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          Epionce is only one of three cosmeceutical companies in the world that does out of house double blind studies on their finished product.  Have you wondered if your skin care products do what they claim?

Do you rely soley on commercial claims, celebrity claims, or your skincare provider?  

          Because we all care so much about staying healthy and looking as young as possible, if we think a product does what it claims, we are usually willing to pay and that is what cosmeceutical companies count on. We are also in an age of overwhelming amounts of information on the internet and it is hard to know if we are getting accurate information. Marketing companies use time tested strategies to convince consumers to buy, regardless if the product has been scientifically proven to work.

           Most cosmeceutical companies are counting on us to have just enough knowledge that we think the product could be good. They also rely on celebrity endorsements and "experts" to convince us that it works, but those claims are rarely backed up by independent scientific studies. It is important not to be fooled by trendy buzz words or ingredients that sound good but have little to no effect in the actual finished product.

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      Here are the buzz words I would like you to know about:  Epidermis, Dermis, Cell Turnover, Skin PH,

Acid Mantle, Skin Barrier Function, Lipid Barrier, 3:1:1 Lipid Ratio.  

     The skin is made up of two main layers, the Epidermis and Dermis.  The Epidermis is the most outer layer of our skin that is continually regenerating new cells and shedding old. This process is called the

Cell Turnover rate and averages every 28 days in an adult.  This is important knowledge as it slows down with age and will affect the time it takes your body to respond to a product or to heal from a skin care treatment. 

     Although the underlying Dermis, has only two layers, it is 25 times thicker and considered the "true skin", the epidermis has five layers and has the important job of protection. This thin layer is waterproof, permeable, regenerates itself, detoxifies the body, and responds to stimuli. Understanding how these skin cell layers function is key in choosing ingredients and treatments. It is the key to whether products can be absorbed into the active layer of our skin (the dermis) or not.  

     The stratum corneum is the outermost layer of the epidermis.  It is sometimes descried as a brick wall. The epidermal cells or corneocytes are the bricks and are mortared together by lipids that create a barrier.

The Barrier Function of the epidermis is an extremely important concept in skin care. When everything is working properly in the stratum corneum, this layer will help defend you against: 

• dehyration

• toxins

• bacteria​

At the same time, it's protecting the skin underneath.​  Unfortunately some of the products that you use to clean your body can harm the stratum corneum by affecting the PH of the skin breaking down the lipids that form its barrier. This allows water loss through the skin and weakens the barrier function

     The best thing you do to keep your skin looking its best is to maintain the naturally slightly acidic PH level. Normal Skin PH ranges from 4.5 to 6.5 which means it is always on the slightly acidic side.  This acidic PH helps kill acne causing bacteria and necessary to keep the good bacteria. The relative success or failure of skincare products depends on the right PH of the skin.  The PH of the products and what they are encased will also determine the possibility of their absorption into the active layer of the skin where they are necessary to do what they claim.  Surrounding the keratinocyte cells in the Stratum Corneum, the outer most layer of the epidermis, are bilayers of oils and water, combined with cells form a protective layer called the Acid Mantle.  The acid mantle provides a film of amino/lactic acids and oils providing the proper PH that effectively protects skin from environmental factors (bacteria, pollutants) that contribute to premature aging and irritation.

     The lipids in between the cells are responsible for maintaining skin hydration, firmness, and softness. It is commonly referred to as the Lipid Barrier.  The lipid barrier performs three important functions:

• traps water molecules and prevents the passage of water out of the Stratum Corneum, which is called Transepidermal Water Loss (TEWL) 

• prevents Natural Moisturizing Factors from leaching out

• prevents environmental chemicals and biological irritants from entering skin 

     

 Epionce utilizes the breakthrough technology consisting of a proprietary cholesterol dominant

3:1:1 Lipid Ratio of the barrier lipids: cholesterol, ceramides, and fatty acids in their flagship product: Renewal Facial Cream.  This ratio of lipids were found to trigger repair of the stratum corneum and upregulate basal cell proliferation, improving the cell turnover rate.

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• What are the ingredients in the product your are using or interested in

• Are the active ingredients in the top ten listed

• What is the purpose of the product

• What are the claims of the product 

• Are there any clinical studies on the finished product

• If so, are they out of house double blind scientific studies

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