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Nayad is a trade name for yeast extract. The manufacturer's literature describes Nayad as a "new system that takes yeast cells and refines them hundreds of times.... What results is a highly concentrated, odor-free, unusually potent yeast extract ...." The same literature reports that "no one really knows how Nayad is working in the skin; all we know for certain is the way it makes the skin look and feel. Test subjects report a noticeable smoothing of lines and wrinkles." FDA has no data to either substantiate or refute these claims.

Vitamins are added to cosmetics by manufacturers because foods containing vitamins A, D, E, K, and some of the B complex group are necessary in diets to maintain healthy skin and hair. Using these vitamins in cosmetics that are applied to the skin surface implies that skin will be nourished by them.

But Stanley R. Milstein, Ph.D., associate director for FDA's cosmetics division, says the notion that skin can be nourished by a vitamin applied to its surface has not been proven clinically. For that reason, says Milstein, a vitamin added to a cosmetic product must be listed in the ingredient label by its chemical name so that it doesn't convey a misleading message. However, FDA does not prohibit listing vitamins by their common names on the principal display panel of a cosmetic as long as the consumer is not misled and no therapeutic claims are made.

Some leaders in the cosmetic industry, such as Neutrogena's Schoen, agree with the FDA position on vitamins in skin care products. Others, such as Chris Vaughn of Sun Pharmaceuticals, Ltd., cite clinical studies done by Hoffmann-La Roche and others that show that vitamins can penetrate layers of skin and have beneficial effects. This, however, would make it a drug use, and manufacturers who use vitamins in their products don't usually make claims that would cause their products to be classified as drugs. Vaughn says that getting a drug classification is time-consuming and expensive, and in his opinion not justifiable because the informed consumer understands the beneficial properties of vitamins.

Although the debate about the value of vitamins in skin care products continues, it is generally accepted that a sufficient quantity of vitamin E (shown on ingredient lists as tocopherol), an antioxidant, preserves the fatty components in cosmetic creams and lotions to prevent off-color and off-odors.

Aloe vera is a plant from the lily family whose anti-irritant properties have been recognized since before the days of Cleopatra. It is listed as an ingredient in many skin lotions, but it would take much more aloe vera than most products contain for the anti-irritant properties to work.

Milstein explains that aloe vera, as a cosmetic ingredient, is expensive because it requires delicate processing and handling. A product that contains the 5 to 10 percent aloe vera necessary for the anti-irritant properties to be effective would send the price out of range for many consumers.

What About Biological Ingredients?

A number of biological products in cosmetics have raised consumer concern:

Human placenta is the nourishing lining of the womb (uterus), which is expelled after birth. When placental materials were first used as cosmetic ingredients in the 1940s, manufacturers promoted the products as providing beneficial hormonal effects such as stimulating tissue growth and removing wrinkles. (Although newborn infants emerge from the womb with wrinkled skin!) The hormone content and the tissue-growth and wrinkle-removing claims classified the placenta-containing products as drugs, and FDA declared them to be ineffective and therefore misbranded.

FDA's challenge caused placenta suppliers to change marketing strategies by claiming that hormones in their placenta ingredients had been extracted and were no longer in the product. They then offered placental raw materials without medical claims — only as a source of protein.

Can you get a disease from placental cosmetic ingredients? Bailey says no. Placenta used in cosmetics is washed and processed many times to destroy any harmful bacteria or viruses. Besides that, says Bailey, the cosmetic matrix (components that bind the ingredients in products) is made from a wide variety of substances, such as alcohol and preservatives, that would present a hostile environment to any viruses or bacteria the placenta might have carried.

Amniotic liquid (from cow or ox) is the fluid that surrounds the developing fetus and protects it from physical injury. It is promoted for benefits similar to those of human placenta and has limited use in moisturizers, hair lotions, scalp treatments, and shampoos.

Tags: Skin Care

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.