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Vitamins and MIneral Ingredients in Cosmetic Products
  • pdavis3
    I read about loads of products that contain vitamins, minerals, andfruit/vegetable extracts, and how these ingredients are so advantageous tothe skin. Do you think/know if these ingredients even penetrate the top layer (epidermis) and enter the dermis where they can actual do some good?If so, what type of quantity do you need to see a noticable difference as most are the last or second last ingredient meaning they are like 1% of the formulation???
    Are there any brands that have products which contain such ingredients and actually work?

    Thanks,
    Pdavis3
  • Lynnette
    I am told that there is nothing we can do or any product we use that will actually penetrate all the way down to the lower levels of the skin. You would need to talk to a doctor about this. Many companies who are pushing the nanotechnology are claiming this.
    I spoke with one of the worlds top Esteticians and she talked to one company who was claiming this on their product and they changed their advertising about it.  Unless it can be proven, they cannot claim it.
    Just passing along what I have been taught and read.
    buenos dias,
    Lynnette
  • Fitness Brain
    Lynette is totally right, no porduct that I know of can actually penetrate deep into the dermis
    That's said some vitamins and minerals can have a beneficial effect, such as Vitamin A derivatives (retinols and retinoids), Vitamin C and zinc Oxide (sunscreen), "fuit extracts" can sometimes be AHAs, all of which have proven benefits.
    The issue comes down to what the claims of the product are, usually if they say "vitamins" as opposed to the actual vitamin they are using, and/ or if it doesn't appear as one of the top ten ingredients, they are probably doing "angel dusting" (putting insignificant amounts of an ingredients just to make a claim).  Any claiming something like "food for your skin", that they penetrate into the deep layers, to me is just BS.
  • Left BrainLeft Brain
    You are exactly right.  There have been some studies to show that certain ingredients (like vitamin A derivatives, vitamin C, etc) have some beneficial topical effects.  However, vitamin A derivatives are the only reliable vitamins that might have an effect.   In this study, it took 0.4% Retinol to have an effect.
    Vitamin C is highly unstable in skin formulations and is not likely functional by the time you get it to your skin.
    Zinc oxide really works.
  • taiwanesegurltaiwanesegurl
    So..... bottom line, eat your vitamins!!!  =D
    But honestly... look at it from a marketing perspective.. it's GENIUS!  That Fuze lipgloss from Too Face?  Holy macaroni, a lip gloss that helps you lose weight?  Who wouldn't want that?  And it contains what?  oooh that sounds fancy...
    -sigh.. sometimes the smartest women are the dumbest women... My supervisor always says that women are just so stupid when it comes to spending our money on skincare, cosmetics, clothes, and accessories.
  • pas71
    Speaking of eating your vitamins, has anyone tried Dr. Brandt's Water Booster? I read in Allure the other day that it has the equivalent of drinking 14 cups of green tea, which is, of course, full of antioxidants. Supposedly drinking large amounts of green tea also helps you lose weight faster, perhaps by helping your liver process fats. Now, I've never been a huge fan of supplements because I'm always skeptical of how effective something is once you extract it from its natural source, but I am trying to squeeze some more antioxidants into my diet in hopes that it will help me be healthier since I'm at high risk for cancer. I eat a lot of fruit and have been trying to eat more berries specifically, but it sounds so great to have the effect of 14 cups of green tea in one dropper full of water booster. So has anyone tried it? I figure if it doesn't hurt me it's worth it, at the very least maybe I'll get a placebo effect from it.
  • PurpleRulesPurpleRules
    Would drinking 14 cups of green tea really be good for you? It sounds like too much of a good thing.
  • pas71
    No, too much caffeine, which is part of the reason that the booster was recommended (no caffeine).
    As for the amount of antioxidants in 14 cups of green tea, the study that was quoted in Allure (they did not list the source) suggested that higher amounts of the antioxidants that are in green tea show more results. They tested the effect of a potent amount vs. a normal amount (the potent amount was equal to somewhere around 10 cups of green tea, looking at the numbers, it seems that the less-potent amount was somewhere around 1-2 cups). This little article was focused only on weight-loss, though, which is not what I want the supplement for (though a bit of weight-loss wouldn't hurt!). So I have no idea whether it is too much of a good thing or not. I'll let you know!
  • Left BrainLeft Brain
    I think your body's ability to use antioxidants (and most vitamins too) is like a big glass.  You can fill it up to the top but once you've reached the limit you're not filling it any higher.  I once heard (can't find a reference now) that Americans have the "healthiest" urine in the world because of all the vitamins that just run through our system.
    I've got to figure, your body would not be able to process 14 cups of green tea worth of antioxidants.
  • pas71
    Yeah, I would have imagined that the body would not be able to process all that, but the study that Allure quoted makes me curious. Again, I don't know what the study was and it was directed at weight loss, but it makes me optimistic. I remember reading something a while back about the great benefits of bitter orange (don't remember specifics) but that it was only shown to be beneficial in ginormous doses, way more than you can get from eating an orange unless you want to eat a bunch of peels. Usually I'm much more skeptical about such things, but I guess after several doctors appointments the past year where I'm being told constantly about my risks of cancer makes me want to believe! Ahh, American risk society...
  • Fitness Brain
    Well I have to say that maybe there's something about the booster that makes sense
    It is true that most water soluble vitamins get secreted in the urine when in excess, but the idea behind concentrating soemthing like green tea so much is to get more if those elements that are in very low concentrations to begin with, in green tea the polyphenols. I do remeber a lab in the institute I used to work 5 years ago, that was studing some active compounds of chammomile tea that offer protection against stroke, but you needed to drink like 5 liters of the tea to get the correct amount!! so they conce ntrate it and sold them on a pill. Concentrating active compounds of naturally occuring substances has been the basis of most medicines we have, unti, synthethic chemistry came around
    So I am prepared to belive that to get sufficient amoutn of polyphenols in the green tea to get a protective benefot you may need a lot, or a concentrate
  • Left BrainLeft Brain
    There are a few instances of this concentrating effect.  For example, to get the life-extending benefit from the ingredient in Red Wine called resveratrol you would have to drink like 1000 glasses a day.  At least that's what this guru said in a talk at the latest Society of Cosmetic Chemists national meeting.
    However, there could be a downside to concentrating things too.  You could be concentrating things in the green tea that might actually be bad for you.
  • pas71
    I believe it's just the catechins in the amount that you would get from 14 cups of green tea that is in the booster. Of course, that doesn't mean that it couldn't be bad for you, but it's not concentrated green tea in this particular supplement.
  • Fitness Brain
    I guess just extracting the active ingredient and concentrating is what I was thinking about,mmmmmmmm
    is there anything bad in green tea?, I do drink mate tea  which is similaralmost daily, like a liter of it, is a tradition from back home.I thought it was a good habit, I usually skip coffee those days, time will tell I guess, since we drink it very concentrated
    The funny thing is that they put mate in those silly weight loss pills as if it was some kind of magic ingredient
  • pdavis3
    It may just be me, but all of the Skincare products that claim to be "natural, vitamin induced" moisturizers and serums I've tried, have either caused my skin to get worse, or do not seem to sink it to my skin...
    I am not against using synthetic ingredients at all, but would prefer natural options. Does anyone have any suggestions for combo skin moisturizers?
  • taiwanesegurltaiwanesegurl
    Combo skin is the worst.. I have it during winter (during summer, it's just plain oily)..
    So far I've found Boots No 7 Rebalancing Day Gel to work pretty well.  It's light weight yet moisturizing, and your skin just drinks it up.  I just don't like how it does not contain any sunblock ingredients, but oh well..
    In the winter, I like Olay All Day Moisture Cream with SPF 15 for Sensitive Skin (say that 5 times fast!).  It's thicker, but doesn't feel too goopy or yucky.
    Hope these work for you!
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