Plant stem cell extracts vs PTT-6® vs epidermal growth factors : How they interact with our skin
There are a few things scientists and clinicians want to see when measuring the success of a skin repair product. Among these are fast wound healing and healthy cell turnover. Skincare consumers look for different measures of success when choosing a skin care product. Those concerned with ageing symptoms—such as wrinkles, thinning skin, and age spots—look for visible results in diminishing these signs of degeneration. The interesting thing is, the same repair and regenerative agents in our body that repair wounds are the same ones helping us maintain youthful skin.
Do you know the source of stem cells used in your skincare?
We come equipped, biologically, to self-heal and regenerate thanks to these stem cells. However, we know that as our ability to heal diminishes with age, so does our skin’s ability to regenerate, resulting in the loss of our youthful, healthy glow. Aged, thin skin with lines is as much a sign of the diminishing numbers of stem cells in our body, as a wound that does not heal as quickly.
The cosmeceutical industry is more than aware of the scientific miracle of stem cells on skin. This explains the proliferation of ‘stem cell skincare’ over the years; products that claim to be able to replicate the work that our own stem cells used to do. The term ‘stem cell’ has thus been used to describe the workings of their products, though many brands are far from delivering anything close to stem cell technology to consumers’ skin. The informed consumer knows to further investigate these claims.
Are stem cells rare and hard to harvest?
It would be hard to believe, from reading the marketing materials of skincare brochures, that stem cells are actually quite challenging to harvest. From the overuse of the term 'stem cell technology' to describe the action of skin hydration to sun protection, one would think that stem cells were abundant and freely available. The truth is: stem cells are rare, difficult to extract, and hard to purify.
Past sources of stem cells have produced such limited quantities that stem cell technology has only really been applied in scientific and medical therapies. The most common source of stem cells used in these therapies are from bone marrow which is usually derived from adult donors. It is a painful process of stem cell extraction with a low yield, which is why skincare applications using bone marrow stem cells are rare.
Without a source of mammalian or human stem cells for research, many beauty and cosmeceutical brands have turned to plant stem cells and their derivatives to create skincare lines. There is a difference, however, in how plant cells interact with skin. The process is unlike the communicative synergies found between mammalian or human-derived stem cells and human skin.
Many CALECIM® users wonder about the differences between plant stem cells and mammalian stem cells, as well as their skin-restoring abilities on our skin. Here, we offer a quick comparison of these two sources and the role they both play in maintaining healthy skin.
Do plant stem cells have anti-aging effect on our skin?
It’s important to understand that plant stem cells are fundamentally different from the stem cells found in our bodies. Both stem cell types produce biochemicals called cytokines that ‘signal’ and communicate with our other cells, however, plant stem cell signals are directed at other cells of the plant, and have little if any effect on mammalian cells.
Likewise, between mammalian species, stem-cell derived exosomes and growth factors are easily recognized by other mammalian cells, but not by plant cells. Overall, although the amino acid building blocks to produce these proteins are the same, the eventual proteins produced have a different structural configuration which fundamentally changes the intercellular ‘language’ and thus the ability to communicate with each other.
Benefits of botanical skincare products
There are many recognized botanical ingredients that are proven to be beneficial to our skin. Moisturizing ingredients, as well as vitamin extracts and plant oils have unique abilities to protect our skin from damage and dehydration.
CALECIM® also recognizes the value of botanical skin care ingredients. For example, you’ll find aloe vera in our CALECIM® Professional Restorative Hydration Cream. We’ve just married the best of both worlds!
Powerful growth factors and exosomes from stem cells
The great advantage of using products that have mammalian stem cell extract is that our human skin cells are able to decipher and act on the biochemical signals they contain. Normally our own epithelial and mesenchymal stem cells send signals to renew and heal our skin, however as we age their potency and activity diminishes. By using mammalian stem cell secretions which contain powerful growth factors and exosomes such as epidermal growth factors, we can give our skin a boost of supporting proteins and skin-restoring signals in the high doses our bodies are accustomed to from when we were younger.
Finally, a real source of stem cell growth factors and exosomes in skin and hair care
CALECIM® Professional is able to deliver the promise of revolutionary stem cell technology in its product range because of its unique source of stem cells. The cord lining was discovered to be a rich source of neonatal stem cells; a source that is so abundant that an effective skin and hair care using real stem cell technology can finally be created because these young stem cells are plentiful, vigorous and are able to produce consistently quantities of high-quality growth factors, exosomes and proteins that have fast-acting effects on skin. CALECIM® Professional is the first skincare line to offer skincare benefits using technology from cord lining stem cells.
Validated results by CALECIM® Professional: the clinical skincare recommended by dermatologists
For all skincare products, high-quality active ingredients should always be able to prove effective in in-vitro tests which can explain scientifically the visible results on skin. In laboratory trials of CALECIM® Professional products, we’ve measured the exact thickening of the dermis — a sign of restored cell vitality — with the application of CALECIM®’s active ingredient. The results on a patient are firmer skin with a visible lifting effect. There is also in-vitro evidence that skin cells proliferate faster when exposed to CALECIM® This means that skin turnover is accelerated, resulting in improved radiance and glow as new skin cells are revealed.
Noted dermatologists have also proven the ability of CALECIM® Professional Serum to reduce redness, pain, and discomfort after laser resurfacing in independent trials. These results are not news to our scientists who have already witnessed the rapid healing qualities of our stem cell ingredient in laboratory tests.
The most powerful stem cell skin and hair care products
CALECIM® Professional is wholly owned by CellResearchCorp, a biotech company based in Singapore that discovered an ethical process for extracting an abundant source of mammalian stem cells from the umbilical cord lining membrane (post birth). This discovery led CellResearchCorp. to develop and launch the CALECIM® Professional skin and hair care line, with products containing high concentrations of powerful PTT-6®, which is the mix of growth factors, exosomes and proteins secreted by our source of stem cells. This process has been patented in 41 territories around the world. Only CALECIM® Professional is licensed to use this technology for skin and hair care applications.
CellResearchCorp is currently undergoing USFDA trials for its technology to be used in chronic diabetic wounds. Cord lining stem cells, the company’s proprietary source of stem cells, are also in clinical trials within scientific collaborations around the world for the treatment of heart, cornea, brain, and liver diseases.
