their product contains an enzyme transglutaminase which is supposed to ”cross-link two amino acids in the hair to form stable, heat- and humidity-resistant bonds.” Sounds like exotic-speak for the purpose of shaking out people’s wallets to me, especially considering that amino acids have to already be chemically bonded to each other to make hair protein, but wanted to make sure whether my hunch is right or not.

The Left Brain leads the way

Thanks for your kind words about our blog, Sofie. And I agree that Bumble and Bumble’s claims do sound highly implausible. To find out why, let’s take a look at the science behind transglutamase.

The truth about transglutamase

Transglutamase (or TG) is a type of enzyme that can react with biological tissues. It is involved in the chemical reactions that cross link proteins in hair and skin. Industrially speaking it is perhaps best known for its ability to act as a “meat glue” to improve the texture of processed meat products. It can even be used to create a “meat dress” as pictured above.

Does it have any application in hair care? Yes, in fact, US Patent 6267957 “Attaching Agents to Tissue with Transglutaminase and a Transglutaminase” by Green et. al., discusses the possibility of using TG to alter the structure of hair.

Can Curl Conscious reshape hair?

There are essentially two possible mechanisms by which TG could reshape hair: it could react directly with hair by altering its shape (from straight to wavy or wavy to straight). Or, it could bond thickening or bulking agents to the hair to thicken each individual hair fiber. However, based on its mode of action, it seems very unlikely that TG will have an effect on hair from a shampoo.

The first mechanism seems unlikely because reshaping requires that the hair be held in place in it’s new configuration while the chemical reaction is taking place. (Think of how a permanent wave works: the hair just doesn’t magically become curly, you have to wrap it around a curler of some kind.) The second mechanism doesn’t seem any more realistic because the shampoo is missing other chemicals that are required for that reaction to take place (you can read the patent link above for more details.)

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Curl Conscious may be a perfectly fine shampoo but it appears highly unlikely that the inclusion of transglutamase will have a significant effect on hair structure. My guess is that Bumble and Bumble is making a claim based on what TG can do, not necessarily what it actually does do in their formula. Of course, if they can provide test data showing their shampoo does reshape hair, I’d be happy to reconsider my position.

What do YOU think? Has anyone in the Beauty Brains community tried Curl Conscious? Or better yet, has anyone ever worn a meat dress?

Fiona’s fear: I use Pantene’s Brunette range of shampoos to maintain my dyed brown hair. This is met with huge scorn by my mother in law who insists that nothing is more effective at maintaining glossy brown hair than rinsing it with an espresso or two once a week. Is coffee an effective way to treat and prolonged coloured hair or is it as useful as the beer rinse (ie- not particularly).

The Left Brain responds:

I love questions like this because the answer can be easily proven by a simple test. But before I explain, let’s talk about products for brunette hair.

Brains on Brunettes

Products like Pantene’s Brunette Expressions and John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette Luminous Color Glaze work because they contain a high concentration of dyes that stain the hair. These dyes won’t permanently color hair and they can’t lighten your natural hair color, but they can give your shade a boost that will last through several shampoos. There are lots of materials that will stain hair in a similar fashion, including fruit juices and coffee, but they won’t provide as much color as intense dyes.

Colorful chemistry

To find out if coffee will color hair I brewed up a pot of double strength espresso. Then I took a tress of bleached blond European hair. I used bleached hair for two reasons: the bleaching makes the hair more porous so it soaks up more of the coffee and the coffee color will show up better on light blond hair. As you can see from the “before” picture below, the hair is very blond. (This will vary depending on the color reproduction of your computer monitor.)

Pre-coffee

Then, I soaked the tress in coffee overnight to see how much the color would change. Here’s how the tress looked after soaking in double strength coffee for 12 hours. As you can see, the hair is a little bit darker, but not very much. (There’s a slight color shift due to the camera, but to the naked eye the hair color barely changed). If the effect is this slight on blonde hair, it will be almost impossible to detect on dark hair. So I’m afraid I’ll have to say that your mother-in-law’s assertion is incorrect.

Post-coffee

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Based on this quick experiment, I conclude that while coffee can stain hair the effect is too slight to be a practical hair treatment. (I realize that a larger scale test with multiple hair types is required to verify these results, but based on my prior experiences in the lab this color change is pretty typical.) So don’t expect to see a Starbuck’s Shampoo on your local supermarket shelf anytime soon.

What do YOU think? Have you ever used coffee or other homemade hair colors? Leave a comment and share your colorful concerns with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Take a look at this video.  It features a fun way to learn about chemical reactions.

If only more videos like these were available when I went to school.  Perhaps more of my classmates would’ve taken an interest in chemistry.

Have you seen interesting science videos?  Leave a comment below and let the Beauty Brains know about them.

SPONSORED POST

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The answer is: research. By familiarizing yourself with the risks involved you give yourself power, so do your homework and be exhaustive. Study up on everything from shapes and sizes to the pros and cons of saline vs. silicone. If you see motherhood in your future, look into what sort of procedure makes for the most successful breastfeeding later on.  According to The Breast Site,

“one of the most important steps a person can take in preparation for any cosmetic plastic surgery procedure is to carefully research and select a find a plastic surgeon certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS).”

This point may well be the most vital – a well-trained and knowledgeable plastic surgeon can mean the difference between disaster and success.

With improving technology, cosmetic surgery really is growing steadily safer and reducing its risks by leaps and bounds. Still, no surgery is really “minor,” and safety should be of top consideration wherever your health is concerned. But with an armful of information and a reputable surgeon at your side, a satisfying experience is wholly within your reach.

This sponsored post was not written by the Beauty Brains.

Hey everyone! Sarah Bellum here doing a little mobile blogging from the mall. Look what I just saw - a vending machine that sells Proactiv acne products! That just made me wonder, have any of you in the Beauty Brains community ever bought beauty products out of a machine? You can leave a comment; I’m on my way to Victoria’s Secret!

It looks like this one was a bit too easy for the Beauty Brains community.  Or maybe you’re just getting much smarter.  Over 40% of you picked the right answer in this poll which is quite impressive.  Let’s see what the real stories are.

1. Older men are happier than older women - [TRUE]

Only 21% of you thought this was fake but apparently it’s true.  According to a recent joint study by researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Southern California, women end up less happy than men. The primary problem is that women are less able to achieve their life goals.  By the time they are 48, women’s overall happiness is lower than that of men’s.  Of course, Left Brain would skewer me if I didn’t point out that this research is based on a survey so the conclusions are sketchy at best.

2. Facial wrinkles can be removed with lasers [TRUE]

18% of you were deceived by this yarn but it’s true. In a report in the July/August issue of Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery scientists say they found carbon dioxide laser resurfacing can be effective for long term treatment of facial wrinkles. The way it works is that thermal damage from the laser prompts the skin to produce more protein collagen and fill in the wrinkles.

A better option than a face lift?

3. Male birds with makeup are more attractive to female birds [TRUE]

These are the kind of stories you have to love.  The scientists wondered if coloring the feathers of a New Jersey barn swallow with a marker would make them “chick” magnets.  In work published in the June issue of Current Biology researchers found that indeed using a colorant on a male bird’s feathers resulted in them mating more often.  The colored birds also had increased levels of testosterone.

Apparently clothes really do make the man (or bird anyway)

4. The French use more water for showering than any other EU country. [FALSE]

42% of you couldn’t believe this one and you were right.  It’s not the French that are water hogs, it’s the Brits. According to a water use survey in the Royal Society of Chemistry the British are most guilty of wasting shower water. They take longer showers than people in France, Germany or Spain.

I wonder how America would’ve faired in the survey.

So how did you do?  Did you get the right answer?  Leave a comment and tell the rest of the Beauty Brains what you think.

Sarah Bellum says:

According to Cosmeticdesign.com, you can now buy an intimate hygiene product for the special guy in your life. To which I reply: Ewwwwww!

Feminine hygiene

In the past I’ve written about all sorts of cosmetic science advances for our dainty pubular regions. There’s the Bikini Kitty intimate shaving system to keep us hair free, there are female enhancement creams to keep us on fire, and let’s not forget about the Go Commando patch that lets us banish panties. But until now I haven’t had an equivalent breakthrough to share with our male readers.

Penile product

Enter Man Junk Intimate Wash, the first product to tackle the “sensitive issue of male private hygiene.” The claim to fame of this product appears to be that it removes bacteria that can lead to a bunch of problems including sexually transmitted diseases and increased risk of penile cancer. (Double ewwwww!) I don’t know where Lefty and Righty weigh in on this topic, but I find it hard to believe that a fancy-schmancy crotch wash will protect against venereal disease any better than plain old soap and water. (And if your guy’s hygiene standards are so low that he’s not even using bar soap, then good luck getting him to use Junk Wash!)

Foreskin formula

According to Cosmeticdesign.com, this product is based on natural and organic ingredients including aloe vera, lime essential oil, tea tree oil, jojoba oil and Totarol, which is a New Zealand tree extract. (Tree extract, hmmm. I’ll let you fill in your own joke here about getting “wood.”)

Anyway, I’m really curious to how this company spins advertises this product without making drug claims - they CERTAINLY can’t claim to stop penile cancer!

What do YOU think? Is Man Junk a scam or would you buy it for that special hygienically-challenged man in your life? Leave a comment and tell the rest of the Beauty Brains community all about your man’s junk!

Top Button knows the secret to abolishing your tiger-striped faux tan. Goodbye kitty cat, hello bronzed goddess!

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