You may or may not be familiar with Dr Barbara Sturm, but you’ve definitely heard of vampire facials and blood creams (or named the MC1 Cream).
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Favoured by celebs like Kim Kardashian, both the vampire facial and blood cream utilises your own blood as part of the ingredient. Blood is drawn and goes through a centrifuge to extract the plasma. Basically, the idea of using your own blood is to stimulate a response that tricks skin into thinking that it’s been damaged, and helps it heal itself.
But the process is really not as simple as smearing blood all over your face and hoping for the best. We spoke to Dr Sturm herself to find out more about skin ageing and what we can do to delay it.
While vampire facials and blood creams were Dr Sturm’s claim to fame, her namesake skincare line is a more accessible (and frankly, less squeamish) way of introducing Molecular Cosmetics into your daily routine.
According to Dr Sturm, Molecular Cosmetics works on a cellular level and targets three aspects that causes skin ageing – cell inflammation, the lifespan of telomeres and skin hydration.
Here’s how they all come into play:
Cell inflammation
Inflammation is the body’s response to trauma, and a prolonged period of inflammation can impair rejuvenation and the body’s ability to heal. Ageing is not considered a disease, most of us experience ageing at different speeds, which is why some people can look vastly different even though they are the same age.
Besides skin ageing, inflammation is the sources of many skin problems like redness, irritation, large pores, pimples, eczema and rosacea. Simply put, when you take inflammation out of the skin, you are able solve all these skin issues as well.
Telomere Activation
Telomeres are the caps at the end of our DNA strand and they work to protect our chromosomes. They also shorten each time the cell divides until the cell mutates or dies off. By protecting telomeres, cells can remain healthy and Dr Barbara Sturm’s skincare does this with an ingredient called Purslane – it is a telomere activator which keeps cells alive and in good condition.
Hydration
Keeping skin hydrated is key to helping it look plump and firm. When skin is dry, fine lines and wrinkles are more likely to form. Dr Sturm prides herself on the Hyaluronic Acid Serum, which contains both long chain and short chain hyaluronic acid (HA). The short chain HA are able to penetrate deep into the skin and continue hydrating skin even after 6 to 8 weeks. The long chain HA, on the other hand, sticks to the surface to plump it up and give it instant hydration.
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