By Hannah Sivak, PhD
Biochemist
Skin Actives Scientific LLC

According to an article in Elle Magazine ("Home improvement", January 2008 issue), "high-tech stuff belongs in the high-tech realm". I could not agree more. Ane where will you find "high tech"? Here, on Ebay, in the Skin Actives Scientific store!

To find high-tech worth having, look for the scientists. Whatever advertising by big skin care companies may say, their skin care products have little to do with science.   They "talk the talk" but "don't walk the walk".

Intuition can't replace science, and skin care "gurus" lacking scientific education can end up making costly mistakes, with "costly" referring not just to money but also to health. For example, the FDA recently found that Jan Marini was "spiking" an eye lash product with a prescription medicine. This is a mistake that a scientist would not make, because we learn to respect biology and biochemistry. Once you know the complexity of the living systems, you are very shy when it comes to tamper with the unknown.

Don't make the mistake of confusing fancy sounding "complexes" with high-tech. This is a marketing device used to disguise common ingredients. For example, "amino multi-tide" may be a mixture of amino acids, but how can you tell if the manufacturers don't tell you what's in it? And what are Torricellum, Emulium kappa, Anatokin, Pepha Tight, etc.? It is common stuff that is so common, they can't even tell us what it is. Or, in the case of Perricone's neuropeptides, it is stuff so yucky he doesn't tell us what it is.

As for real high-tech, there is a lot of valuable actives around, thanks to impressive advances in biochemistry and molecular biology. We do have high purity growth factors, synthetic peptides, and active biochemicals (like Coenzyme Q10) that 20 years ago would have cost hundred of thousands dollars per milligram, and 50 years ago would have been impossible to get. Now these fantastic actives are relatively inexpensive at the concentrations required for effectiveness. Everybody should take advantage of these scientific advances because they can benefit your skin immensely. However, don't expect to find these high tech actives in expensive skin care products; after the big companies spend so much money on marketing, why spend yet more money on actives?

Look at the long list of ready to mix high-tech actives sold by Skin Actives Scientific and our ready mixed serums and creams. You will be impressed by the results you can obtain by using products that are actually based in cutting edge science. No hype needed.

5 alpha reductase inhibitors: saw palmetto
Acne: retinyl acetate (use at night), white willow extract, liquorice, saw palmetto, calcium pantothenate
Acne scars: Centella asiatica, copper peptide
Allergy, atopic dermatitis: Andrographis paniculata, quercetin, calcium pantothenate
Antibacterial: white willow bark extract, liquorice, Coleus oil, tea tree oil
AntiOx:  antiOx booster, acai, alpha lipoic acid, glutathione, superoxide dismutase, grape seed proanthocyanidins, green tea EGCG, kinetin, tetrahydrocurcuminoids
Cancer prevention/control: betulinic acid + caffeine green tea + EGCG green tea + pomegranate oil, mangosteen, amla, silymarin
Collagen synthesis and protection: ascorbic acid, niacinamide, N-acetyl glucosamine,
Boswellia serrata, Centella asiatica, copper peptide, epidermal growth factor, green tea
horse chestnut, natural active peptides, retinyl acetate, sea kelp bioferment
Cold sores: sea kelp, liquorice,  propolis, fungal beta glucan (for prevention use Liquid Rainbow)
Dark under-eye circles: amla, chrysin.
Skin elasticity: melatonin, lutein, retinyl acetate, carnitine, betulinic acid, Centella asiatica
Gray hair: KGF
Healing: EGF, Centella asiatica, copper peptide
Hyaluronic acid synthesis and preservation: hyaluronic acid, Boswellia serrata
Modulation of immune response: yeast beta glucan, Bupleurum falcatum
Inflammation, irritation: bisabolol, mangosteen, allantoin, Jiaogulan, lutein, quercetin, white willow extract, phytosterols, betulinic acid, Boswellia serrata, Bupleurum falcatum, Polypodium leucotomos
Lip color: hesperidin
Mitochondrial health and energy production: CoQ10, resveratrol, carnitine, creatine pyruvate, alpha lipoic acid
Phytoestrogens: soy isoflavones, wild yam
Post-radiation treatment: Canvas, calcium pantothenate, rosehip oil, melatonin, EGF, KGF, Boswellia serrata, Centella asiatica
Pre-procedure bruise prevention: rosehip oil and vitamin K
Protease inhibitors: betulinic acid, Boswellia serrata, pomegranate extract, horse chestnut
Prevention of protein glycosylation (Maillard reaction): carnosine, Boswellia serrata
Psoriasis: Centella asiatica, Polypodium leucotomos
Repair of skin barrier: GABA, olive extract, sodium PCA, phytosterols, ceramides, lecithin, olive extract.
Rosacea: liquorice, 4-ethoxybenzaldehyde
Scars and stretch marks: Centella asiatica, quercetin, rosehip oil, phytosterols.
Seborrheic dermatitis: sea kelp, niacinamide, green tea EGCG to control sebum production, beta glucan
Skin lightening: kojic acid dipalmitate, arbutin, liquorice
Skin color: niacinamide, N-acetyl glucosamine
Sun protection: lutein, Polypodium leucotomos, resveratrol, silymarin
Wrinkle relaxer (freeze action) :  GABA, Jiaogulan extract, argireline