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During the past 20 years, the author has watch China move from being a developing country into an industrial superpower
Money Moves, 5/24: Chocomize Co-Founder Fabian Kaempfer talks with Bloomberg’s Deirdre Bolton about the business of customizing chocolate
The president's campaign has a new rule—no cell phones allowed
In honor of remote control inventor Eugene Polley, we recognize other influential but neglected inventors who have felt the sting of stolen glory
Forget Adderall. Traders now pop chia seeds to stay focused and energized
The Italian automaker and others are adding hybrid technology to elite cars
The storied bridge that links San Francisco and Marin County changed the face of California
Schools cultivate ties with startups before they're big successes
Dave McClure's traveling venture capital show scours the world for promising startups
Get Four
|  | NOVEMBER 30, 2004
By Amy Tsao Despite the Hype, No Elixirs of Youth [Page 2 of 2] Following is a guide to the good, the bad, and the ugly among popular cosmeceutical products:Alpha hydroxy acid Loads of products contain alpha hydroxy acid -- chemicals derived from fruit and milk sugars. Some data suggest that they may help the appearance of aging skin by exfoliating dead cells. But they're also known to have damaging effects, including rashes, swelling, and increased sensitivity to sunlight. After conducting its own studies, the FDA in 1994 said products containing alpha hydroxy acid are safe in concentrations of 10% or less of the product and provided the acidity is also low. Glycolic acid and lactic acid, which are forms of alpha hydroxy acid, are safe at concentrations of 30% in chemical peels, the FDA said. Botox Botulinium toxin type A, popularly known as Botox, works by temporarily paralyzing muscles behind wrinkled skin. For its FDA filing for cosmetic use, Botox was studied in placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials involving 405 patients with moderate-to-severe eyebrow furrows. In the group receiving Botox, after 30 days, both researchers and patients rated frown lines as improved or nonexistent. Very few patients in the placebo group saw similar improvement. Side effects include headache, respiratory infection, flu syndrome, droopy eyelids, and nausea. Less-common effects are pain in the face, redness at the injection site, and muscle weakness. It's unknown what the impact of long-term use might be. Skeptics worry that the shots will render patients' muscles atrophied over time. It's recommended that Botox not be injected more than once every three months. Hyaluronic acid This is the main component of the synthetic, injected products Restylane and Hylaform. They make lips plump up and remove deep skin creases by filling the space between collagen and elastin fibers within the skin. The body absorbs the gel over time, and repeated injections are needed to maintain results. In studies across the U.S., 138 patients with frown lines were injected with Restylane on one side of the face and with a bovine collagen product on the other side. Pain and bruising occurred in both groups, but at lower rates on the Restylane-treated side. Hyaluronic acid is showing up as an ingredient in all kinds of lotions, but no credible data show that a topical treatment would penetrate the skin and have a beneficial effect. Vitamin A Prescription vitamin A creams and gels such as acne treatment Retin-A, made by Ortho Pharmaceutical, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ ) division, may also help with the appearance of fine lines, coarse skin, and pigmentation problems. "But it's not magic," cautions Jeffrey Dover, associate clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine and director of SkinCare Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Mass. "Results are modest and take a long time." Dover also cautions that products containing watered-down ingredients that sound like Retin-A (retinol, retinyl, etc.) are popular, but probably useless. (Dover consults for JNJ's Neutrogena division.) Vitamin C Some evidence shows that vitamin C is useful in sunscreens. "It quite surprisingly provides an enormous amount of photoprotective power," says Sheldon Pinnell, professor emeritus at Duke University. A 1992 study showed that vitamin C protected pigskin from damage caused by ultraviolet rays. Another study co-authored by Pinnell was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology last year. It showed that topical vitamin E and C together protected pigskin better from the sun than vitamin C or E alone. (Pinnell is a consultant to Skinceuticals, a line of cosmeceuticals.) Such data are "very exciting," says Dan Rivlin, dermatologist at Skin & Cancer Associates in Miami Beach, Fla. But he doesn't typically recommend vitamin C creams to patients since the only available studies didn't involve humans. Also, Pinnell's studies were done with a particular strength and type of vitamin C that may not be the same as those in other vitamin C products. All the rest Hundreds of products are presented as age-fighting remedies. And some are becoming blockbusters despite uncertainties about whether they work. Strivectin-SD, for example, is on track to becoming a $100 million product by yearend -- even though relatively little evidence of safety or effectiveness has been shown. Klein-Becker, the maker of StriVectin-SD, insists the product works and is safe, but it declines to disclose where research of the product was published. And since this summer, the Federal Trade Commission has been investigating Klein-Becker for making unsubstantiated claims on various weight-loss products it sells. While alleged anti-aging treatments are plentiful, what's in short supply is the evidence that they can really make you look younger. Remember, promises and proof aren't the same.
 Tsao is a reporter for BusinessWeek Online in New York Edited by Patricia O'Connell Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
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