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"  It&amp;#039;s now widely acknowledged that stem cells\u2014those blank-slate, almost endlessly renewable cells that have the capacity to regenerate everything from organs to skin to nerves\u2014might someday unlock medical cures for conditions ranging from paralysis to blindness. So is it any surprise that their potential is also being trumpeted in the world of skin care? Cosmetic science has often taken inspiration from hard-core medical breakthroughs (Botox, remember, was originally developed for the treatment of facial spasms), and stem cells appear to possess the ideal skill set\u2014including self-duplication and the ability to enact all manner of reparative marvels\u2014to throw the switch on a veritable fountain of youth. &amp;quot;Stem cells are the hottest ticket in terms of street talk since Retin-A,&amp;quot; says Beverly Hills\u2013based dermatologist Harold Lancer, MD, who applies a solution of stem-cell-rich sheep placenta to patients&amp;#039; skin to hasten healing after microdermabrasion and other procedures. Unappetizing as that sounds, stem-cell claims are becoming ubiquitous, cropping up about everything from face creams to shampoos. There&amp;#039;s a company that will siphon fat from your abdomen, isolate the stem cells, and then mix the proteins those cells generate into a personalized skin-care regimen; another brand produces an anti-aging range based on the excretions of stem cells lifted from unfertilized human eggs. Not all stem-cell sources are human: Some products contain chemicals gleaned from the stem cells of plants, and some incorporate distillates of bovine embryonic fluid. It&amp;#039;s a broad, largely unregulated, and sometimes ick-inducing field. Is there anything to it\u2014or are we just seeing a buzzword run amok? The first thing to remember about any stem-cell cream you might spot at the department store, says dermatologist Fredric Brandt, MD, is that &amp;quot;there are no actual stem cells in any of these products.&amp;quot; What they do contain\u2014even in the case of most of those that are based on botanical stem-cell sources\u2014are the proteins and growth factors the stem cells produce. Human stem cells are sort of like blank CDs\u2014all are undifferentiated, but each type has varying levels of potential. Those that are completely unprogrammed (such as the pluripotent stem cells found in human embryos, the type that has been the source of so much political furor) can divide to become anything from liver cells to brain cells, depending on what molecular instructions they receive, while adult stem cells typically only can work to repair the type of tissue they&amp;#039;re situated within. However, they also can be unpredictable, which is what makes the transference of whole human stem cells for the purpose of beautification a rather iffy proposition. Some derms and plastic surgeons perform a (non-FDA-approved) process often called the &amp;quot;stem-cell face-lift,&amp;quot; in which stem cells are harvested from a patient&amp;#039;s body fat, then reinjected as filler into the face. The idea is that these cells will encourage the skin to produce healthy, firm new tissue, but, says Lancer, &amp;quot;That&amp;#039;s still pretty much experimental, and I&amp;#039;ve never seen a benefit from it.&amp;quot; The procedure can even be dangerous: In 2009, a woman who received facial injections of stem cells taken from her abdomen at a Beverly Hills clinic experienced an astounding side effect: Three months afterward, she discovered that bone fragments were growing in her eyelids, audibly &amp;quot;click-clacking&amp;quot; when she blinked. The anomaly was caused, scientists believe, by the concurrent use of a common dermal filler, which happens to contain a mineral that can encourage certain stem cells to turn into bone. The fragments were removed surgically from the woman&amp;#039;s eyelids, but as an unexpected result of a $20,000 procedure, that&amp;#039;s a big case for buyer beware. The news is much better when it comes to stem-cell extracts applied topically. All skin cells are spurred into activity\u2014to divide, to produce collagen, etc.\u2014by messages they receive via proteins and amino acids. These components are produced naturally within the skin but decline over time when these molecular transmissions slow down, and the signs of aging creep in. Stem-cell extracts, which contain a potpourri of growth factors, peptides, and other signaling chemicals, may be our best bet for keeping this messaging system up and running. On this, many derms and beauty companies agree. But as to what type of stem-cell source is best? That&amp;#039;s a different story. Stem-Cell Supercreams On the brave-new-world end of the stem-cell spectrum, there&amp;#039;s new buzz-brand Lifeline. Starting with a supply of eggs donated specifically for the brand&amp;#039;s use by women at several California IVF clinics, Lifeline tricks the eggs into thinking they&amp;#039;ve been fertilized, then captures the magic brew of proteins and amino acids produced by their stem cells for use in its skin-care range. While the idea of applying a face cream derived from human eggs may be off-putting to many, &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s an important distinction that the oocytes are not actually fertilized, so there&amp;#039;s no sperm involved, and every single piece of the genetic material is removed,&amp;quot; says New York City\u2013based dermatologist and clinical associate professor of dermatology at NYU School of Medicine Elizabeth Hale, MD, who endorses the products. The practice&amp;#039;s scientific legitimacy is bolstered by Lifeline&amp;#039;s position as a subsidiary of International Stem Cell Corporation\u2014a biotech company that contributes to medical stem-cell research for Parkinson&amp;#039;s- and liver-disease treatments, and the first to devise a form of nonembryonic human-stem-cell cultivation, which allows it, as Lifeline COO Simon Craw says, to &amp;quot;sidestep&amp;quot; any of the ethical issues involved in human embryo use. And, because a single egg is capable of generating countless stem cells, very few are needed. &amp;quot;With stem cells,&amp;quot; Hale says, &amp;quot;you&amp;#039;re getting the spectrum of signaling molecules that cause skin cells to produce collagen and elastin, as well as to stimulate epidermal fibroblasts and keratinocyte growth factors\u2014that&amp;#039;s why they&amp;#039;re getting such astronomical levels of stimulation with Lifeline.&amp;quot; Indeed, an independent study showed skin to be 73 percent firmer, 93 percent more hydrated, and 63 percent brighter after three months of use. Also in the stem-cell game: U Autologous, a range of anti-aging lotions and potions named by Forbes as one of 2012&amp;#039;s top fashion and beauty start-ups. Unlike Lifeline, it sources the cells from each patient&amp;#039;s own fat tissue. On parent company American CryoStem&amp;#039;s website, you can learn how the process works: Roughly two ounces of stem-cell-rich fat are removed from the hips or abdomen via liposuction at the office of a participating cosmetic surgeon, then &amp;quot;safely stored in cryopreservation tanks&amp;quot; for a monthly fee. Stem cells isolated from this fat are multiplied in a lab culture until they begin to produce abundant growth factors, which are then incorporated into individualized face creams that can be made to order for as long as the stem cells are banked. The price for a personalized product is high\u2014more than $3,000, versus $190 for a Lifeline serum\u2014but is it more effective? &amp;quot;I would say intuitively that it makes a lot of sense that your own growth factors would be more biocompatible with your skin than something that&amp;#039;s generic,&amp;quot; says plastic surgeon Fredric Stern, MD, who directed clinical trials on U Autologous, and who has been performing the hour-long extraction procedure for more than a year in his Bellevue, Washington, practice. &amp;quot;But having said that, those studies haven&amp;#039;t been done yet.&amp;quot; The result of his clinical trials on U Autologous, however, he deemed &amp;quot;a wow.&amp;quot; Studies with 19 patients who applied the product on one side of their face and their normal skin care on the other showed that the U Autologous\u2013treated sides had &amp;quot;less wrinkles, better skin texture, less sun-damage pigmentation, and less redness,&amp;quot; Stern says, and after eight weeks, biopsies confirmed an increase in elastin levels in the dermis. So far, so amazing, but there is another concern: Among the molecules produced by stem cells are cytokines, which are responsible for healing damaged cells and promoting cell division but can also affect cell shape and metabolism\u2014meaning that they also might be able to stimulate tumor growth in predisposed individuals. &amp;quot;The studies that have looked at stem-cell products and growth factors haven&amp;#039;t shown that as a risk,&amp;quot; Stern says. &amp;quot;What we&amp;#039;re seeing is just an improvement of skin health, and its natural defenses and abilities are being magnified. We haven&amp;#039;t seen any negative structural occurrences in the skin, but it is something we&amp;#039;re continuing to look at.&amp;quot; Power Plant Plant stem cells\u2014or the chemicals those cells produce when grown in a culture\u2014have been making star appearances in skin care since 2008, when extracts taken from the wonderfully named Uttwiler Sp\u00E4tlauber apple, a Swiss varietal developed in the eighteenth century to have an especially long shelf life, were shown to provide a stimulating and protective effect on human skin cells (in a study published in the International Journal for Applied Science, the apple stem-cell concoction increased in vivo cell turnover and UV resistance). Since then, a stem-cell garden has sprouted up in serums and creams, including those derived from grape, coneflower, raspberry, edelweiss, lilac, and rose. Horst Rechelbacher, who founded Aveda in 1978 and went on to launch organic-beauty company Intelligent Nutrients in 1995, says that because plant stem-cell actives often contain a 1,000 times greater concentration of antioxidants than other botanical extracts, their potency can &amp;quot;increase collagen synthesis and cell renewal, and reduce the signs of photo aging.&amp;quot; Ultimately he believes the greatest value to using plant stem cells is their sustainabil-ity: Because farming isn&amp;#039;t involved (a single plant can produce a vast number of stem cells), fewer natural resources need be expended for their cultivation. &amp;quot;Plant stem cells are happy little duplicators,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;You put them in dishes with the right temperature, moisture, and light, and they just do their thing.&amp;quot; Other brands are attempting to tap the natural regenerative power of the stem cells that reside in our skin (including epidermal stem cells, which govern keratinocyte turnover, and dermal stem cells, which produce collagen and elastin), using not plant stem cells but high-tech botanical extracts. Guerlain has identified a flavonoid-rich molecule in the rare gold orchid that acts specifically on progenitor cells\u2014including stem cells and their next-generation daughter cells\u2014by giving them a sort of battery-charge boost. Guerlain claims that the molecule, found in its new Orchid\u00E9e Imp\u00E9riale cream, will prolong the life span of these cells and bolster the intercellular communication that keeps skin healthy. Dior&amp;#039;s new Capture Totale Multi-Perfection range also delves deep, tackling the stem cells in the hypodermis (beneath the dermis). &amp;quot;These stem cells can give rise either to adipose cells or to fibroblasts, the latter of which are responsible for the den-sity and elasticity of the skin,&amp;quot; says Edouard Mauvais-Jarvis, Dior&amp;#039;s scien-tific communications director. After testing some 200 plant extracts, Dior scientists discovered a rye-based ingredient, patented as Secale c., that they believe sends the correct intercellular messages to induce those hypodermal stem cells to create firming fibroblasts rather than adipose cells. &amp;quot;Not a lot of placebo-controlled studies have been done on these things,&amp;quot; says Brandt. &amp;quot;There is some validity to stem-cell claims, but you have to look at them individually and evaluate them.&amp;quot; The science, he adds, is still in its infancy. &amp;quot;But I think we&amp;#039;re at the beginning of something very exciting.&amp;quot; See the best stem cell creams. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/tips/a13730/stem-cell-creams-skin-care/>