Daily Archives: August 5, 2013

I have written about many different ingredients over the years, particularly the new ones as they come on to the market and seem to be the next best thing! And following on from my last blog, “The Discipline of Great Skin Care” there really are some effective products and ingredients available today that have stood the test of time and have made a huge difference to how our skins age.

One I have not addressed yet is stem cell extract. Just to be clear, there is no relationship between human stem cells and plant stem cells that are used in skin care. I want to avoid any misunderstandings for ethical, political and philosophical reasons.

The advantage of plant-derived stem cells is that they are unspecialized or meristematic, until they receive a signal from the host plant to differentiate or change. Meristematic cells are generated from a defense response from the plant when it is cut. The responding callus contains stem cells that are now neutral. As they carry the entire DNA gene expression of the plant, they can turn themselves into any particular cell that is needed to heal or regenerate. At this stage these cells are cultured in the laboratory, become a usable active ingredient that eventually, when applied topically can trigger cell renewal and repair. The first research into plant stem cells was done on a variety of apple in Switzerland in the 18th century which seemed to have the ability for long-term self-preservation.

More recently, other plant extracts have been tested including edelweiss, gardenia, sea fennel, grape and lilac. The role of these plant derived ingredients in skin care products is to protect against free radical damage caused by pollution, UV exposure, inflammation and photo-aging. And the results can be dramatic. Smoother, toned skin with improved elasticity and firmness.

Stem cell harvesting does not damage or endanger the plant because a very small amount of tissue is needed and easily replaced by the host plant.

I have been in the skincare industry for many years and this is one of the most significant partnerships between nature and science I have used to date. Add some of the other great ingredients we now have at our disposal – ATP, peptides and hyaluronic acid to mention three – and we can seriously delay the effects of gravity!! Plant stem cell extracts offer us a promising and earth-friendly anti-aging tool that deserves serious examination.
Reference:

Sam Dhatt, Skin Inc. magazine, October 2012. “Plant Stem Cells: The Next Generation of Skin Care Technology.”
Ivana Veljkovic, Skin Inc. magazine, January 2012. “The Science Behind Today’s Anti-aging Ingredients.”