Skin Care Ingredients In Our Natural Skin Care Products

Knowing how to decipher an ingredient list is hard, but even if it does not tell you specifically what percentage of each ingredient was used to create the formula, it is a far more acceptable source of information than the product description and claims. Thus, let us take a detailed look first at the organic ingredient and then at the rest of the components we use, essentially to transform a viscose fluid that regulates the coordinated reconstruction of damaged skin cells and protects the skin into a pleasant cream with improved moisturizing properties and other benefits.

The biological ingredient

Helix Aspersa Müller GlycoConjugates is gathered pure from live snails of this species, and it is immediately homogenized and stabilized to avoid hydrolysis of its enzymes and proteins.

The biological active is embedded in liposome – microscopic “fat” vessels that are readily taken in by the cells carrying the ingredient within the target cells, deep within the skin.

Biochemical analysis of the fluid substance we collect from snails, shows it contains a complex compound of glycoconjugates, comprising glycosaminoglycans, glycoproteins that act as enzymes and proteoglycans. These are complex glyco molecules made of sulfated sugar or carbohydrate chains (sugar= glyco), globular soluble proteins, uronic acids and several oligoelements ( copper, zinc, calcium and iron) as well as copper peptides and antimicrobial peptides.

It triggers skin regeneration by activating fibroblasts, the cells in the basal layer of the skin responsible for the production of new healthy skin cells and all the extracellular matrix that forms our skin tissues.

The Primary Biological Ingredient

The primary element in all our products is the serum produced copiously by land snails of the species Helix Aspersa Müller each time they are stressed. Stress makes them produce a viscous fluid substance to protect, moisturize, heal and renew its skin. This is also secreted by the snail for many other biological activities, albeit with a different molecular composition or a different proportion of its molecular components. The intricate molecules the secretion encloses have been thoroughly studied and you can read all about them by following the links above.

How do we collect this rich substance? We use a method that is completely harmless for the snails, while it allows us to collect it PURE as it is copiously being secreted by the snails, and undiluted in water to prevent the degrading of its enzymes and other molecules by hydrolysis.

Hydrolysis: A chemical response in which water interacts with an element to produce other elements; involves the splitting of a bond and the addition of the hydrogen cation and the hydroxide anion from the water, resulting in the creation of one or more new elements that do not have the same properties of the original substance.

The snail secretions in our products are NOT deteriorated, neither by contact with chemicals nor by hydrolysis.

We also embed the organic ingredient in a liposome, a microscopic, fluid-filled bubble whose walls are made of layers of phospholipids equal to the phospholipids existent in cell membranes. Liposomes are employed to deliver certain vaccines, enzymes, or drugs (e.g., insulin and some cancer drugs) to the body. Liposomes attach to cellular walls and appear to fuse with them, releasing their contents into the cell. Sometimes they are assimilated by the cell, and the phospholipids are incorporated into the cell membrane while the substance (glycoprotein enzyme) trapped inside is discharged.

Human skin produces various lipophilic substances which play an important role in the protection of the skin. Chemically seen, these substances can be classified in the group of lipids, though they display differing structures: glycerides and free acids, cholesterol and its derivatives, esters with fatty acids and long chained alcohols, polar lipids of differing natural, saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons. All in all a complicated amalgam of complex processes.

BIOSKINCARE has been created to transform a liquid with cell-communicating components and organic precursors of skin regeneration into a cream that also moisturizes, replenishes and stabilizes the lipid content within the intercellular skin matrix by using all natural emollients, emulsifiers, surfactants and nourishing extracts derived from Olive Oil, hydrating Hyaluronic acid, and humectant Glycerin. BIOSKINEXFOL has the same ingredients plus micro-crystals.

The olive oil derivatives are: emulsifier Peg-4 Olivate, surfactant Sorbitan Olivate, and moisturizing Squalene.

Squalene is not only a natural moisturizer but is also a biological component of the skin and is known as a good emollient that has antioxidant and immune-stimulating properties. It makes dry skin feel and look better.

Hyaluronic Acid – The Fountain of Youth

Hyaluronic acid as pure and concentrated as we use it, is a glycosaminoglycan present in the intercellular matrix of skin where it has a conservative, structure balancing and impact-absorbing role.

Hyaluronic Acid is normally found in the joints, the deeper layers of skin, the umbilical cord and in fetal skin. Medical grade Hyaluronic Acid is usually employed to reduce the incidence of post-operative adhesions, as a viscoelastic agent in intra-ocular surgery, also as a synovial replacement fluid; and is used to facilitate the healing and reconstruction of surgical wounds.

The exclusive properties of Hyaluronic Acid make it the ideal moisturizer. Hyaluronic Acid plays a crucial part in cellular hydration, lubrication and cellular behavior, and has the ability to hold more water than any other natural substance. Its unmatched hydrating properties result in augmented smoothness, softening and decreased wrinkles.

Hyaluronic Acid has also proven to give excellent results in the reduction of dryness, itching and burning of the skin. It offers a perfect environment for the growth of new cells and healing following skin peels.

Hyaluronic Acid is a main constituent of the extra-cellular matrix that circumscribes rapidly dividing cells. It has been shown to be an integral factor in the quick and scar-less wound healing observed in fetal and neonatal organisms. Moreover, the cellular processes precipitated by Hyaluronic Acid are similar to the apparently magical biochemistry of fetal development.

It is well documented that fetal cells have considerable quantities of Hyaluronic Acid and that decreasing Hyaluronic Acid quantities are associated with aging and wrinkling. Therefore any practical efforts to extend and recapture youth by revitalizing damaged tissue should consider the inclusion of this molecule.

Squalane

Squalane is not only a natural hydrating agent but is also a natural component of the skin and is considered a good emollient that has antioxidant and immune-activating properties. It helps dry skin feel and look better.

Sebum represents the normal lubricant of hairy and non-hairy skin. It keeps the skin supple and forms a defensive fungicidal and bacterial coating on the skin and in the pilosebaceous apparatus. This fatty coat helps to maintain humidity on the skin surface. Squalane occurs naturally in the human sebum.

Squalane is a ductile substance, with the unusual property to augment the depth, rate, and extent of entrance of local agents such as the natural snail secretions in our cream.

Squalane is a natural emolient. It imparts the skin a firmness without an undesirable greasy feel. It readily composes emulsions with fixed oils and lipophilic elements and does not oxidize nor turn rancid. When used on washed or sun exposed skin and hair, squalane helps restoring the missed oils. It has long been known that coating the skin with oils offers extensive protection from sunburn because of a powerful absorption band in the UVB radiation region (280–320 nm) that responsible for sunburns.

Squalene is also the name of a deep sea shark (centrophorus artomarginatus) that lives in waters 600 to 1000 m deep, without sunlight. How can they manage to survive under such hard conditions, where pressure is invariantly high and oxygen supply is very poor?. The secret is in their livers, which account for 25% to 30% of their total body weight. In 1906 Dr. Tsujimoto of Japan identified the shark liver extract, which was later identified as Squalene, with a chemical formula (C30H50).

Chemically Squalene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon, which can easily make oxygen by mixing with water. Squalene has been greatly investigated and, as an oxygen carrier, found to play a fundamental role in maintaining health. Dr Noguchi once said that “the cause of all illnesses is lack of oxygen”. An impressive ability of the shark is its apparent immunity to cancer and disease. Once regarded as a foe, a primitive and powerful hunter of the deep, the shark is now being considered as a lifesaver. This unique fish which has stayed structurally unchanged for 400 million years may give us the natural resistance we need to deal with many of our most common modern diseases from colds to cancer. An alternative source of Squalene is olive oil, which has been traditionally known for its health benefits.

Glycerin – Humectant

The products contain glycerine which is a humectant. This means it has the ability to draw water right from the air to bring it closer to your skin, promoting the retention of water. It helps improve the skin’s defences by saturating in the intercellular matrix and attracting just the right amount of water to maintain the skin’s homeostasis whilst helping the other skin lipids act better. Glycerin is a product derivated from the saponification process of vegetable fatty acids.

Comment: an ample range of components aids skin retain water (moisture). Glycerin is one of the more known and effective water-binding ingredients used in cosmetics. Some water-binding agents can imitate the skin’s real structure and can be of benefit in a product; these include ceramide, sucrose, hyaluronic acid, polysaccharides, glycerine, cholesterol, collagen, lecithin, sodium hyaluronate, fructose, mucopolysaccharides, sodium PCA, phospholipids, glycosphingolipids, proteins, elastin, amino acids, glycogen, glucose, and glycosaminoglycans. No single one of these is preferred over the other because even though they are all efficient, none of them can permanently change the actual structure of skin.

Preservants

We use either Suprapein™ or a combination of Phenoxyethanol and Ethylhexylglycerin when the Suprapein does not work well with an ingredient.

SUPRAPEIN™ is a synergistic combination of botanical extracts that yields a natural preservative with a broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activity.

If Suprapein is not effective we use a combination of Phenoxyethanol and Ethylhexylglycerin to isolate the products from bacteria, yeasts and mould. Phenoxyethanol is a self sterilizing skin-friendly pH-stable system that combines a widely used, globally-accepted preservative (including Japan), phenoxyethanol, with a proven preservative-enhancer, ethylhexylglycerin, instead of controversial parabens.

Phenoxyethanol is a natural bactericide element believed one of the least irritating cosmetic preservers with none of the controversial side effects of parabens. It delivers a wide spectrum of anti-microbial labor fighting both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, as well as yeasts and moulds. It is soluble and its labor is effective for our protein-based product and it does not interact with the copper in the biological substance.

Ethylhexylglycerin reduces interfacial tension on the cell walls of micro-organisms, helping with their more quick destruction and a wider spectrum activity.

Phenoxyethanol and Ethylhexylglycerin are synthetic ingredients originated in grains and plants, and as many other synthetic sources they start as natural because everything comes from our surroundings; nothing is created via alchemy. We have yet to see any cosmetic that is “all” natural. Some synthetic ingredients are wonderful for your skin, and no matter the allegations of cosmetics companies to the contrary, every cosmetics product in the world includes its part of synthetic ingredients.

Final Product

The result is a product that includes ingredients that are antimicrobial, protect, moisturize, heal and renew the skin plus ingredients that imitate the intercellular environment of skin and are essential for helping skin function normally. Intercellular substances are those ingredients that exist normally in the skin and help to hold the skin cells together. Factors like dry environment, irritation, sun damage, inflammation, and age can all greatly reduce the presence of these substances in skin. Combining those intercellular substances with the biological active ingredient and moisturizers helps maintain the layers of skin integral, resilient, and in great physical condition, for it gives all the elements the skin needs to defend itself against pollution, hazards arising in the environment and events that trigger an inflammatory reaction from within our body.

The cream is manufactured in a state of the art Cosmetic Laboratory in the USA, based on Helix Aspersa Müller GlycoConjugates collected in Chile.