The Left Brain updates:

I created quite a stir in the world of silk pillow cases last year when I tried to answer the question “Are Silk Pillow Cases Good For Your Skin? (Follow the link for the original post and all the entertaining comments.)

Silk from a sow’s ear?

According to the ASA (the UK organization that enforces British advertising laws) it looks like I was right.  Cosmeticsdesign reports that they have ruled that Direct Beauty Products have not adequately supported their advertising claims that their silk pillow cases have anti-aging properties.  A key issue was the lack of support for minimizing wrinkles. In this particular ad, the company even went so far as to imply that cotton and polyester pillow cases are a major cause of aging, second only to sun damage!

Despite the fact that the company presented a study from the American Academy of Dermatology suggesting that silk pillowcases might reduce sleep lines and wrinkles, the ASA upheld the complaint and said the advertisement must be removed from circulation.  It’s nice to see a governmental body looking out for truth, honesty, and the scientific way! Now if the ASA could just go after Kinoki Detox Foot Pads.

Left Brain reports breaking news from the UK…

Some time ago, there was a news story that reported Boots anti wrinkle cream actually worked. This caused a run on the product and it was quickly imported to the US where it sold great. Unfortunately, a news report is hardly proof of anything so we were a bit skeptical.

Anti wrinkle study

To their credit, the Boots company didn’t stop there. According to this BBC story, they were so certain their product worked, they actually hired a university to do a double-blind, placebo controlled study to prove it. This kind of study is what pharmaceutical companies are required to do to prove new drugs work so it’s the best.

The results of that study just came out and it shows that the Boots No7 Refine and Rewind Intense Perfecting Serum actually had an effect compared to a placebo. The study showed 43% of users saw an improvement in fine lines and wrinkles versus 22% who saw an improvement using the placebo. That means…

For 1 in 5 people, this product will reduce wrinkles

The Anti Wrinkle Study

We haven’t seen the study but it will be published in a peer reviewed journal, The British Journal of Dermatology. This is a legitimate scientific journal and should be respected. The study involved 60 participants (49 women, 11 men) and lasted for 6 months. Participants used the product each night on their hands and face. One group got the product (No7 Refine & Rewind Beauty Serum) and the other got a placebo which was the base product without the anti-aging ingredients including peptides, retinyl palmitate and lupin extract. The group that got the real product showed improved results.

Is Boots Best?

Although this study is promising, there are still a few things to consider.

1. How big is the effect? The authors demonstrate there is a noticeable effect but there’s no indication of how much. Are we talking some line reduction or major wrinkle removal?

2. Not for everyone. 43% of users saw an improvement which means 57% of users didn’t see any improvement at all. No telling who will be the lucky ones for which this product works.

3. Is it a drug? The company claims that the reason it works is because it stimulates fibrillin-1 production (a protein that promotes skin elasticity). In the US, this would fall under a drug classification because it interacts with the body’s metabolism.

4. Boots funded the study. It would be better if the funding was independent but the scientist said the paper would’ve been published no matter what the results were.  This makes this Beauty Brain a little skeptical.

Beauty Brains Bottom Line

It’s not definitive, but it looks like the Boots company has demonstrated their anti wrinkle cream (Boots No7 Refine and Rewind Intense Perfecting Serum) actually has an effect for some people. And once this gets out into the mainstream American media, you can bet it will be a lot tougher to get your hands on.

Are you convinced? Are you ready to go get your Boots anti wrinkle cream? What questions do you have about the study? Leave a comment below.

Christina’s question: Any comments please on Ginvera Green Tea Marvel Gel?

The Right Brain’s cup of tea:

Before I can comment I have to answer this question: what IS Ginvera Green Tea Marvel Gel?

Very Ginvera

Ginvera Marketing Enterprise is a Kuala Lumpur based company that markets over 90 beauty care products in Malaysia and other parts of the Far East. Their Green Tea Marvel Gel was introduced in 1985 and is a popular blackhead treatment in that part of the world. The product appears to be a fairly straightforward alpha hydroxy acid treatment thickened with acrylic acid polymers (Carbomer.) Here are the ingredients:

Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Extract, Ginseng (Panax Ginseng) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Powder, Germanium Velvet Deerhorn Extract, Lycium Extract, Angelica Archangelicae Extract, Carbomer, Alpha Hydroxy Acids, Methyl Paraben, Menthol, Cyclomethicone (and) Dimethicone, Fragrance, Delonised Water.

Marvelous marketing

Now for my comment – this product makes ridiculous claims. Here are two examples from Ginvera’s website:

1. Only Ginvera can remove deep layers of dead cells and blackheads.

2. Dermatologists say” blackheads dead skin are the major cause of skin problems such as enlarged pores, acne, pigmentation, wrinkles, dry rough dull and aging skin.”

Come on! This maybe a perfectly fine acne treatment, but there’s no basis for a superiority claim like #1. And as far as #2 is concerned, the last time we checked, dermatologists do NOT attribute bad skin pigmentation and wrinkles to blackheads.  Ginvera’s really gone overboard with claims that would not be permissible in mainstream markets like the US or EU. Nonetheless, a number of beauty blogs are raving about this product, so you might try it and find that  you like it. But don’t spend a lot of money just because they tell you it’s a marvel.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

Ginvera Green Tea Marvel Gel, like a zillion other alpha hydroxy acid products, may do a marvelous job of controlling acne. But the company only loses crediblity when it makes outrageous claims like the ones cited above.

What’s your favorite acne product? Leave a comment and share your thoughts with the rest of the Beauty Brains community.

Melia muses….There is alot of hype going on about snail creams where I live. I have friends who have used them for scar reduction/healing for acne and thought that they really did work (they got the tip from their dermatologist). I’ve just watched the millionth infomercial about one of these creams and am wondering if they really live up to the claims.

The Left Brain leaves a slimy trail: 

When I initially heard about snail extract being used in cosmetics my BS detector kicked into over drive. After doing a little bit of research I’m still skeptical but at least I was able to find SOME scientific basis for using this ingredient in cosmetics.  

What is snail extract? 

The technical name for snail slime is “Helix Aspersa Müller Glycoconjugates.” It’s described as a thick  fluid gathered by stimulating live snails. (Sounds like a job Sarah Bellum would enjoy.) Chemically speaking, snail slime is a complex mixture of proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, glycoprotein enzymes, hyaluronic acid, copper peptides, antimicrobial peptides and trace elements including copper, zinc, and iron. 

The science of snail slime

There are a number of brands that claim to harness the power of snail trails. For example, there’s Bioskincare, who says their product “protects, deeply moisturizes, renews and triggers the regeneration of skin damaged by acne, injuries, overstretching, photo-aging or dermatological/medical treatments.” Is there any real science that supports the benefits of  snail extract? Sort of. There are certainly plenty of references in the scientific literature. First of all, there a number of patents related to how to gather the secretion and process it for use in cosmetics. One Chilean doctor, for example, patented a procedure for gathering the secretions by agitating snails in warm water and then filtering the mucin. (I wonder how you can tell when the snails are sufficiently agitated?)  Another patent, credited to a Spanish Oncologist, involves stressing the snails mechanically to induce the production of their mucin. I wish I could be sure that no snails were harmed in the production of this skin cream, but based on these patents, it doesn’t look good!  But just because there are patents on snail slime, that doesn’t mean it actually DOES anything. If you’ll notice the patents are related to how to collect the slime, which has nothing to do with proving it really works on your skin.

Will snail slime make wrinkles Es-car-go-away?

So does it really work? A quick Pubmed search reveals a variety of papers describing the effect of snail slime on cell cultures. In these studies a variety of effects where seen including the proliferation of fibroblasts, stimulation of new collagen and elastin fibers, and increased production of fibronectin proteins just to name a few.  But since these effects were demonstrated on cell cultures I have a hard time understanding how they relate to a topical cosmetic product. I did find a few other studies, though, that indicate snail extract improves skin condition by increasing the dermis’ natural ability to take up and hold water. And perhaps most interesting were the studies suggesting that the slime might have topical wound healing properties. There’s enough legitimate science here to make me think that snail extract may be a beneficial ingredient.

However, I didn’t see any data that indicates that any specific cosmetic snail cream has any special efficacy. Until I see some controlled studies of these products, I remain skeptical. 

The Beauty Brains bottom line

As ridiculous as this sounds at first, snail slime may be a powerful bioactive material. But translating that efficacy to a cosmetic product is another story entirely. In any given product it’s impossible to predict efficacy because it depends on the quality of the snail extract that was used, the amount in the product, and how it’s formulated and processed. Until a marketer of these products can demonstrate they have data on their specific product, I would avoid spending a lot of money on snail creams. 

What do YOU think? Would you use snail snot to keep your skin looking younger? Or is it just too gross? Leave a comment and share your snail-ish story with the rest of the Beauty Brains community. 

Leita says…Beauty Brains, I would like to see your opinion in regards to the points made in Jante’s and Rosa’s posts. Right now, I can’t help but feel you’re ignoring these arguments because they’re so full of win.

Left Brain gets prickly:
Thanks for the comments Leita. We didn’t ignore the comments due to a lack of response. We just don’t always have time to go through every comment on every subject and discuss every point.

A lack of response does not indicate agreement.

I find acupuncture particularly troubling, so I’ll address their comments now.

Pointed comments

Jante & Rosa made the following points. You can go back to the comments section of our cosmetic acupuncture post for their entire comments.

Anecdotal Nonsense

“I can’t imagine why Beauty Brain relies solely on her own opinion and others’ poor research for questioning the efficacy of acupuncture, especially when she has never had it herself.”

Our own experiences are a terrible way to make judgments about whether something actually works or not. People are easily fooled. We fill in blanks and falsely assign cause and effect relationships where there might not be. That makes magic tricks entertaining, but it’s practically worthless when it comes to determining truth.

Second, we don’t rely on poor research. We rely on the best peer reviewed research we can find.

Everybody’s doing it

“Why are hundreds of western MD’s now taking medical acpuncture courses at UCLA Medical school to learn this effective modality”

I really don’t know whether this is true but assuming it is, the most logical reason people are taking the course is because their customers are demanding it. They can make more money by offering the service. This says nothing about whether it actually works beyond the placebo effect or not. People, especially ones who don’t exercise critical thinking, are easily fooled.

Just because a large number of people believe something doesn’t make it true.

Argument from Antiquity

“In Asia, Acupuncture and Traditional Asian Medicine has effectively treated all kinds of medical problems for over 2,500 years…In contrast, Western medicine has been practiced a mere 200 years.”

Just because something is old doesn’t mean it’s true or effective. “Western” medicine has been responsible for increasing the human life expectancy from an average of 31 years to an average of over 70 years. This wasn’t achieved through ancient technologies, but through modern, science-based medicine.

Making things up

“over 250,000 people are killed annually by medical errors, including wrong medication, treatment and doctor error. It has become the third leading cause of death in this country.”

I checked. That’s not true. The third leading cause of death (according to the CDC) is stroke.

The claimed number of deaths due to medical error were between 44,000 and 98,000, but even this number is disputably high.

You’re wrong so I’m right

“Even revered journals such as JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine have been found to contain biased, unsubstantiated opinions.”

You are absolutely correct that scientific literature is full of inaccuracies and mistakes. Those mistakes get filtered out after more experimenting and testing. That way, the knowledge gets more and more accurate. But just because medical research is often wrong doesn’t mean that acupuncture works. One person being wrong is not evidence that your beliefs are right.

Evil corporations

“The problem is, in this country, no one wants to pay for the research to be done because there is no money in it.”

I disagree. There is money in it which is exactly why doctors and HMOs are now offering this unproven treatment to patients. $150 a treatment? That sounds like money to me.

You just don’t understand

“It (acupuncture) is a deep and profound method of healing that goes beyond what most people can comprehend. It is based on the fundamental principle of Qi (chee) which has no Western equivalent.”

Qi is a made-up concept for which there is no supporting evidence. If it is true, where is the evidence? If one person can comprehend it, give the rest of us the evidence so we all can comprehend it. If physicists can get people to comprehend quantum physics, Qi believers should be able to give evidence to get others to comprehend this concept.

Skeptical beauty

“No wonder skeptics are quick to automatically say it doesn’t work.”

Skeptics aren’t quick to say it doesn’t work. There have been study after study after study which demonstrates acupuncture has no effect beyond a placebo effect. That is why skeptics say it doesn’t work. There’s no proof that it does!

Cosmetic Acupuncture

“Regarding cosmetic acupuncture, it will never replace a surgical face-lift. It wasn’t meant to. Two of the many things it will do, is promote the production and movement of qi and blood in the underlying tissues as well as cause a slight micro-trauma which increases collagen production.”

And your proof of this is what? We are supposed to believe it just because you say it is true?

Clinical studies

“Clinical studies presented by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have shown that acupuncture is an effective treatment for nausea caused by surgical anesthesia and cancer chemotherapy, as well as for dental pain after surgery.”

There have been a number of clinical studies about acupuncture. If you look at the study design, the ones that show positive benefits have no placebo controls. When you add a placebo control, acupuncture is not more effective than a fake placebo treatment. Millions of dollars have gone into studying acupuncture. The conclusion…it doesn’t work better than a placebo.

Beauty Brains bottom line

For the most part, we love to see companies offering alternatives to the same old wrinkle treatments everyone sells. But it hurts to see people wasting their money on things that have not been shown to be effective. Cosmetic acupuncture, and general acupuncture, still have not been proven effective. They are still, most likely, a waste of money.

Have you had acupuncture?  What did you think of the effects?  Is it worth doing as a beauty treatment?  Leave your comments below.