Skincare Science: The Chemistry Behind Your Beauty Products

There are thousands upon thousands of skincare products out there that claim to reverse the aging process. Are they telling the truth?

There have been many breakthroughs in modern science. Their applications to skincare and cosmetics, on the other hand, remain complicated at best.

Interested in knowing more about skincare science and what the future may hold?

Today we look at the truth behind skincare.

The Truth About Skincare Science

The chemistry of the human body still remains a complex mystery.

There is much understanding in regards to what chemicals make up each layer of the human body. That said, how they interact and what causes drastic changes often remain unknown.

The concept of skincare and cosmetics has been a way of experimentation with what can rejuvenate and heal.

Over the centuries, there have been many experiments with ointments and herbal combination. As we learned more about science and the human body, we got better at finding the exact combinations we needed for proper skincare.

With recent scientific findings, we know about the assortment of vitamins, the structure of cells, and the effects of genetics and chemical treatments on the skin and other organs of the body.

Skincare has become a more thorough and in-depth science than ever before.

The Real Harm to Your Skin

To understand the science of skincare, you need to understand what causes the need for skincare. What damages your skin and causes wrinkles or worse?

The cause of wrinkles centers around the loss of the extracellular matrix within the skin. This matrix gives skin its tensile strength and general elasticity.

There are a variety of causes that can damage this matrix. Some causes have remained unproven to an exhaustive extent. We do know the main causes are UVA sunlight and environmental factors like cigarette smoke.

These causes have a clinical correlation to a breakdown of collagen and fibrillin, which deteriorates the general strength of the skin.

The Year the Industry Changed

In 2007, a group at the University of Manchester in the UK made a radical discovery that would change the cosmetics industry. The group declared that they have found a particular skin cream that had provided actual results of skin changes.

The news shook the country and large groups of customers flocked into stores to buy the cream.

For the first time, a scientific group not only backed a product for proven results in skincare, but was not part of a marketing scheme by the company itself.

The concept of a cosmetic product with scientific backing was revolutionary. Before this, any backing was by paid advertisements and random anecdotes from customers.

The demand for science-backed products started to grow.

Marketing Cosmetics With Science

With the customers clamoring for products that have more legitimate scientific backing, companies were now able to push a new angle for the products they had been making.

The problem is that most research does not have the speed that marketing new products follow.

Now many major brands are using the same clinical trials to back up their products. These trials experiment with a large variety of ingredients and combination, aiming to get peek effectiveness.

The Scientific Details of Cosmetics

Many items of the modern form of skincare are topical retinoids. These retinoids stimulate fibroblasts in the skin to produce more collagen and fibrillin. These rebuild and strengthen the extracellular matrix, as described earlier.

Retinoids had originally been a concoction used to remove and control acne. Many other skincare products started as clinical tests for other issues and diseases.

The various active ingredients range from things such as antioxidants to many different forms of vitamins.

The ratio of these ingredients between clinical studies to their cosmetic forms is often not the same. Most cosmetics have a good deal less concentration than the clinical trials, but that ratio has been growing over the years.

From Ingredients to Skincare

The formula for skincare treatment requires a balance. Not only does the concentration of the ingredient must be at certain levels to find results, but there are other factors that contribute as well.

The two other major factors are keeping the formula stable and ensuring that the ingredients make it deep within the skin.

Formula Stability

To keep a skincare formula stable requires emulsions to keep the ingredients from blendings and dissolving. Various oils and processed waters can combine to form chemical barriers.

These keep ingredients in a proper form so they can reach the skin as intended.

Skin Penetration

There are several ways to get a proper penetration of the skin with a skin cream, allowing the ingredients to work at the layers of skin most in need.

The same thing that can make a product stable, the water and oil combination, can help spread the ingredients through diffusion.

There may be an even stronger way to help get deep into the skin.

Liposomes are special chemical capsules. These capsules help push the compartmentalized ingredients through the stratum corneum, better known as the thing layer of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin.

A High-Frequency Alternative

Skin creams and ointments aren't the only healthcare product.

There have been many bizarre technologies over the years, but their effectiveness may surprise you.

The Tesla High-Frequency current, developed by Nikola Tesla himself, has been a long used product to stimulate the skin and body to treat a variety of ailments.

While some of the targeted treatments were ineffective, it had a lot of power regarding skin treatment.

The high-frequency machine has been an often underutilized method of skin treatment, but has many interesting advantages. Interested to learn more about the high-frequency machine and those who use it.

The Future of Cosmetics

Skincare science has had a lasting influence on the cosmetics industry. Any major breakthrough could cause massive ripples for both customers and companies. Who might capitalize on those breakthroughs is anyone's guess.

Interested in learning more about the world of cosmetics? Want to know how you can keep up with all that is happening in the world of beauty? You don't have to wonder, we have a host of beauty vloggers here for you.