There’s a lot to keep up with in this interconnected, social-media flooded world. A couple months ago we posted an article with updates from one of the worlds we live in – the skin care industry world.
Many of you let us know that you appreciated this info, so we’re back for round two.
Here are a few things worth mentioning in the world of cleansers and creams:
Your Skin Can Smell
You thought you were savvy to your senses… but the clue was just under your nose all along! Well it’s all over your body, really.
Researchers from Germany’s Ruhr University Bochum have recently unveiled a previously unknown function of the skin: smell. They found scent receptors on this outer layer that appear to be involved in the body’s healing process.
What does this mean for skin care? Well for one, it definitely says something about the validity and importance of aromatherapy. If certain smells have different binding sites on the skin, it makes sense that different essential oils would provide different benefits.
We hear it said often enough: your skin is your largest organ. It can seem very different from your kidneys or your heart, but it clearly serves many purposes, some still unknown, and should thus be cared for and “fed” with the same diligence as our inner bodies.
Here Comes the Sun
This July, the House of Representatives passed the Sunscreen Innovation Act, which aims to encourage the FDA to review incoming applications for new sunscreen ingredients, and facilitate the process to make it happen faster.
The United States surgeon general issued a call to action in response to the alarming data surrounding skin cancer: 5 million people are being treated for it each year, with more new cases each year than breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer combined.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set five community goals in the hopes of curbing this trend. Providing shade in public spaces, reducing indoor tanning, providing information about the harm of UV rays, focusing on research in skin cancer prevention, and promoting policies that support prevention.
The measure passed by Congress sets a time limit for the FDA, who has been sitting on several sunscreen ingredient applications, some for ten years. In order to help them move through this process, the FDA will no longer be required to undergo an extensive rule making process for each ingredient before they can approve or deny it.
Is this a good thing? It will likely result in new sunscreen technologies being introduced to the market, but the hastiness of the process could result in the approval of unsafe ingredients. We’re glad to see that sun protection is being recognized as an important issue.
Preserved Body Inspires Skin Care Industry
In Ireland, bogs are a common part of the landscape. This year, a body was found deep within the peat, the name for what forms when plants partially decompose. This extremely antioxidant-rich substance sinks to the bottom of the bog as it ages.
Scientists analyzed the body and revealed that, despite being exceptionally well-preserved, was thousands of years old. It was so well-preserved, in fact, that they could identify the person’s last meal, and the time of year he died, from the pollen in his nose.
So what does that mean for skin care? Well the peat that this body was immersed in seems partially responsible for his impressive condition upon discovery, inspiring skin care lines to use this ingredient as the focal point of their lines.
This wasn’t the first well-preserved ‘bog body,’ nor is the belief that peat is a healing ingredient a new one. It has actually long been known to be beneficial to the skin, being not only high in antioxidants but also possessing cleansing qualities.
Is peat the next new anti-aging ingredient? Time will tell.
What have you seen in the news lately about skin care? Feel free to share below!
by Hope Freije
Sources:
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/calls/prevent-skin-cancer/consumer-booklet.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2713178/Could-fountain-youth-lie-Irish-BOG-Peat-preserved-9-000-year-old-bodies-inspire-new-skin-care-range.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/next/body/skin-can-smell/
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/29/health/surgeon-general-skin-cancer/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/4250
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