What is the expert opinion on the claim that 'skin care products are almost ineffective'?



There are many skin care products in the world, but it is difficult to understand what kind of ingredient has what effect, and some people say that it is not really effective.

Michelle Wang, who has a PhD in chemistry and runs Lab Muffin , a website that scientifically explains beauty products, explains the effects and misunderstandings of such skin care products.

The Only Skincare That Works According to Science? ASAP Science video response | Lab Muffin Beauty Science
https://labmuffin.com/the-only-skincare-that-works-according-to-science-asap-science-video-response/

Scientist reacts: The ONLY face cream that works according to science | Lab Muffin Beauty Science --YouTube


·table of contents
◆ Introduction
◆ It is not possible to evaluate the effect of a product from the ingredient list.
◆ Skin care products have various purposes
◆ In some cases, the ingredients do not need to reach deep into the skin
◆ Reason why the effect has not been scientifically verified
◆ Is collagen really ineffective?
◆ Is Vitamin C Really Ineffective?

◆ Introduction
Mr. Wang publishes commentary on beauty products on his website, Lab Muffin, and YouTube channel. There are many requests from Mr. Wang to verify whether the content of the ' movie that scientifically compares skin care products on the market ' released by the scientific YouTube channel AsapSCIENCE in 2020 is reliable. It arrived.



In the movie in question, AsapSCIENCE said, 'The skin care industry is marketing products to users with exaggerated expressions.' 'The term'scientifically validated'is meaningless.' 'Skin care products' penetrate the skin. ' However, since the skin has a guard function, the ingredients do not easily penetrate, ”he said, claiming that most of the skin care products on the market exaggerate the effect. increase. Wang examines these opinions one by one to see if skin care products really exaggerate their effectiveness.



◆ It is not possible to evaluate the effect of a product from the ingredient list.
In general, ingredients are listed in descending order of the amount contained in the ingredient list of cosmetics and foods. In the movie in question, by comparing the positions of 'glycerin' shown in the ingredient list, it is claimed that 'product B contains more glycerin than product A'.



However, for example, even if 5% of the total weight of product A is glycerin and 10% of the total weight of product B is glycerin, depending on the weight of other ingredients, product A may be higher in the ingredient list. May also be listed. For this reason, Mr. Wang points out that the amount of each ingredient cannot be derived from the order listed in the ingredient list alone.



◆ Skin care products have various purposes
AsapSCIENCE contains retinoids because synthetic compounds and retinoids have the characteristics of 'scientifically proven to be effective', 'reaching deep into the skin', 'increasing collagen production', and 'reducing wrinkles'. Skin care products are effective. '



However, Wang said, 'Collagen loss is not the only reason for wrinkling. There

are many causes such as loss of glycosaminoglycans such as hyaluronic acid and other substances, changes in the components contained in the dermis, and dehydration of the stratum corneum. It's intertwined, 'he said, pointing out that it's wrong to focus solely on increasing collagen production.



Also, regarding AsapSCIENCE's emphasis on eliminating wrinkles, 'Wrinkles are not the only thing that is important for skin care. There are many reasons why people use skin care products, such as acne, pigment fading, and dry skin treatment.' 'Even when focusing on anti-aging, there are many points to focus on other than wrinkles, such as spots and moles,' he said, arguing that it is necessary to consider various purposes when evaluating skin care products. ..



◆ In some cases, the ingredients do not need to reach deep into the skin
AsapSCIENCE emphasizes 'whether or not the ingredients reach the depths of the skin' when verifying the effectiveness of skin care products. However, moisturizers that, for example, aim to increase the water content of the keratin, do not need to reach deep into the skin. Similarly, sunscreens that aim to form a 'layer that protects the skin from UV rays' on the epidermis do not need to reach the depths of the skin.



Studies in atopic patients have also found that petrolatum applied to the surface of the skin actually thickens the stratum corneum and increases the production of antimicrobial peptides.



In addition, some studies have shown that moisturizing the surface of the skin eliminates scars. Based on these findings, Wang argues that whether or not an ingredient reaches deep into the skin is not necessarily related to the effectiveness of skin care products.



◆ Reason why the effect has not been scientifically verified
AsapSCIENCE claims that the effectiveness of most skin care products has not been scientifically validated. Mr. Wang acknowledged this, 'Skin care products are classified as cosmetics, not pharmaceuticals, and can be sold without scientifically verifying their effectiveness.' 'Scientific verification for sales strategy Sometimes it's done, but it can take years and millions of dollars to verify. If users buy without verification, there's a strong reason to do it. It doesn't exist. '



In some countries, including Japan, there is a classification

of quasi drugs, which is between pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. In these countries, skin care products containing 'ingredients that are not classified as drugs but are expected to have similar effects' are sold as quasi-drugs.



◆ Is collagen really ineffective?
AsapSCIENCE points out that collagen contained in many skin care products 'collagen has a large molecular weight, so it does not penetrate from the outside of the skin' ...



It claims that the effect of collagen is 100% bullshit and that you should not buy products that appeal to contain collagen.



'I also feel that the effect of collagen is exaggerated, but it's not completely ineffective, so let's keep it at around 90% bullshit,' Wang said.

Regarding collagen, there are research results that show a moisturizing effect on the skin surface, and it is said that it is not completely ineffective.



◆ Is Vitamin C Really Ineffective?
AsapSCIENCE is found in many skin care products and claims to be 'ineffective' for vitamin C, which is said to 'suppress wrinkles' and 'provide antioxidants.'



On the other hand, that Mr. Wang skin care products, including vitamin C is increasing the production of collagen

multiple of research results and, antioxidant effect of vitamin C is that prevent the occurrence of stain studies cited, 'Vitamin C Is one of the substances that has a lot of evidence that it works for skin care. '

Related Posts:

in Science,   Video, Posted by log1o_hf