What if I were to tell you that there is a renewable resource available that, once smoothed onto your face, can help increase cell turnover, repair cell damage, regenerate damaged tissue – the end result being younger, more healthy looking skin? What if I were to tell you that this renewable resource may be found in your own back yard?

That’s right, plants. The plant kingdom has long been known to help out the human race in a crisis — penicillin, anyone? Or consider scurvy, which was common amongst sailors and pirates from the 1400’s to the beginning of the modern era. This vitamin C deficiency was evident by spongy gums and spots on the skin. The solution? Oranges and limes.

Mother Nature has a way of nurturing humans, and with a little scientific help, she’s done it again – in the form of plant stem cells.

Stem cells are present in all animals and plants. Stem cells contain the cellular information which enables the cell to both self-renew, as well as regenerate damaged tissue. The unique property of a plant stem cell is that a plant stem cell can regenerate any cell – unlike a human stem cell.

Most cells inside a living organism carry a blueprint for a specific purpose. An eye cell has specific information about the eye, a brain cell has specific information about the brain, and so on.

A stem cell, however, has the unique potential to become various types of cells. These healthy new cells often are the same types of cells as those near which they live. So if you place a stem cell next to a skin cell, the stem cell will become a new, healthy skin cell. However, the number of stem cells in our bodies decrease with age, and the existing stem cells become less efficient at doing their jobs.

How does this help in cosmetics?

A plant stem cell has the capacity to boost a human stem cell; it helps to renew and regenerate the human stem cell and slow the aging process. The plant stem cell “tricks” the human skin cell into “thinking” young again. The result is a younger, fresher skin.

So we use plant stem cells in our Apple Stem Cell Technology and Grape Stem Cell Technology to help our customers keep their skin looking young, healthy, and fresh.

As a follow up to our Skin Care Delivery Systems 101 blog post, we wanted to discuss our Alphasomes® Skin Care Delivery System more in depth.

Not long ago, skin care was as simple as soap, water, and sometimes, moisturizer. Today’s skin care involves effective, high-tech materials that not only cleanse skin, they also trap and hold moisture, clear skin, and reverse aging. However, the most effective materials become less effective if they can’t reach their intended target. The challenges of delivering these effective ingredients to the target area of the skin has led to skin care delivery systems which are a critical component in determining a product's effectiveness.

Alphasomes® Skin Care Delivery System Overview

Doctor D. Schwab’s Alphasomes® Complex created from Liposomes is an advanced soy-based Phospholipid delivery system that encapsulates active ingredients and enables them to reach the targeted cells for superior product performance. The development of this patent pending micro-emulsion skincare technology has led to the accurate and effective delivery of valuable active anti-aging ingredients that penetrate deep into the skin, releasing the ingredients where they can provide the most benefit.

Alphasomes® are from Natural Soy-Based Liposomes

Alphasomes® are created from Liposomes, which are tiny bubble-like structures made up of a lipid bilayer and are used to deliver effective ingredients at the cellular level. They are composed of naturally-derived phospholipids which mimic the properties of biological cells. These spherical structures are useful in skin care because they can encapsulate active ingredients and effectively deliver these active ingredients to the sites of action by fusing with the similarly structured biological cells.

The first patent application relating to Liposomes was applied for in 1974. By 1989, the excitement of this new technology caught on and there were more than 100 different Liposome cosmetic preparations on the market. Years of experience with these Liposomes led Doctor D. Schwab to create the next, more effective generation of Liposomes, initially introduced in 2004, called Alphasomes®. The heightened efficacy was made possible through the selection of compatible active ingredients.

Advantages of Encapsulation

40 years of research, formulation and manufacturing expertise has led to the refined selection of encapsulated active ingredients. Alphasomes® encapsulate active ingredients such as Apple and Grape Stem Cells, Peptides, Olive Extracts, Hyaluronic Acid, Niacin, Vitamins, Amino Acids, SOD (Super Oxide Dismutase), and stabilized Vitamin C.

One of the main advantages of encapsulating ingredients in the micro-emulsion delivery system is that there are many active ingredients, including plant extracts and vitamin that are difficult to stabilize. For example, there are some vitamins, such as Vitamin C, which are inherently unstable. Most cosmetics don’t feature stabilized Vitamin C, which then has a short shelf life since the efficacy of the Vitamin C degrades over time. However, when Vitamin C is encapsulated, it degrades more slowly since it isn’t exposed to oxygen. Such is the case with our stabilized Citrusome Vitamin C Night Time serum.

Created with Micro-Emulsion Technology for Advanced Delivery

Alphasomes® are created with a micro-emulsion technology which is a process that reduces the particle size of the key ingredients to the micron/sub-micron level. The drastic reduction in particle size allows the emulsion to spread in a thin, homogeneous layer across the skin therefore enabling these active ingredients to disperse evenly for advanced delivery and heightened results.

Time-Release Multi-Layer Delivers Active Ingredients Throughout the Day

The Alphasomes® also have a nest-like quality in that there are spheres within the spheres, which create a unique time-release system which releases active ingredients throughout the day as the layers of the delivery system dissolve. An example of this is Ginkgosome Day Time Serum which releases moisturizing ingredients throughout the day to keep skin hydrated and refreshed, significantly enhancing the moisture retaining capacity of the skin. We have found that this quality delivers a superior moisturizing action that can provide continuous moisturization around the clock with an effect that lasts at least 12 hours after the last application.

Makes Hard to Deliver Ingredients Possible

Besides enhancing penetration, Alphasomes® delivery system makes hard-to-use ingredients easier to formulate and deliver to the target area. Difficult to deliver active ingredients are numerous and include Peptides, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamins, Collagen and Essential Fatty Acids, all important ingredients to the Doctor D. Schwab product line.

How do you know if the active ingredients in your skin care are doing what they're supposed to? The best way for ingredients to reach their full efficacy is through a skin care delivery system.

You may not have realized that the ingredients in many skin care products sit on the surface of the skin and don’t penetrate past the surface of the skin. Why is it important for your skin care to penetrate past the surface of the skin? The top layer of the skin is typically comprised of dead skin cells which are ready to be sloughed away. Your skin care can’t do anything for you if it only reaches these surface cells – you want it to penetrate to reach the newer skin cells where it can affect change. How good is an ingredient or product really if it can’t reach the area it is intended to reach?

One of the unique aspects about the Doctor D. Schwab products is that they utilize a proprietary patent-pending skin care delivery system called Alphasomes®.

Here we break down the benefits of this delivery system and what it means to you.

Alphasomes® Skin Care Delivery System

1. Soy Based:

Doctor D. Schwab’s Alphasomes® Complex is a natural Phospholipid delivery system which is made of soy based hollow spheres.

2. Encapsulates Botanical Ingredients:

In the lab, these soy-based hollow spheres are created to hold specific active botanical ingredients, encapsulating different ingredients depending on the product.

Some of the active botanicals which are incorporated into our Alphasomes® include Apple and Grape Stem Cells, Peptides, Olive Extracts, Hyaluronic Acid, Niacin, Vitamins, Amino acids, SOD (Super Oxide Dismutase), and stabilized Vitamin C.

3. Stabilize Ingredients:

Many active ingredients are inherently unstable when exposed to oxygen, light or other pertinent conditions. Therefore, encapsulating these active botanicals is also important in preserving their efficacy to ensure they perform well over time.

4. Time-Release Multi-Layer:

An added bonus to our Alphasomes® is that the spheres have a nest-like quality in that there are spheres within the spheres, creating a time-release system so that the active ingredients are released throughout the day as the layers of the delivery system are revealed. An example of this is in our Ginkgosome Day Time Serum which releases moisturizing ingredients throughout the day to keep skin hydrated and refreshed.

5. Transports Ingredients to the Target Cells:

These spheres are created with a micro-emulsion technology to reduce the particle size of the molecules to enable them to get past the surface cells to reach the targeted cells, resulting in superior product performance.
All of these attributes result in younger looking skin because the active ingredients are able to penetrate into the skin to deliver the ingredients where they can affect change.

Top Selling Products with the Alphasomes® Skin Care Delivery System

Ginkgosome Day Time Serum
Citrusome Night Time Serum
Alphasomes® RC Rejuvenate and Correct Moisturizer
Eye Intensive Moist
Puff Away Eye Gel