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Amino acids
A lot of hair growth shampoos contain amino acids such as cystine and methonine, can amino acids be absorbed by the skin and do they have any effect on growth or skin health or is just marketing fad?
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9 Replies
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The skin is an amazing part of the body. It can take things in or out (sweat for instance). Although the uptake is selective and controlled, the truth of the matter is things that you expose the skin to end up in your system. As a chemist who works with chemicals, we wear long pants, lab coats, and cover our eyes just to protect the skin from direct exposure to lab chemicals.
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Although assimilation via hair follicles is known/claimed for certain substances, the amount of amino acids does not suffice to show any effect at all. These are pure claim ingredients to boost marketing, nothing more.
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yes, excess amounts of amino acid do not have an effect on protein synthesis
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Adding amino acids to hair care products is simply a marketing ploy. They will have zero noticeable effect.
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Perry said:Adding amino acids to hair care products is simply a marketing ploy. They will have zero noticeable effect.
can the same be said about antioxidants
Are antioxidant-rich skincare and hair care products as effective as they say they are? or boost marketing, nothing more.
how well antioxidants are actually absorbed into the skin? is there any research to suggest anti oxidants are absorbed into the cells of the stratum corneum and underlying skin ?do companies use minute amounts to boost marketing, and concentration of antioxidants to be effective is unknown
and antioxidants rapidly breakdown , are they only really used as preservatives within cosmetics for essential oils,waxes and fragrances?
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I agree with the comments above, aminoacids in hair products offer no benefit other than marketing. In fact, I remember a paper discussing the effect of small molecules on hair, and some aminoacids that were able to enter hair through scales, made hair more prone to breaking since they acted like small rigid units. The bottomline, that something manages to penetrate skin or hair, doesn’t mean it’s going to have an effect, and in some cases, that effect can be detrimental.
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@Hanson25 - There are a couple answers to this question.
1. For many companies every “special” ingredient they add to their formula is just for marketing claims. In their skin care product they put an ineffective level of an antioxidant or hyaluronic acid or retinol or whatever ingredient is popular and talk about how beneficial the ingredient is in their marketing. Since consumers can’t really tell a difference in performance this strategy is effective and most profitable.
2. Some companies look to the scientific literature and match the levels that published studies say were used and then claim some effect. So, they have a rationale that the added feature ingredient has some benefit. However, demonstrating a benefit from an ingredient in a laboratory controlled study is not the same thing as demonstrating a benefit under real-life conditions. In cases like these the ingredients still may just have claims benefit and not provide any real cosmetic benefit. It is not in the product maker’s best interest to figure out if the ingredients actually work.
The reality is that benefits that might be derived from feature ingredients are subtle and incremental at best. They also may take a long time to notice. The condition of your skin is complicated and based not only on the products you use but also on the environment you’re exposed to, stress levels and the diet you eat.
Consumers are not good at noticing benefits so ALL of these “feature” ingredients, whether they have tiny effects or not, are mostly just added for the claims.
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Amino acids act as film formers though. Maybe the do add benefits for that reason? Although I stopped using them as it’s a presentation challenge.
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@ngarayeva001 - when something is a film former that may have an impact on the way the product feels. If this is something consumers notice then it may be important. But if consumers can’t tell, the ingredient doesn’t really matter.
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