Babies & Anti-Aging; A Curious New Link

How far are you willing to go to look young? The latest treatment employs collagen derived from circumcised foreskin. Here’s what you need to know.

by Colette Bouchez -

Heard the term “smooth as a baby’s behind “? Well that phrase might soon include another related part of the anatomy – at least if one group of anti-aging scientists have their way.

Indeed, hot on the heels of an FDA committee report questioning the safety of anti-aging wrinkle fillers, comes news of yet another hot new “injectable” wrinkle filling ingredient – this one derived from the foreskin of circumcised baby boys.

Developed by British biomedical firm InterCytex, the new injectable is known as Vavelta. According to the manufacturer the “ magic” in the foreskin is the proliferation of budding collagen cells known as “fibroblasts. These are “collagen sprouts” that ultimately help the body produce collagen – the natural substance that keeps skin looking smooth, firm and wrinkle-free.

The Magic Of Collagen
When we are young, our body produces a continued supply of fibroblasts – so new collagen is always being made. That’s why young skin looks smooth, firm, supple and wrinkle-free.

But as we grow older, the combination of the natural aging process, along with environmental exposures (like too much sun) reduce or damage the number of active fibroblasts able to churn out collagen.

The end result, we have less collagen available to “prop up” skin’s underlying support structure. Without that support, our facial contours begins to slowly droop and the loosened skin on top begins to wrinkle.

For a while, skin experts believed topically applied collagen suspended in creams and lotions was the key to keeping skin looking young. But it wasn’t long before medical science began to prove that the collagen we apply externally simply doesn’t get down deep enough into the layer of skin where our collagen cells reside.

The next idea was to fill the wrinkles with collagen – or another collagen-like material. That gave birth to the popular wrinkle filling injections we have today. The results were great – albeit most often temporary, with little to no stimulation of fibroblast formation.

But now, scientists at InterCytex say they have the best of both worlds with the new collagen injections derived from a baby’s foreskin.

Not only the does injection fill the depressed area ( a wrinkle or a scar) but the fibroblast cells in the injection itself help stimulate the body to begin manufacturing more of it’s own collagen.

The end result: A wrinkle injection that offers both immediate and long term results.

Currently there is some evidence that all wrinkle filling injections can, over time, stimulate some collagen production. There is also another permanent filler on the market that involves the use of micro sized Plexi-glass-like beads which, when injected into the wrinkle causes the body to rush wound-healing peptides and collagen to the area, creating a permanent fill.

That said, the science behind Vavelta suggests that because the stimulation provided by the fibroblast activity of the foreskin cells is closest to what the body does naturally when we are young - it could prove to be the most effective minimally invasive anti aging injection treatment to date.

The New Wrinkle Injections: A Caution
But before you go scouring the local birth registry looking for the fountain of youth, you should know that, while the company is aggressively seeking FDA approval for use in the US, at the moment, only a select group of British physicians are using Vavelta – and clinical trials are ongoing.

Moreover, so far, the main drawback to the treatment is not so much one of safety, but one of cost. Although mothers must approve the use of their baby’s foreskin for clinical treatment – and many do - it’s still said to be in short supply. And that, of course, pushes the cost of the injections far past those of other wrinkle fillers and probably closer to the cost of traditional plastic surgery.

On the flip side, if the results are, as the company claims, permanent, so one injection could go a long way in helping you look young for a long time. And do it without the risks associated with traditional plastic surgery.

What’s important to recognize, however, is that while the Vavelta “fill” for any one particular wrinkle may be permanent, the procedure itself does nothing to keep other wrinkles from forming. So unless you have special access to Peter Pan’s colony of Lost Boys, you could go bankrupt long before you achieve the look of eternal youth.

You might also be interested in reading:
Hope or Hype? Can You Really Look Younger ?
The Return of the Face Lift & Other Ways To Avoid Growing Old!

For more health and beauty news visit RedDressDiary.com - The Source for Fabulous Women Over 40!

Beauty Buyer Beware: Avoid Anti Aging Skin Care Scams

Open any beauty or fashion magazine and it's hard to miss the ads:

“… a 92% reduction in wrinkles "
" ...clinically proven to firm skin "
“ ...dramatically reduces wrinkles in 7 days "

" ...cellulite gone in 1 application."

And if you're like most of us, it's also hard not to believe them - what with all the numbers and the percent signs and the science-y sounding names and terms.

And yet, talk to almost any dermatologist or plastic surgeon and you're likely to hear that all but a few ingredients have even the potential to do what they say.

“Many of these products are claiming changes in the skin that, if they were true, would automatically classify them as drugs requiring FDA approval - and clearly they are not drugs,” says NYU professor and dermatologist Rhoda Narins, MD.

So, says Narins, it's reasonable to assume that many won't deliver what they promise.

And in fact, this was exactly what the magazine Consumer Reports found last year, when they put a number of popular anti-aging treatments to the test. Their analysis showed that a good deal of the anti aging products make huge promises, simply don't live up to their claims.

So, how do these companies come up with all these "test results" touted in the ads?

Well you may be surprised to hear that for the most part, experts say the results in the ads are truthful. But, what they frequently don't tell us is how the testing was conducted - a factor that can make a huge difference in the validity of the results.

" We don't know, for example the parameters under which the testing was done, how the participants skin looked before it started, what the results compared to, if there was any scientific validation of the effect – and all of this makes a huge difference when interpreting statistical data," says Bruce Katz, MD, professor of dermatology at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.

Katz adds that many studies derive their results simply by asking participants "Does your skin look better? ". And that, he says, has " an enormous potential for the placebo effect."

But even if test results are validated by the Research and Development team of the company, experts say you still can't be sure of unbiased results.

"While some in-house testing is very valid, not all companies use the same standards," says David E. Goldberg, MD, director of Skin Laser and Surgery Specialists of New York and New Jersey.

A much better validation, he says, is independant testing by an "off-campus" physician or hospital, followed by publication in a peer reviewed medical journal.

This, says Goldberg at least validates that the testing followed accepted protocol, and that the results were unbiased.

Also important to note: Sometimes a product itself may not have been clinically tested, but a key ingredient has. While it's considered "fudging" a bit to stake a claim for results that didn't actually involve your product, in many instances, the science behind the ingredient is so strong it lends a degree of validation to any product that includes it.

But, there's a catch! "What's key here is making certain that the product actually contains enough of that active, tested ingredient to make the claim and to make a difference," says Katz.

Cosmetic Shopping Tips: Buyer Beware!

Clearly, there is no over-the-counter cosmetic that is going to yield the kind of results you get from plastic surgery or a dermatologic treatment - no matter good the testing or how accurate the ads.

That said, there are some companies - and some product ingredients - that do have an impressive scientific pedigree. And they can live up to at least some, if not all of their promises.

So, how do you find the flowers amongst the weeds? The experts say keep the following points in mind:

1. Purchase skin care and anti aging products only from reputable companies. The more established a skin care line is, the more likely it is they have the money to spend on independent testing, so there is likely to be at least some good science behind their products. Good companies to seek out include Avon, Garnier Nutritioniste, Olay, Neutrogena, Clinique and Prescriptives. Each features specific anti aging products with at least some proven results.

2. Look for products containing ingredients such as retinol, peptides or antioxidants. Currently these are among the hottest skin care ingredients and do have some science to back them up.

3. Check ingredient labels. A practice known as "angel dusting" means some companies include just enough of a key ingredient to list it on the label but not enough to have any significant effect on your skin. Generally, key ingredients should be among the first several listed on the label. If it's on or near the bottom, don't buy it.

4. If you're not sure about some of the key ingredients mentioned in an ad, check the company's website for information about research and testing - and note if any study results are published in a medical journal. Also important: Look for the lead author of the study to be an independant physician, or that the research was conducted at a medical center or university.

5. If a product is only available online - and isn't carried by your local pharmacy, a department store or a cosmetic superstore - think twice before you buy it. Sometimes exciting new products show up Online first. But other times it can be a hotbed of commerce for off-label products that are untested or even dangerous, or not meant to be used by consumers. Again, let published clinical studies be your guide.

One final note of caution: If you're looking to save a few bucks by purchasing name-brand cosmetics on an auction site, be certain to buy only from reputable merchants - particularly those that are US based and with a long history of favorable transactions. While it may seem like you've netted the bargain of a century when a 60 dollar cream is yours for only 24 bucks -remember, if they can counterfeit a Rolex watch, they can counterfeit a jar of cream!

For more help in in finding the anti aging ingredients and products that really work visit:

RedDressDiary.com - The Destination for Fabulous Women Over 40!

Or visit YourMenopause.com: The Source.

Study: You Can "Teach" Skin To Look Young!

If you feel as if the hands of time have a stranglehold on your wrinkling, aging skin, here’s some news you’ll want to hear: New research shows we may be able to “instruct” the body to make more of at least one biological substance skin needs to look young – and in doing so turn back the hands of time in a major way!

That substance, says experts is collagen. Long believed to play a major role in skin wrinkling, collagen production declines as we age - and for a long time, doctors believed there wasn’t much we could do about that.

But a new report in the current issue of the Archives of Dermatology, says otherwise. Here, researchers from the University of Michigan write that specific advances in skin care made over the past decade have opened the door to the idea that we can "teach" the body to begin producing this vital substance in much the same way it did when we were young.

" Collagen fragmentation is responsible for loss of structural integrity and impairment of fibroblast function in aged human skin - treatments that stimulate production of new, non fragmented collagen should provide substantial improvement to the appearance and health of aged skin," write the researchers.

In essence this means that not only can we stop the hands of time –we have the opportunity to effect a permanent physiological change in skin that can reverse some of the signs of aging - something that has never before been possible.

The best news of all: You don't have to wait a decade or even a year. The study found this was all possible with some dermatologic treatments already in use today.

Old Skin Vs. Young Skin
One of the major differences between “old” skin and “young” skin is the amount and quality of collagen found below the surface. A type of connective tissue, collagen, along with elastin, form a kind of invisible criss-cross netting underneath skin to help support and keep everything in place.

It is, in fact, collagen that gives skin it’s buoyant, dense youthful look and feel, keeping those cheekbones from sliding into your chin and your chin from sliding into your neck - forming a boatload of wrinkles along the way.

But collagen doesn’t last forever. Environmental factors like the sun and pollution – especially chemicals found in cigarette smoke – combine with the natural aging process to damage cells that produce collagen, causing them to become fragmented, or "broken", and no longer able to give skin the support it needs to look young.

"This imbalance advances the aging process in a self-perpetuating, never-ending deleterious cycle," say the researchers.

And what that means is that slowly, over time, “holes’ pop up in that support netting and eventually, get so large that our skins entire support structure begins to collapse. (Think of it like popping a hole in your pantyhose and suddenly the support from that area is gone!).

When the collagen "matrix" or netting becomes broken in enough places, skin support is lost almost entirely. And that means it begins to sag, and eventually, wrinkle.

The Science of Keeping Skin Young
For a while everyone thought the answer to collagen loss was to simply apply more collagen – as in the explosion of collagen creams hitting the market in the 1980’s. But it wasn’t long before science also realized that collagen applied from the outside wasn’t doing much good on the inside. While skin looked temporarily better, the effects weren’t lasting.

And this is where the new Michigan University research sheds some important new light on some current treatment options.

Their report asserts that certain types of topical treatments, as well as some specific wrinkle filling injections, not only provide the immediate skin fix we’re all after, but also work from a long-term standpoint to actually alter the amount of collagen in our skin.

More specifically the researchers say that when certain treatments make their way to skin cells, they are able to create an environment in which damaged fibroblasts (collagen producing cells) can recover – and begin producing collagen in much the way they did when skin was young! In a sense, these treatments are teaching skin to "act" and eventually look the way it did when we were young.

What This Means To You:
You can slow down the hands of time – and with the right treatments and products, maybe even reverse some of the nasty effects of aging that have already occurred.

But at the same time, it doesn’t mean you can throw caution to the wind and ignore the things that cause premature skin aging – including sun exposure, smoking, and other lifestyle factors such as a lack of sleep or a nutrient -poor diet.

Experts say all these things still matter, since the longer you can keep your collagen producing cells healthy and functioning, the less repair work you’ll need.

That said, it’s also comforting to know that with the right treatments and ingredients not only can we compensate for some of the damage that has already occurred to skin cells, there is now good evidence to show that at least some of that damaged may be reversible.

To learn more about which specific treatment types the study found to help initiate the production of new collagen, as well as the skin care ingredients shown to effect change visit
the RedDressDiary.com : The Source For Fabulous Women Over 40!

How Badly Do You Want To Look Young?

That's the question you may be asking yourself when you hear about the newest anti aging ingredient on the horizon: BULL FROG SKIN!

Yes, those slimy, dare I say horny toads at the bottom of your pond may actually hold the key to skin aging - at least according to a group of Korean researchers, who say they have not only found the fountain of youth, but are pretty certain what's swimming at the bottom!

According to a report published in Bioresource Technology , the key element in frog skin is a peptide with such strong antioxidant properties it can practically do away with wrinkle-causing free radicals- you know, the kind caused by pollution and the sun.

If it proves out in further studies, researchers say they'll use the peptide to replace synthetically produced vitamin E, which, though widely used in many skin care products, costs a lot and has a relatively high rate of allergic skin reaction.

Now why they seem to think that we'll be any less likely to have a response to frog skin, I dare not even guess - particularly since, as we all know, touching frogs can mean picking up that nasty finger wart virus.

That said, the Korean team of scientists developing the frog extract seem to think it's not going to be a problem. And in fact, animal-based ingredients are becoming quite the anti-aging rage. Most recently, snail slime extract and snake venom have both been incorporated into anti aging skin care ( and you thought it was all flowers and herbs, right? :)

The latest in the Noah's Ark approach to anti aging skin care: Donkey and Camel milk, both being hailed for their high vitamin and mineral content.

Me? I'd rather eat broccoli and use Prescriptives! :)