njchica
05-21-2003, 10:42 PM
Grape and Grape Seed Extract
Excerpted from The Beauty Bible, 2nd edition
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A lot of the buzz surrounding grape extracts started with a story in Consumer Reports in November 1999 that ranked grape juice just above green tea and blueberries as having strong antioxidant properties. However, the benefits reported both in Consumer Reports and a lead story in USA Today (February 2, 2000) had to do with drinking it, not putting it on the skin. There are no published studies indicating that grapes applied topically can affect the wrinkling process. But when it comes to skin care, there are lots of unpublished studies that prove all kinds of things.For example, one cosmetics line points to research by Dr. Stephen Herber of the St. Helena Institute for Plastic Surgery, who conducted a study on the benefits of grape seed. Not surprisingly, St. Helena is in the heart of California's wine country. This "study" had 16 volunteers who used pure milled grape seed extract as a topical application to their skin. Herber found that 88% of the volunteers reported improved texture to their facial skin. It only takes a cursory look to see that this study wasn't done double-blind, that a placebo wasn't used and we have no idea of the status of the participants' skin before they started. Even if you believe the results of this study, the study used a pure concentration of the substance on the skin, not a product that contained a small amount of the extract.
Still, none of that diminishes the potential grape extract may have for skin, because, grape seed does contain proanthocyanidin, considered to be a very potent antioxidant (source: Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, June 2001, pages 187–200). But there is no research establishing its efficacy on skin.
Antioxidants are a big issue, and there is every reason to believe that there will be great strides in this area. For now, though, it's too early to suggest whether or not any of them work on the surface of skin to affect wrinkling in a positive way.
Paula Begoun
Excerpted from The Beauty Bible, 2nd edition
Printer-Friendly Page
Email This Article
A lot of the buzz surrounding grape extracts started with a story in Consumer Reports in November 1999 that ranked grape juice just above green tea and blueberries as having strong antioxidant properties. However, the benefits reported both in Consumer Reports and a lead story in USA Today (February 2, 2000) had to do with drinking it, not putting it on the skin. There are no published studies indicating that grapes applied topically can affect the wrinkling process. But when it comes to skin care, there are lots of unpublished studies that prove all kinds of things.For example, one cosmetics line points to research by Dr. Stephen Herber of the St. Helena Institute for Plastic Surgery, who conducted a study on the benefits of grape seed. Not surprisingly, St. Helena is in the heart of California's wine country. This "study" had 16 volunteers who used pure milled grape seed extract as a topical application to their skin. Herber found that 88% of the volunteers reported improved texture to their facial skin. It only takes a cursory look to see that this study wasn't done double-blind, that a placebo wasn't used and we have no idea of the status of the participants' skin before they started. Even if you believe the results of this study, the study used a pure concentration of the substance on the skin, not a product that contained a small amount of the extract.
Still, none of that diminishes the potential grape extract may have for skin, because, grape seed does contain proanthocyanidin, considered to be a very potent antioxidant (source: Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, June 2001, pages 187–200). But there is no research establishing its efficacy on skin.
Antioxidants are a big issue, and there is every reason to believe that there will be great strides in this area. For now, though, it's too early to suggest whether or not any of them work on the surface of skin to affect wrinkling in a positive way.
Paula Begoun