Galderma Announces FDA Approval of 0.1% Differin® Gel For Over-the-Counter Acne Use

Galderma Announces FDA Approval of 0.1% Differin® Gel For Over-the-Counter Acne Use

A second skin made from silicone!

 

This was in the news last month and was heralded as a “second skin” that could make you look 20 years younger.

As you can see the effects are quite dramatic!

 

 

Here’s how it works:

First a layer of reactive silicone is spread thinly on the skin, then a second solution containing a platinum catalyst is applied. A chemical reaction (hydrosilylation) occurs crosslinking the silicone forming a cohesive network which compresses the skin. The network is also very elastic (stretching up to 250%), lasts up to 16 hours, and is waterproof.

The technology can then be further enhanced by embedding active ingredients into it, which may provide longer term benefits to the skin.

This specific composition was chosen because it reflected light like healthy skin, so it’s invisible once applied and dried.

The research was performed at MIT through a joint effort with Living Proof and their new spin-off Olivo Labs  – which will commercialize the product.

Yu B, Kang SY, Akthakul A, et al. An elastic second skin. Nat Mater. 2016

Anhydrous Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) Serum

This is an anhydrous ascorbic acid serum that I’ve been working on!

 

Ascorbic acid is notoriously unstable in the presence of water, it quickly oxidizes into dehydroascorbic acid which is yellow/orange in colour and (according to current research) isn’t as effective as ascorbic acid in producing skin benefits like evening of skin tone, reducing free radicals and reactive oxygen species, and increasing collagen production.

There are many compounds made from ascorbic acid that are designed to keep the antioxidant more stable. However many of these compounds haven’t been shown to act the same way as ascorbic acid or penetrate the skin. As well, enzymes in the skin are required to convert these compounds back into ascorbic acid, and there is little evidence to show that this occurs to a large extent.

By removing water from the formula, ascorbic acid can be stabilized against oxidation and experiments have shown that it can be so stable that it can resist months of exposure to oxygen (the test formulas were bubbled through with oxygen, like a fish tank!).

By removing water, we often create heavier, stickier, and much shinier products. This prototype, while heavy feeling on the finger, applied with a relatively matte and light finish. Hopefully it will stand up to stability testing, but I was so excited that I had to try it on myself immediately!

 

 

I’m excited to tweak this into a more elegant and light formula, especially with dramatic results like these!

image

From Stability, transdermal penetration, and cutaneous effects of ascorbic acid and its derivatives

So far, so good with the prototype – it’s been almost 2 weeks and yet to change colour. The smaller bottle contains unstabilized ascorbic acid in water.

 

 

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