Interesting story about Doctor-created skincare lines...
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free skin care · Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:05 pm

I found this on the news.com.au site today.. it was interesting and thought I would share.

Beauty gets new cutting edge
By Georgina Safe

AT the International Beauty Expo, among hundreds of stands peddling lotions and potions, a small crowd begins to gather.

Half a dozen women in white laboratory coats are twittering like so many seagulls; "Dr Des is on his way." "Dr Des will be here soon."

Word spreads and within minutes about 30 delegates, clutching showbags groaning with beauty booty, have flocked to the Environ stand. We are waiting for Des Fernandes.

"Everyone wants to marry him," gushes one of the white coats. "Dr Des makes you feel so special; it's like he knows what you are thinking."

Dr Des is not a rock or film star. He is a South African plastic surgeon and, through his Environ skincare range, the founding father of the fastest-growing - and most lucrative - beauty trend in the world today: doctor-developed formulas, otherwise known as cosmeceuticals.

Cosmeceuticals fall somewhere between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. They contain high levels of active ingredients such as retinal, hydroxyl acids and vitamins yet are readily available over the counter. No prescription or specialist appointment is required.

Fernandes was the first in the world to introduce vitamin A in high doses to skincare products after founding Environ in 1990 following the death of two young patients who suffered from melanoma. "These people were such dynamic young people, it made me think what I could do to help others like them," says Fernandes. "We knew that cure of melanoma is very difficult, but the prevention I hoped might be easier."

Fernandes began using vitamin A, or retinal palmitate, to treat skin cancer patients, who found that following treatment the skin around their melanomas appeared softer, clearer and younger.

"We are still quietly seeing whether or not it can reduce the incidence of melanomas, but the one thing I can say is that when you are supplying the (skin) cells with vitamin A you are making positive changes to the skin," says Fernandes.

When Fernandes finally arrives at his Environ stand (aged 64 yet looking 20 years younger, probably due to slathering his face with no fewer than five of his products each morning) women shamelessly whip out their digital cameras and jostle to have their picture taken with him.

Forget the blind devotion of yore to witchdoctors, shaman and soothsayers, in today's image-obsessed society it is the skin doctor who is god. "It is a bit bewildering, but I do get this also in Japan," offers Fernandes as he poses with his constituency.

He is accustomed to the attention. Kate Moss, Sadie Frost and John Travolta are among a slew of celebrities who have publicly endorsed his range, which comprises more than 50 products produced at the rate of two million a month.

Not surprisingly, countless other plastic surgeons, dermatologists and aestheticians are jumping on the same beauty bandwagon, peddling high-concentrate products at equally high prices.

Walk into any department store or skincare emporium and you will be confronted by a cornucopia of concoctions attesting their mix of polypeptides, protein molecules, vitamins and other ingredients will deliver a "Laser in a Bottle", "Microdermabrasion in a Jar" or a face "LiftFusion" according to just three product names.

"There is significant consumer demand, not only for the latest technologies but for the assurance of a doctor," says Mecca Cosmetica founder Jo Horgan, who recently added the international doctor brands MD Skincare, ReVive, N.V. Perricone, Dr Brandt and Dr Sebagh to the shelves of her stores across Australia.

Local beauty brand ModelCo became the latest to debut a cosmeceutical product when it recruited model Elle Macpherson to launch its "Erase Those Fine Lines" anti-ageing serum in Sydney earlier this month.

Like almost all cosmeceuticals, Erase Those Fine Lines claims to be "the most advanced skincare serum in the world", one that "offers surgery results without the syringe".

"Doctor brands bring the latest patented technologies, they are targeted to particular concerns such as pigmentation and they actually provide analysis of ingredients and what they can do for cells and cellular structure," says Horgan. In other words, hope in a bottle is no longer enough.

Another factor influencing doctor demand is the increasing lust for cosmetic surgery that has seen many dermatologists and plastic surgeons formulate their own skincare solutions to help speed up the healing process after surgery or other procedures.

"If people have a peel and do nothing afterwards their skin will go back to what it was before, but with therapeutic skincare people can now maintain those results at home," says Sydney cosmetic physician Geoffrey Heber.

The ReVive range came about when New York plastic surgeon Gregory Bays Brown used Epidermal Growth Factor -- a protein that occurs naturally in skin, stimulating cell renewal - in a treatment to help wound healing. Brown's bottled version sells for $495 for a 0.5 ounce (about 14g) vitamin C serum and $620 for a two-ounce jar of ReVive Intensite Creme Lustre. Both are a snip compared with the $900 you will pay for the Neuropeptide Facial Conformer by N.V, Perricone.

Heber, who began importing cosmeceuticals in 1991, founded his own Ultraceuticals line in 1999. The brand is stocked nationally by David Jones and also in the Heber Davis Skin Clinic, which Heber established in 1988 with his wife Deborah Davis.

"I fully disclose I have a financial interest in the company, there is a sign to that effect next to the product display," says Heber. "Since 2001 we have grown on average about 40 per cent each year."

Heber's operation is small compared with New York-based Frederic Brandt, the high-profile cosmetic dermatologist known as the Baron of Botox. In the course of perfecting more than 40 patients a day Brandt, who is said to use more Botox than anyone else in the world, found time to create a skincare line.

"I'm always honest and say that there's no cream that's going to get results as dramatic as Botox," says Brandt, whose products include Laser in a Bottle and Microdermabrasion in a Jar. "But by using the products on a regular basis you are going to see a real difference. No matter who you are, you can always improve your skin."

That includes Madonna, who along with Lenny Kravitz, is one of Brandt's higher profile clients. "I trust Dr Brandt, I don't leave the house without his Lineless Eye Cream ($98 )," enthuses the Material Girl.

A celebrity endorsement and a skincare line are a cosmetic surgeon's best accessories. Regulars at Jean-Louis Sebagh's London practice include pop stars and supermodels, who flock to the petite French doctor, whose waiting list often eclipses the five-month mark.

If you can't nab an appointment, you can pick up one of his new eponymous line of high-strength formulations.

"If a cream could do my job I'd be out of work," admits Sebagh, who says there are three layers to the face, the deepest being the muscles, and only the magic jab can halt their wrinkle-causing contractions. It is only the skin's surface, the epidermis, that responds to creams.

Department store darwinism will determine which of the doctor-derived products survive. "If the consumer doesn't see the upside to it, if they don't look in the mirror and see some level of benefit, they are going to become disenchanted and walk away from it," says US toxicologist Joe Dinardo, who has spent 18 years developing and evaluating products for companies such as Revlon and Almay.

"We're not talking about buying a $5 or $10 product any more. We are talking about making a serious investment, so it's got to be more than buyer beware."

Dinardo is particularly sceptical of the new-wave oral skin treatments, essentially common vitamin pills repackaged and resold at much higher prices.

Ultraceuticals, for example, sells its Ultra Active C oral skin treatment for $29 a jar: a bottle of the same vitamin C tablets sells for less than $10 in the supermarket or chemist.

"If you have a balanced diet, I don't see the reason for supplements," says Dinardo. "I think lifestyle is a little bit more important. If you have a healthy lifestyle and look after yourself, those simple things are what's really important."

Dinardo, who has helped devise countless luxury products and potions, confides his own skincare secret: "soap and water".

Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:25 pm

Actually, doctors don't formulate any of their products, they work with cosmetic chemists which create the products.

There's also the practice of 'private labeling', in which products are pre-formulated by cosmetic wholesalers and all any doctor or celebrity or salon owner etc. does is put their label on it.

There's a lot of money in skin care, and doctors want to capitalize on it. Just because a doctor sells it doesn't make the products any better or worse than what's already available. Products are only as good as the research behind them.

free skin care · Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:00 pm

perhaps i should have called them "dr-named" as I was not meaning to imply that they actually developed them themselves... I just did not know how to fit in "cosmeceuticals that take on the name of a doctor and are flogged by celebrities" Laughing

I(it is just one of those mornings.. where is the coffee?)

free skin care · Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:00 pm

Thanks tiger_tim! Very interesting.

free skin care · Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:36 am

Good read! Thanks for sharing this. Smile

free skin care · Mon Oct 16, 2006 5:31 am

leyel wrote:

Actually, doctors don't formulate any of their products, they work with cosmetic chemists which create the products.

There's also the practice of 'private labeling', in which products are pre-formulated by cosmetic wholesalers and all any doctor or celebrity or salon owner etc. does is put their label on it.

There's a lot of money in skin care, and doctors want to capitalize on it. Just because a doctor sells it doesn't make the products any better or worse than what's already available. Products are only as good as the research behind them.

I totally agree about your point on products are only as good as the research behind them. This is why I rather spend my money on more expensive skincare products. Not all expensive products are good but I firmly believe that Cellcosmet chemist did invest a lot of time experimenting on a better cream. This is why we have to pay so much for their products. There is always that possability that these chemist spent a lot of time and buying rare or top quality ingrediants but it does not always mean that the outcome is the best product for your skin.
This forum is great where we can share our reviews and get samples from EDS.
I also agree with the comment about that their products are not good enough that it could put them out of business.
Overall, I think Vitamin A, & C is the best thing that we all can use. Getting stuff like botox and restalyne is the next best thing.

Thank you for posting that article. Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 2:34 am

Yesterday I saw an article on TV (Australia) on skin care and the old question of whether it works or not. Dr Brandt was interviewed about his products and naturally, they were the best in the world. I almost believed it looking at his 60 year old face which looked about 30. Then they gave opinions from 3 users who were given products to try. All of them liked the products and saw some benefits in a couple of weeks. I was almost at the point of looking up the website to check on the product line when I was saved. They did a last short interview with Dr Brandt where he said that the saviour for all aging skin was Botox and he was the king of botox. Has just about had his whole face botoxed for years.
So much for his skin care line.

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:46 am

now I need to see a pic of him!! Maybe I can botox my way to the fountain of youth. Laughing

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 4:53 am

People that have seen Dr. Brandt say that he is very freaky looking from all that botox.

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 5:57 am

I have seen pictures of him and his skin looks good. I've heard that he loves giving botox but I don't think he specializes in hormonal skin problems.

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:16 am

I used to work in the medical device industry. We were at tradeshows with some of the skincare companies ... (guess who was always running off to score samples?).

Anyway, I remember one show where Patricia Wexler was running around trying to get a Botox injection.

All in all - I'm sure most of the Doctor-promoted/developed lines are good (I use 'em) but they all get Botox.

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:26 am

It shows that Botox is safe then.

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:45 am

I don't mean to high jack the thread, but I've used Environ products. They are very good but pricey. The vitamin C was around $100.00 for less than an ounce and the vitamin A $60.00 for two ounces. The vitamin A wasn't a problem as far as price goes but their vitamin C was very good and I was spending a fortune. I'd go back to it if it wasn't so pricey. Sad

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:15 am

I've just Googled some photos. Dr. Brandt is definitely ... unusual-looking. Embarassed

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 11:29 am

Thanks for sharing. Last week, I ordered Dr. Sebagh's trial kit from Blissworld. Now my interest is peaked with Dr. Des. Smile

free skin care · Tue Oct 17, 2006 12:38 pm

c4ward wrote:

Thanks for sharing. Last week, I ordered Dr. Sebagh's trial kit from Blissworld. Now my interest is peaked with Dr. Des. Smile

Post your thoughts on Dr Sebagh.

What about other Dr lines? Dr Irena Eris, Dr Renaud, Dr Copeland...... Does anyone know about these? Dr Eris seems like she has been around awhile instead of some that are just putting their name out on a product.

free skin care · Wed Oct 18, 2006 5:43 am

I've only ever tried the Dr Sebagh For Your Eyes Only kit - firming eye cream and vitamin C powder. I was distinctly unimpressed. It was okay, but nothing special for the large price tag.

free skin care · Wed Feb 11, 2009 8:21 am

Thanks for posting the article! I didn't realize that the doctors didn't create the lines.

free skin care · Wed Feb 11, 2009 10:24 am

Yes thank you! I had no idea! I used to think, based on how effective (eg, 'famous') the product lines are, I'd do everything I could to but my name on those doctors' waiting lists! I guess I'm somewhat of a derm groupie...

free skin care · Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:15 am

I googled Dr. Brandt.... He looks very odd indeed. Whoa... Too much of something there.

free skin care · Wed Feb 11, 2009 11:33 am

I googled also and it looks like maybe eye surgery and cheek implants - ???? Something unnatural looking there.

free skin care · Wed Feb 11, 2009 1:02 pm

everyone is googling Dr.Brandt now Laughing

so I googled also... he looks definitely unnatural - brow lift and smth else...

free skin care · Wed Feb 11, 2009 2:43 pm

i had to google dr Des and Dr brandt........Dr Des does look good for his age.....as for Dr Brandt....he looked better before now he looks plain weird...face is almost like a wax model Confused

free skin care · Thu Feb 12, 2009 6:03 am

simran wrote:

as for Dr Brandt....he looked better before now he looks plain weird...face is almost like a wax model Confused

Haha...I thought the same thing.

free skin care · Mon Mar 02, 2009 12:42 am

these stories are interesting~~ Thanks for sharing

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