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.
