Women’s Health Magazine Asks, Dr. Hal Simeroth of Stemology Answers
Excerpted from Women’s Health, December 9, 2015.
As skin-care brands continue to make crazy-scientific advancements, stem-cell products are popping up more and more in dermatology offices and on makeup counters everywhere. So what’s all the hype about?
Your skin is already packed with stem cells. As you age, you start to lose them, and by the time you hit 50, you’ve lost about 98 percent of them. Yikes! “When you’re young, the average turnover for your skin is about 25 to 30 days,” says Hal Simeroth, Ph.D., chief technical officer and founder of Stemology, a stem cell-based skin-care line. “When we get older, the production slows down, [and] the turnover can take up to 60 days. When it’s exposed to the elements longer, it loses that youthful vibrant look.” That’s where products come in.
Stem cells are not without their controversy, though. The use of embryonic ones for research purposes is a hot-button issue (according to the National Institutes of Health, they’re generally derived from embryos that develop from eggs that have been fertilized through IVF and then donated to research).
While some skin-care companies do use human stem cells, they come from adults, not emrbyos—and most products on the market contain plant-based stem cells. Simeroth explains that the stem-cell skin-care products you see on the shelf don’t even contain actual stem cells, but rather the proteins and amino acids that the youthful cells secrete.
“This is what your body recognizes and can use to help rejuvenate and repair cells,” says Simeroth. “These are the natural body healers.”
The cocktail of proteins and amino acids that are harvested from the actual stem cells themselves signal your own cells to produce more collagen and elastin and ultimately fire up the rejuvenation process. Say hello to the fountain of youth!
It’s important to note that stem-cell science is still in its infancy, and even though not all dermatologists are totally convinced that stem cells by themselves are miracle anti-agers, they do agree that these products are still packed with age-defying benefits.
The key to harnessing these age-defying effects is to start young. “We’re trying to mimic what the body does naturally when you’re younger by resorting the growth factor,” says Simeroth. In other words: Start the stem-cell regimen sooner, and you’ll slow down your natural aging process.
Author: Jennifer Newton
Want to find out more about stem cell skincare products? Contact Jamie@medresultsnetwork.com about Stemology, the world’s first and only skincare line to combine adult stem cell derivatives with plant stem cell nutrients and ingredient “helpers” to create all natural, intelligently organic, highly efficacious anti-aging skincare products that are clinically proven to work.
