Ahhh genetics. Maybe you got your unruly mane of errant locks from your Mom, or your bubble ba-donk-a-donk from your Dad (thanks Dad). Maybe it’s Aunt June’s misshapen left pinkie toe, or a clone-like helping of Grandma Olive’s unibrow. Whatever your particular genetic anomaly, one thing is certain. Genes are the gifts that keep on giving – even if you ask them nicely to stop. And embracing these little gift-wrapped double helix delights isn’t always so easy.

Lucky for us, the good scientists in the health and beauty world have our backs! Or do they? Is it really feasible that a face cream can be slathered over your pores and miraculously “repair your DNA”, or that a slippery before-bed serum can “make your genes act younger”?

This month Allure Magazine takes a look at the reality of the trendy spate of sci-fi worthy DNA repairing promises from the health and beauty industry. In an article “In the Genes,” author Judith Newman separates fact from fiction of four of the most popular of these futuristic miracle workers.

DNA does not stand for Do Not Apply. In fact, it’s quite the opposite and no amount of product is going to wipe clean your genetic stain. Mt. Sinai Medical Center’s assistant clinical professor of dermatology, Jeannette Graf explains the increasingly popular “DNA repair” promises of the cosmetics industry. “The words sound a little scary, as if these products are going to go into the body and change your DNA. What’s really happening is that [the products] contain ingredients that support the body’s own natural efforts to protect and heal the skin.”

And one of the foremost ingredients to tackle this age-old conundrum is that big-news heavy-hitter: stem cells. The reason behind stem cells celebrity is rooted in their great promise, explains Ranella Hirsch, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Boston University Medical Center. “They have the ability to develop into a lot of different structures, creating new tissue and repairing damaged tissue.” Yes, but do they actually create fresh new skin?

The fine print (some so fine, that the human eye cannot detect it on a day-cream’s fancy packaging at all) is that products that claim to contain stem cells actually contain the stem cells of apples and grapes and other botanical sources, not rock-star human stem cells.

Human stem cells are huge structures, and getting them absorbed into the skin “is like trying to put a Hummer in a parking space for a Mini,” notes Ava Shamban, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at UCLA. So unless you have aspiration of transform into one of the Fruit of the Loom guys – the dream stops here.



What botanical sources of stem cells can do for you is another matter entirely. Shamban notes that apples and grapes are still great for the skin. “They’re powerful anti-oxidants that eat up free radicals.” One study suggests that apple stem-cell extracts may boost the activity of skin cells and possibly even stimulate the production of new cells.

Another superstar in the trendy world of cosmetics marketing is –somes: roxisomes, photosomes, ultrasomes… you know, enzymes! Enzymes claiming to reduce fine lines and boost collagen production really do – if you’re not a stickler for semantics. One example is a certain he-who-shall-not-be-named fine-line serum, which claims to contain a “DNA repair enzyme.” Defined loosely as an anti-inflammatory. (You can’t beat the price of a good translator these days!) Since skin inflammation caused by sun damage is a source of wrinkles and sad, broken-down collagen, any anti-inflammatory actually allows the skin to repair itself.



And what of Peptides? We’ve all heard plenty of pep-talk when it comes to the realm of these, but is there any merit?

Peptides are basically proteins that happen to be chains of amino acids. And some of these chains act as messengers to a specific cell. “Peptides turn something on or off,” explains Graf, “like putting a key into a car ignition, which sets off a chain of events that get the car to run. However, peptides are very specific; my key will not start your car.”

And while we all love a good car analogy, what exactly does this mean?

It means that products claiming to help repair DNA through the use of peptides are actually fighting wrinkles by identifying cells damaged by ultraviolet rays and ordering (or communicating with in an adult-like matter) the body to fix them. Graf also mentions that one of her favorite pep’s is also 2011 cosmetics ‘It’ girl, algae. Since this little beauty survives in some of the worst conditions, it has to have it’s own powerful protection from UV rays. (We here at Project Beauty Blog will take a look at algae soon in our Foods For Healthy Skin series. Deee-licous.)

Probiotics is another ‘p’ word being that’s been thrown around for decades in the health and beauty world (and yes, we’ll get to her too), mostly in reference to their anti-inflammatory powers of persuasion. And the leader of the probiotic pack is a little something called Bio-Lysat. (Note: Reader beware, this next part is not for the squeamish.)

Bio-Lysat is a lactobacillus. A what? (There’s simply no way to put this delicately.) Lactobacillus is a form of “healthy” bacteria generally found in the gastrointestinal tract and the vagina (*screech – you want me to put what? Where!?!).

(Calm down, folks. Bio-Lysat is grown in a laboratory by a mad scientist, it is not harvested from your nether-regions.)

When the bacteria ferments it triggers a certain gene to help renew the skin cell and repair the moisture barrier. Which brings us round full-circle. Probiotics, and any number of our space-age cosmetics superstars, do way less gene-altering and way more supporting of your body’s own ongoing battle to protect and heal the skin. So once again, the real sci-fi superstar… is you.

'til Next Time!