The Beauty of Stem Cells

Story by Beth Landman

For more than ten years, Dr. Robert Silich, one of New York’s top plastic surgeons, has been perfecting many of the city’s most prominent faces. Cutting-edge yet conservative, he has been able to minimize scarring while restoring muscle tone and contours. At a time when many aesthetic doctors were injecting their patients with a myriad of fillers, Silich opted to primarily use his patients’ own fat—first as an adjunct to surgery, next as a separate procedure. “All of a sudden, I noticed that my patients’ skin was starting to improve,” he says. “Fat extended a youthful look for many patients. In some cases it put off the need for a facelift or—for older patients—the need for a second or tertiary lift.”

Around this time, other plastic surgeons began to have similar epiphanies. “After injecting fat, I saw skin that looked thicker and healthier,” says Dr. Dan Baker, the New York plastic surgeon who reportedly took years off the faces of Madonna and Donna Karan. “In many cases it looked even better a year later. It’s one of the newest, most exciting things in plastic surgery.”

Let’s face it, gravity has never been our friend, and has more or less triumphed over every potion and treatment that didn’t involved a scalpel. Add in natural evils like excessive sun exposure and environmental toxins to this downward spiral, and our skin starts to deflate like air in a tire.

And to make matters even worse, with each passing year we lose significant volume in our faces as a result of facial fat shrinkage, bone resorption, and a decrease in facial muscles. The texture of skin starts to show its age with brown spots, red spots, and rough texture. Meanwhile, the quality and quantity of our natural collagen and elastin start to decrease, resulting in fine lines, wrinkles, and dark hollows under the eyes.

As Silich and his colleagues started making their strides with their fat-based procedures, researchers began to speculate that stem cell density in fat was causing the dramatic improvements. “What we have learned is that fat has the largest reservoir of adult stem cells in the human body,” says Dr. Ivona Percec, a research scientist and plastic surgery professor with the University of Pennsylvania. “Plus, the cells are very easy to access.”

According to New York plastic surgeon Sydney Coleman, who was among the first to standardize the fat transfer procedure and who developed the popular “microdroplet injection” technique, this area of research holds great promise. “In the last few years, we have discovered that your body’s fat is part of your repair system,” says Coleman.

“Fat has one of the highest concentrations of stem cells, plus growth factors,” agrees Dr. Baker. “While the science is not totally there, I simply tell my patients that I am injecting them with their own fat and that it contains many stem cells. We aren’t sure why it makes the skin look better, but it does.”

Former Wilhelmina model Debra Fitzpatrick said the results of stem cell-infused fat transfer (courtesy of anti-aging specialist Sharon McQuillan, MD, based in Miami) have prompted her to consider working in front of the camera again. “It’s natural, it left no scars, and my face looks better as time goes on,’” Fitzpatrick reports.

 “We have discovered that your body’s fat is part of your repair system”

Since human stem cells started offering such hope, scientists have broadened their research to include the DNA of other living organisms. Animal DNA is closer than plant DNA to that of humans, and has therefore become an area of great interest.

At the Carasoin Day Spa and Skin Clinic, high-profile Hollywood types have enthusiastically embraced the bovine-based DNA Cryo Stem Cell Treatment. Owner Tom Rann explains that the cells for this facial are extracted from the amniotic stem cells of a calf fetus in its first trimester. No ordinary calf, this cow is raised on an organic, free-range, free-roving farm in the French Alps, and the process is “less invasive than milking the cow,” according to Rann. Added to the brew are tissue-specific organic nutrients. “Clinical tests show a seventy-one percent increase in cellular reproduction after six days,” Rann reports.

Sheep cells are another strong choice for such treatments according to Robin Gray, the founder of Stem Cell Beauty Innovations. “We use afterbirth placenta cells from New Zealand sheep,’” reveals Gray. “It’s freeze-dried, so the nutrients are there and the results are there.”

While cow and sheep stem cells are making waves, experts agree that human cells remain the gold standard for stem cell-based beauty. Lifeline Skin Care has found a way to harvest human stem cells from unfertilized eggs. Two other noteworthy companies, laViv and Personal Cell Sciences, are actually cultivating a person’s own stem cells and transforming them into beauty products. Obtaining stem cells from your own fat involves minimally invasive liposuction to harvest a small portion of fat. This fat is then concentrated on the stem cell portion and housed in a special media that preserves and grows the cells. (Take note: The practice of culturing or growing stem cells is not legal in the United States at this time.)

“I’m a dermatologist, and I became so obsessed with Lifeline that I asked them if I could get involved,” says New York City dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth Hale, an enthusiastic spokesperson for the company. “They discovered that fibroblasts are stimulated at high levels to produce collagen and elastin when they come into contact with these stem cells. This directly minimizes wrinkles.”

To make Personal Cell Sciences products, a quarter cup of fat is drawn by a doctor, then overnighted to a science incubator on the campus of Burlington College in New Jersey. “The cells are cultured in an animal-free liquid for seven to fourteen days, which grows enough cells for a lifetime of cosmetics,” says the company’s CEO and Chairman John Arnone. A clinical-grade sample of cells is kept, in case the client wants to call on it for future use. Their revolutionary suite of three products costs $3,000 for an initial set, including the initial fat extraction, then $1,500 for subsequent monthly supplies.

Dr. Frederic Stern, an ophthalmic plastic surgeon in Bellevue, Washington, conducted an impressive study on Personal Cell Science products. “We had subjects apply PCS products to one side of their face, and normal products to the other over an eight week period,” he says. “ We used computerized imagery to do objective analysis of the wrinkles, sun damage, pigment, and texture, and had an independent lab analyze skin biopsies. The PCS side was twenty-six percent better, and the skin biopsies showed a significant increase in elastin.”

46-year-old Jeanette Downing, a patient of Dr. Stern’s, started on the PSC set in March of 2011. “I have always had hypersensitive skin, so I break out very easily,” Downing admits. “When I started using the eye cream, all of the little lines—from my eyes to my cheekbones—suddenly began to disappear. Because it’s made with my own cells, I’m not allergic to it. To be able to have a product that works, and that I don’t react to, is a Godsend.”

Back in Beverly Hills, the cosmetic capital of the world, women have been lining up for the human placenta facial. Originated in China, the revolutionary treatment is locally pioneered by dermatologist-to-the-stars Dr. Harold Lancer. It consists of a deep exfoliation and cleanse followed by a topical application of a thick white cream, which is an FDA-approved biological protein derivative of human placenta. It delivers an intense anti-aging treatment to firm the skin and reduce deep lines.

Found in tissues throughout the body, including bone marrow, hair follicles, and most abundantly fat, stem cells are being considered as the panacea for everything from spinal cord injuries to Alzheimer’s, and have become the next great promise of the beauty industry. So it’s no surprise that the race is on to devise the next major anti-aging products. However, both manufacturers and marketers are taking license with the term “stem cells.”

So as not to be confused, while stem cells are live cells that cannot remain stable in over-the counter-products, they actually contain ingredients that mobilize the body’s resident stem cells, or substances extracted from stem cells in plants and animals. According to Kristin Comella, stem cell scientist and Chief Scientific Officer of the Ageless Regenerative Institute, “The majority of stem cell creams on the market do not contain live, viable cells, but do contain growth factors obtained from the cells.”

“Stem cells cultured from the gardenia plant stimulate collagen production”

In other words, the stem cells found in botanical products mimic the action of human stem cells, in that they secrete the same growth factors that allow healing and cellular regeneration. This has been shown to reduce fine lines, increase collagen, and improve skin quality.

Plant-derived stem cells (meristematic cells) can differentiate—or become—other cell types. Unlike animal or human stem cells, plant stem cells remain “neutral” in terms of their function. Plant stem cells are created by harming their source. The cells that then respond to the injury are called phenylpropanoids, which promote tissue repair. These are cultured and then used in skincare products to promote the repair of the skin.

Clark’s Botanicals founder Francesco Clark has been focused on stem cell science since 2002, after suffering a spinal cord injury that confines him to a wheelchair. His newest product, the Cellular Lifting Moisture Mist, is made from Uttwiller Spatlauer apple stem cells. “Farmers and grocers noticed that they never seemed to go bad on the shelves,” says Clark. “Marvelle Labs found that these apple cells prevent human skin stem cells from dying. We have clinical data to show that after thirty days, crows feet were dramatically improved.”

Peter Lamas has also chosen the Uttwiller Spatlauer as the stem cell source for Vital Infusion, an anti-aging complex he is launching. “The apple doesn’t seem to oxidize,” he says. “I don’t believe in hopes and dreams in a jar. Results are very important.”

Stem cells cultivated from the white tuberose flower (found in Estée Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Radiant White products) calm skin and repel the irritants that lead to melanin overproduction. The stem cells cultured from the gardenia plant stimulate collagen production, decrease collagen degradation, and inhibit the production of enzyme collagenase, which breaks down collagen.

Edelweiss (favored by Elemis and Ice Elements) protects against UV radiation, helps with wrinkle reduction, and contains high concentrations of antioxidant Leontopodic acid. Lilac stem cells inhibit enzymes that play a role in acne and hair loss. Its active ingredient, verbascoside, possesses antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Sea fennel, found on the Mediterranean and Western European coasts, boast stem cells that are believed to stimulate skin renewal and lighten brown spots. Edelweiss, sea fennel, gardenia, and lilac stem cells are used singly or in combination in many cosmeceutical product lines such as PCA Skin, Dermaquest, and ZO Medical skin care.

Stem cell discoveries have undoubtedly advanced the beauty industry by leaps and bounds. The breakthroughs have been beyond exciting, offering hope in nearly every area of the health and wellness world. What’s even better? Their potential has barely been tapped. Stay tuned. ?

 

 

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