Biological Oils are Superior Moisturizers for Skin

For thousands of years our ancestors used various oils for improving the health of their skin. But around 1920, the cosmetic industry advertised the idea that oils were bad for skin and promoted the use of oil/water/detergent mixtures as moisturizers. This was similar to fallacious campaigns to stop women from breast feeding their babies so that the synthetic infant formulas could be sold for profit.

Cosmetic skin moisturizers are formulated from a variety of low-cost oils and water-soluble chemicals that wet and loosen the skin's layer of outer protective proteins and also cover the skin with fats that impede water loss. They provide a brief moisturization of your skin but degrade the skin's protective properties against bacteria and viruses. Such moisturizing creams are a mixture of oil and water plus emulsifiers, stabilizers, preservatives and other chemicals.

Many of them delay the healing of irritated and damaged skin and make the situation worse by inhibiting natural skin repair and increase skin damage in ways similar to skin irritants.

What works is to protect the skin surface and to heal the skin from within, by putting the skin in a situation in which normal skin repair can occur.

Virtually all popular moisturizers and emollients sold by skin care companies contain high concentrations of detergents and detergent-like chemicals, despite 40 years of scientific evidence that these detergents damage the skin and degrade the skin's natural protective function. Also damaging to skin are many of the dyes and optical diffusers used to give the appearance of healthy skin.

Another mistake is to add to skin creams certain lipids that occur naturally in the skin hoping that this replenishes skin lipids and improves skin health. However, recent research has found that adding natural skin fats and lipids to skin creams causes a reduction in the skin's natural biosynthesis of skin fats and lipids so that, in a few weeks, the skin is in worse condition than before.

Dry skin is caused by two problems:

(1) damage to the skin's protective barrier which produces excessive water loss through the skin, and
(2) a reduction in the concentrations of the skin's water-holding sugars and proteins: the proteoglycans and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs).

BIO SKIN CARE acts by helping to repair the skin barrier and raise proteoglycans and GAGs, while waxes and oils seal the skin's surface and prevent excessive water loss. Cosmetic moisturizers loosen the skin's protective barrier and hydrate (wet) the skin proteins but have the long-term effect of damaging your skin.

BIO SKIN CARE™ Cream:

Mimics natural skin repair
Repairs skin barrier and increases the skin's proteoglycans and GAGs.
Results: within 2-3 weeks of continued use.

Waxes and Greases:
Heavy oils such as petrolatum seal skin surface to water loss
Results: Immediate
Problems: Greasy

Light Oils:
Octyl palmitate and Squalane cover skin surface to reduce water loss.
Results: Immediate
Problems: Not as durable as waxes and greases, but still provides strong skin protection - not greasy.

Biological Oils:
Emu Oil & Rose Hip OilSimilar to human skin oils
Results: Immediate
Problems: Not as durable as waxes and greases, but stimulate skin repair

Cosmetic Moisturizers:
Designed to rapidly swell the skin at the cosmetic counter. Mixtures of oils, water, and surface active chemicals used to open skin barrier and hydrate skin proteins.
Results: in Minutes
Problems: Irritates skin. Loosens protective skin barrier. Skin more susceptible to infection. NOT RECOMMENDED.

Rose Hip Oil or Emu Oil as Lipid Replenishment Moisturizers
Lipids and fats in the skin provide the epidermal barrier to transcutaneous water loss. These lipids in the upper skin area called the stratum corneum are arranged in layers called lamellae. The lower skin layers contain more typical fats such as triglycerides and phospholipids while the upper layers have more ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids.

What is Lipid Replenishment?
Dry skin and eczema and conditions such as burns and psoriasis damage to the skin can repair faster when certain types of lipids are applied directly to the skin's surface. However, defining the best lipids has proven very difficult because some lipid mixtures that help short-term skin repair eventually decrease the skin's natural synthesis of lipids (by a biochemical process called "feedback inhibition") and ultimately yield a damaged skin very low in natural fats and oils.

While lipid replenishment methods are still being developed by dermatological scientists, Rose Hip Oil and Emu Oil are already excellent natural oils for lipid replenishment. The first comes from the seeds inside the rosehips of a wild rose bush that growns in the lush valleys of the Southern Andes Mountains, the latter comes from a small ostrich-like bird.

The fatty acid composition of human skin oil and of both Rose Hip and Emu Oil are very similar. In all of them mono-unsaturated oleic and the essential fatty acid linoleic acid are prevalent.

Rose Hip Oil has a high content of monounsaturated oleic (15-20%) fatty acid and the essential linoleic (44-50%) omega-3 and linolenic (30-35%) polyunsaturated fatty acids. They are called "essential" because our body needs them but is not able to synthesize them and must get them through the diet or topically. These oils help to nourish and maintain a healthy skin.

A linolenic acid deficiency will result in hair loss, poor wound healing, and scaly dermatitis. A particularly rich food source is flaxseeds.

Administration of ingredients through the skin is called Transdermal Administration and is more efficient than intake simply because the skin is the bodies largest organ. When you swallow pills or shakes your stomach must first digest those ingredients which are then diminished and can take hours to reach other organs of your body or skin cells, and when they do they are no longer at full strength. Ingredients administered through the skin go into the body immediately, and consistently.

If you use a biological oil with BIO SKIN CARE, first apply BIO SKIN CARE, then the Rose Hip Oil or the Emu Oil. Or use the products on alternate days.

Essential Fatty Acids Soften, Smooth, Hydrate and Firm Skin

There is a scientific reason behind the ability of essential fatty acids to improve many aspects of skin texture and assist in the management of skin conditions.

The reason is related to the synthesis of prostaglandin hormones within epidermal cells.

Developing skin cells require many elements in order to develop without problems, and live as long as possible.

Slowing the rate at which skin cells age is fundamental to an effective anti-aging skin care treatment.

This is why effective skin care products contain a perfect blend of biologically relevant materials (amino acids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace elements and enzymes).

Developing skin cells extract essential fatty acids from the bloodstream. If they are present in inadequate concentrations they will be taken up by organs other than the skin, and the essential fatty acids remaining in circulation will be inadequate for the cells' needs.

Epidermal Skin Cells Convert Essential Fatty Acids.

A variety of different fats are used by healthy skin. The epidermal skin cells convert essential fatty acids to prostaglandins.

Prostaglandin series 2 hormones will render the skin dry, rough and/or scaly.

Prostaglandin seres 1 and series 3 hormones will render the skin soft, smooth and moist, generally supporting many of its functions.

Most Diets Produce Excess Series 2 Prostaglandin Hormones
Diets high in saturated fats produce hormones that result in dry, rough, uneven skin texture.

Many weight-loss diets remove all fats from the equation.
A complete anti-aging skin treatment will utilize low-glycemic index foods and actually favor fats high in GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) and the omega-3 fats.

Perfect skin texture and condition has been made an impossibility, courtesy of most modern, Western dietary traditions.

Food Supplementation of Essential Fatty Acids for the Improvement of Skin Texture

A complete anti-aging skin treatment needs a diet with low-glycemic index foods and one that favor fats high in GLA (gamma-linolenic acid) and the omega-3 fats.

A marked improvement in the condition of the skin will take around three months after the implementation of suitable essential fatty acid food supplements.

The rate of skin improvement is determined by the rate at which the epidermis replaces itself in entirety. Depending on your age, this takes anywhere from 45 to 75 days.

Given the time taken to achieve improvement, it is recommended to purchase essential fatty acid supplies three months in advance and to only use the purest and most active essential fatty acid supplements.

Differences Between Essential Fatty Acid Supplements Used in Skin Care and Treatment

To achieve genuinely young-looking skin, characterized by bounce and turgidity, only the most potent food supplements will be effective, especially in the treatment of more mature skin.

The diet must already be rich in fish, green leafy vegetables and unsaturated oils in order for the skin to substantially benefit from essential fatty acid supplementation;

Omega-3 Fish or Flaxseed Oil, Rose Hip Oil and Primrose Oil are the most suitable food sources of essential fatty acids;

Internal supplementation must be augmented by topical care to get the most out of the physical improvement in skin quality.

Breast milk is a rich source of essential fatty acids -- the quality of baby's skin speaks for itself.

Factors Inhibiting Natural Linolenic Acid Synthesis into GLA

Factors which inhibit natural linolenic acid synthesis into gamma linolenic acid in spite of excellent skin treatment dietary conditions, include:

natural aging

high cholesterol levels

obesity

viral infections and their aftermath

stress

diabetes

smoking

alcohol consumption

refined sugar consumption

hydrogenated fat consumption

uv exposure

Prostaglandins which pose problems for Skin Care and Treatment

There is a category of prostaglandin which is deleterious to the skin's overall condition, with obvious repercussions for its texture, density, overall smoothness and dermal hydration.

Prostaglandin series 2, otherwise known as PG-2 are formed from unsaturated fats (known scientifically as arachidonic acid).

Unsaturated fats are richly concentrated in high-fat meats and dairy products.

An over-consumption of linoleic acid (also an unsaturated fat and present in high concentrations in corn oil, sunflower seed oil, blended vegetable oils and safflower oil) will further encourage the conversion of prostaglandin series 2 into arachidonic acid, further increasing the body's serum concentrations of this harmful hormone-like substance.

A typical North-American diet is rich in unsaturated fats and linoleic acid, and thus the typical American presents with high levels of prostaglandin series 2 hormones derived from systemic arachidonic acid.

Effects of High Levels of Prostaglandin Series 2 on Skin Texture

High levels of series 2 prostaglandins are found in the epidermal cells of people with substantial intakes of unsaturated fats and linoleic acid.

The excess synthesis of these substances within the epidermal cells gives rise to:

a skin texture which is rougher, drier, less firm and typically thinner than would be the case if a diet where series 2 prostaglandins are minimized were to be followed;

a general deterioration in the overall condition of the skin, and a worsening of skin conditions such as rosacea, psoriasis and eczema.

a higher incidence of skin inflammation, and faster skin aging;

a higher incidence of skin cancers

Effects of Prostaglandin Series 2 on Skin Cells

The process whereby arachidonic acids, provided by saturated fats and linoleic acid, are converted into series 2 prostaglandins causes an acceleration of the rate at which skin cells divide, producing:

accelerated skin aging;

a higher incidence of skin cancers, particularly aggressive skin cancers

Effects of Essential Fatty Acids on Skin Cells Affected by Prostaglandin Series 2

Omega-3 and omega-6 fats, derived from evening primrose supplements, rose hip oil and fish oils, slow the rate of skin cell division, lessening the rate of skin aging and skin cancers, by enhancing the production of series 3 prostaglandins.

Series 3 prostaglandins will slow the rate of skin cell mutations and overall skin inflammation even under exposure to ultraviolet light.

Pertinent Skin Facts on Prostaglandins in Summary

suitable essential fatty acid supplements will enhance skin texture, dermal hydration, firmness and overall condition;

suitable essential fatty acid supplements will prevent or lessen the impact of inflammatory skin conditions such as rosacea, as well as some others, including eczema and psoriasis;

suitable essential fatty acid supplements slow the rate of skin aging;

suitable essential fatty acid supplements guard against the development of skin cancers, however of course are no substitute for sunscreens.

Combination supplementation of essential fatty acids and anti-aging skin treatment will produce thicker, smoother skin with more resilience and turgidity than would otherwise be the case.

Rose Hip Oil is a source of topical Retinoic Acid (Vitamin A) in a natural bio-available form.

Retinoic acid works by binding to specific cell receptors of skin after a topical application. After the cell receptors have been activated, there is a modification in gene expression, subsequent protein synthesis, and cell growth and differentiation. Thus, the epidermal cell is modified increasing the regeneration of damaged skin and the capacity to produce new tissue as a consequence of an acceleration of the differentiation of the keratin.

Topical trans-retinoic acid is also synthesized as a drug and is trade marked as Tretinoin, Retin-A, Renova, and many other commercial names, and has attracted attention because it improves the appearance of photo-aged skin and is prescribed for the treatment of acne.

The FDA approved topical tretinoin in December 1995 for improving the appearance of photo-aged skin. Tretinoin reduces fine facial wrinkles, hyper-pigmentation (age spots), and surface roughness associated with chronic sun exposure. The drug sloughs off dead skin, regenerates collagen, and allows cells in the top layer of the skin, which are always being replaced, to mature more normally than untreated sun-damaged cells.

There is evidence that trans-retinoic-acid actually prevents sun damage. Researchers have found that even brief exposure to sunlight increases the activity of enzymes that break down the proteins collagen and elastin that provide structural support for the skin. Products containing trans-retinoic-acid reduce the activation of these enzymes.

Side effects of the drug tretinoin for topical application include temporary peeling, redness, and blistering, and a permanent increase in sun sensitivity.

ROSE HIP OIL content of trans-retinoic acid in a natural form makes it far more skin friendly and absorbable by the human body due to it's bio-availability or compatibility with our live skin cell structures. The only side effect is an increase in sun sensitivity of the newly formed skin cells that arise due to its action. And that can be wisely addressed with a sun-blocker.

Now, if you are at risk of developing acne breakouts because of your high sebum production and hormonal imbalances then rose hip oil may further clog your skin pores.

Confusion over Retinol and Retinoic acid. The cosmetic industry tries to create confusion over the actions of retinol (retinyl palmitate, vitamin A) and those of retinoic acid (used in Retin-A and Renova). Even though the molecules are very similar and can be easily converted to the other molecule, their biochemical actions are often opposite. A biochemical analogy is that one key (or molecule) opens a lock while a very similar molecule, like a defective key, jams the lock. Retinoic acid reduces skin oil and has well-proven wrinkle reduction actions. Retinol tends to increase skin oil and has only very modest anti-wrinkle actions. Retinol has been in skin products for the last 60 years - obviously with little effect on wrinkle formation. Some cosmetic facial products that are advertised to contain retinol have only 0.001% retinol - a biologically insignificant amount that does nothing.

Comparison between Retinol, Retinoic Acid and Rose Hip Oil

Emu Oil

Australian aborigines discovered the benefits of Emu Oil many thousands of years ago and used its helpful properties on damaged and sunburned skin. The fatty acid composition of human skin oil and Emu Oil are very similar. In both oils mono-unsaturated oleic acid is the most prevalent, then palmitic acid, followed by the essential fatty acid, linoleic acid. This may be the reason for the positive actions of Emu Oil on human skin.

Skin researchers at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston reported that Emu Oil at up to 100 % concentration in lotions to be nonallergenic, non-comedogenic, have low irritation potential, and are bacteriostatic. They also reported that topically-applied Emu Oil reduces burn pain as effectively as when compared to 600 milligrams of Ibuprofen taken 3 times daily.

While scientific studies on Emu Oil are just beginning, Emu Oil has been traditionally used help alleviate discomfort of arthritis, shingles, eczema, psoriasis and other inflammatory conditions.

The emu (Doromiceius novae-hollandiae) is the world's second largest bird, only second to the ostrich. An adult bird stands 5 feet tall, weighs 120 pounds, and can run 30 miles an hour. The species may have existed for 80 million years, and survived when the dinosaurs perished 65 million years ago.

A study by Lopez and his colleagues (1999) found strong anti-inflammatory effects of topically applied Emu Oil after skin was exposed to the a very strong irritant: Croton Oil. By 12 hours, after applying Emu Oil, there was significantly less edema and swelling than controls not treated with the oil.

Using Emu Oil

Apply a light coating of Emu Oil to your skin or scalp. If your skin feels too oily, lightly wipe off excess oil with a tissue, enough will stick to your skin to be effective.

Politis and Dmytrowich (1998) found that if Emu Oil was applied immediately after a wounding injury it delayed healing. However, if applied 2 days after injury it then aided the healing process.