Ella inquires: I read an article at Realself.com about Dermasyn, a new anti-aging breakthrough from Sweden. Apparently it’s like getting a face lift without a knife. Sounds suspicious to me – can the Beauty Brains please comment?
The Right Brain Rebounds:
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Ella. We found out that Dermasyn contains a trademarked blend of natural ingredients called Tricutan. According to this article from Cosmetics Design.com, Tricutan is a “potent blend of Chinese Indian and Mediterranean herbs, including rosemary, macadamia nut oil, turmeric and the medicinal herb Centella Asiatic.” Supposedly, this blend can tighten facial muscles and make skin look and feel firmer, hence the facelift with a knife tagline. There’s even a reference to a clinical study done by Swedish researchers proving that Tricutan really works.
Tricutan, too good to be true?
A review of this study reveals one KEY piece of missing information: in addition to the natural extracts, Tricutan also contains a chemical known as DMAE. Ah ha! DMAE, in case you didn’t know, has been used as in anti-aging skin care products since the 1990’s.
What is DMAE?
As described in this reference from a researcher at Johnson and Johnson, DMAE (or 2-dimethylaminoethanol as it is formally known) is related to the B vitamin choline and is a precursor of acetylcholine. The researcher speculates that the ability of acetylcholine to help regulate cellular processes like proliferation, differentiation, locomotion, and secretion may account for DMAE action on the skin.
What does DMAE do for skin?
The article references a randomized clinical study, in which a gel containing 3% DMAE was applied to the face daily for 16 weeks and was shown to have a statistically significant reduction in forehead lines and fine wrinkles around the eyes. There was a directional improvement in the appearance of coarse wrinkles, under-eye dark circles, and generally saggy skin. In addition to these subjective measurements, the skin-firming effects of DMAE were confirmed by instrumental measurement of skin tensile strength.
The study concludes that the benefits of DMAE include potential anti-inflammatory effects and increase in skin firmness, possibly due to improvement in underlying facial muscle tone. It also suggests that more research is called for. We found a few other studies that point to the efficacy of DMAE.
Surprisingly, there are only a few products on the market today that use DMAE and we’re curious why the big companies haven’t jumped all over this. We wonder if it has something to do with the fact that we didn’t see much data substantiating its long term safety. Still, there’s enough science here to indicate that DMAE (and blends that contain this ingredient) can plausibly improve the look and feel of skin. What we DON’T believe is that the blend of natural extracts cited by the Swedish researchers are effective by themselves.
The Beauty Brains bottom line:
Does Deramsyn really work? There is at least some data that suggest its active ingredient provides a benefit. But there’s no data to suggest that the Tricutan blend does anything special beyond what DMAE does. To prove that point, Dermasyn should have tested their blend with extracts and DMAE versus DMAE alone. The good news is, this appears to be a technology that could really work. The bad news is, it’s another example of a company hiding behind a natural ingredient story instead of telling us the truth.
What do YOU think? Have you ever tried a DMAE based products? Leave a comment and let us know.
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I get nothing when I click the link to see what other products use DMAE. Is this ominous?
Nothing ominous, Bob. N.(Nathan)V. Perricone, M.D. has had a long-lived, successful line with the primary ingredient being DMAE. It can be purchased from his website directly, I’m sure; however, it is much less expensive to find his line at Sephora (www.sephora.com) and type in the key word: “Perricone”. Also, probably still less expensive — it is sold on QVC.com under N.V. Perricone, M.D., Cosmeceuticals Skin Care. I have found his line to be amazingly beneficial for improvement or crepey textured skin and wrinkles. Also it is very soothing and never irritating. Hope this helps you and many others looking for a specific product line using DMAE!!!
Yes, it is ominous. Recent scientific research has shown that DMAE actually *damages skin cells*. Specifically, it kills them. Here’s a link to the research.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKCOL85568520070418
Take that, Dr. Perricone!
I’ve used a product containing DMAE for about six months and it has definitely decreased my dark-blue under-eye circles, eliminated the “orange peel” skin either side of my nose, and firmed my jawline. That Reuters article, while worrisome, cites only one study. More need to be done.
I wanted to say the same thing as Niall, I also read (on a Dutch website) that it decreases wrinkles by damaging the skin so actually the swelling of the skin make wrinkles look less deep, but it’s definately not good for your skin.
Thanks to the Beauty Brains for this excellent information on Dermyn, which I saw advertised in the newspaper.
When I saw the ad, I thought that it might be a topical version of Thermage, which tightens the skin by promoting collagen production — by DAMAGING the skin with laser heat.
Don’t a lot of de-wrinkling products damage the skin a little bit in order to stimulate collagen production? For example, glycolic acid products?
Hey, check this out. My next stop after the Brains to research Dermyn was Bulk Actives, which sells bulk ingredients to make your own products — including DMAE.
And they are really inexpensive.
I might be leery, except the site seems really well thought-out, with recipes, calculators and pretty thorough info about each product.
I emailed them asking whether I could substitute lecithin for one of their polymer-based thickening products. I probably am going to make my own “dermyn.” Susyn?
My skin has always been very finicky; it’s sensitive yet acne prone so I’ve had a lot of trouble trying to find a moisturizer that works for me.
Over Christmas 2008, my fiance bought me the MADE FROM EARTH Vitamin Enhanced Face Firming Serum. I was skeptical due to how my skin tends to react to different products. Well, I fell in love with “Made from Earth” immediately.
From the texture, to the way it melts into your skin and doesn’t leave that greasy feel, and the fact that it keeps my skin pretty much shine-free all day long.
I’m now 7months pregnant, and I was worried that my skin would completely breakout from the hormones, but Made from Earth’s “Green Tea Toxin Cleanser” face wash and “3 Berry Face Serum” have kept my skin breakout free and wonderful.
I love the Vitamin Enhanced Firming Serum – and a little bit goes a very long way, so it’s worth the money!
I just found Dermae face cream with DMAE, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and C-Ester in the health food section of our grocery store. http://www.dermae.com
Have been using DERMA -E … ester-c, alpha-lipic acid , DMAE …
I am 50 guess what … it does work and the skin is a tell-tale of what the body is doing …. so if your your skin , hair , nails look good …. your insides are doing well …. take good care inside and out … H2O , fresh air and wholesome foods with a little help from GODS good genes we are good … oh!!! and good skin cream …. DMAE>ESTER-C>ALPHA-LIPIC ACID ……