What Strength Cosmeceutical Ingredient are You Actually Getting?

[This discussion about Peptide Concentration in consumer skin products started Wednesday.]

Hi Willy,

Yes, your thoughts are extremely helpful. You must be a chemist or pharmacist and are obviously very knowledgeable on the technical end of product formulation. I wish we could afford to hire you to consult on Ageless Beauty!

I’d be very interested in the results of your test of the Skin Biology Super GHK-Copper Serum (on yourself) as well as the spectrometer test if you are able to do that.

It is so difficult to follow the information trail: from research studies, to chemical product specification sheets all the way to what comes out on the other end of the marketing spin machine.

Are the research studies and photos you find from Procter and Gamble research (to take a highly regarded company as an example) using the same concentration in their consumer products as they used in their studies?

Do the related manufacturers of GHK-Cu creams still use the formula developed by Dr. Pickart? Specifically I refer to Neova (which was founded by Dr. Pickart after his discovery of the skin healing power of GHK-Cu) and Neutrogena which uses his formula under license.

And what are we to make of the chemical manufacturers’ spec sheets like the Argireline and Matrixyl examples you used in your calculations? Do the manufacturers’ recommended use levels bear any relation to the doses used in the clinical trials? Do they take into account that the active ingredient will be combined with more water, fillers, emulsifiers, other actives, preservatives and perhaps fragrance in the final product?

As another example, I looked at a specification sheet for GHK-Cu being sold by GeneDirex.

The brochure lists all the usual benefits we read about for GHK-Cu:

• Tighten loose skin and improve elasticity;
• Improve skin density and firmness;
• Reduce fine lines and deep wrinkles;
• Improve skin clarity;
• Reduce photodamage and mottled hyperpigmentation; and
• Strongly increase keratinocyte proliferation.

The GeneDirex GHK-Cu peptide purity is greater than 95%. At the bottom of the leaflet is the statement “Recommended use level: 500 ppm to 2,000 ppm” dissolved in water. That translates to a concentration of 0.05% to 0.2% before the solution is combined with other ingredients in a cream, serum or lotion.

I would be interested in your opinion on this proposal for fuller Cosmeceutical Ingredient Disclosure which I made last year. Is it workable? Would companies effectively be giving away their formulas?

Short of that kind of full disclosure, the best consumers can do is buy from trustworthy companies, take their own before and after photos, and follow testing done with the actual consumer products by reputable sources like Consumer Reports, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and yours truly, Ageless Beauty ;-)

Best regards,
Jean

Tags: ingredient disclosure, ingredient concentration, anti-aging skin care, full ingredient lists, ingredient effectiveness, product disclosure, truth in advertising, trustworthy cosmeceutical companies