This is a self sealing, airless, and metered dose dispensing system. The bag doesn’t leak product when squeezed, but when the button is pressed…it dispenses the same amount of product each time (or at least close). It was designed to deliver skincare products and drugs.
Sadly the company is no longer in business and this is probably one of the last prototypes sitting around. As a testament to its storage ability I think this one is almost 9 years old!
Here’s the original press release announcing the product:
Poly-D’s MDS patented pump and valve dispensing mechanism allows for easy, one-handed dispensing of an exact amount of product with viscosities up to 50,000cps.
The vacuum-based technology means the pump forces it out of the pouch (98% of it) in a neat and clean manner, and because it is a vacuum-based technology, it works in any orientation.
The MDS valve only opens when the button is pressed and then seals tight upon release, eliminating the need for caps and closures.
It can be used as a stand-alone dispensing package or integrated into applicators or custom-designed devices.
Now that it’s Spring (though it’s been snowing in Toronto…), I thought I would share some sunscreen tips1 to help you use it better this Spring and coming Summer!
Most people don’t apply enough sunscreen! Across multiple studies people only apply ¼ to ½ the amount needed for the protection on the sunscreen’s label. 2
You may have wondered why the US FDA and other organizations keep the amount needed for SPF testing so high, as it turns out 2.0 mg/cm2 is a bit of a sweet spot when it comes to reproducibility and reliability of the results. 3
Any easy way to help get the amount needed on the skin is to apply your sunscreen twice. Apply a layer, let it dry, then apply a second layer. This method is recommended by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. 4
Try not to rub your sunscreen too much when you apply it, one study found that vigorous rubbing actually reduced the SPF by 25%. They think it was because the sunscreen was being rubbed off onto the hands. 5
You should wait at least 10 minutes before putting on or taking off clothes, to allow the sunscreen to dry and to prevent the clothing from wiping it off the skin. 6
The WHO recommends reapplying your sunscreen every two hours. Realistically most of us won’t do that, but you should aim to reapply your sunscreen at least once, and especially after physical activity or swimming and bathing. 7
Reapplying your sunscreen just once can reduce your risk of sunburn by 2 to 3 fold! While there’s differing advice on when to reapply, aim to do it at least once throughout the day. 8
One study found that only 60% of the applied sunscreen was still on the skin after 4 hours of wearing clothes, physical activity, and bathing, and only 40% after 8 hours. 9
If you’re on the beach, be aware that sand can remove sunscreen from the skin! Up to 59% could be potentially removed by laying on the sand. 10
Make sure to apply your sunscreen before UV exposure! One study on people on vacation found that they were, on average, getting 100 minutes of UV exposure before they applied their sunscreen! That was almost 30% of the amount needed for a sunburn in some cases. 11
A high SPF sunscreen can help make up for not applying enough. In an experiment, an SPF 100 sunscreen applied “normally” (which is to say, not enough) offered an SPF of 27. 12
…and a bonus tip! While the above animation is super-cute, it’s not super accurate. Sunscreens (both physical and chemical) don’t protect our skin by reflecting and scattering UV energy. Sunscreens attenuate the UV energy, absorbing it and turning it into less harmful energy – most often in the form of heat. Titanium dioxide and zinc oxide do reflect some of the UVA wavelengths, but they reflect much more in visible light spectrum, which is why they can leave a white-cast on the skin – micronization can help reduce this effect! 13
I hope you’ll find these tips helpful this Spring and Summer (and all-year round!), not only does reducing UV exposure slow down extrinsic ageing, hyperpigmentation of the skin, and the formation of broken capillaries, it also reduces our risk of certain types of skin cancers and helps prevent the immune suppression caused by UV – it’s win-win really!
I share little snippets of research I’m reading, products I’m working on, and silly selfies…stuff that wouldn’t really warrant a full post on my blog, but I think are interesting anyways!
This is an anhydrous ascorbic acid serum that I’ve been working on!
Ascorbic acid is notoriously unstable in the presence of water, it quickly oxidizes into dehydroascorbic acid which is yellow/orange in colour and (according to current research) isn’t as effective as ascorbic acid in producing skin benefits like evening of skin tone, reducing free radicals and reactive oxygen species, and increasing collagen production.
There are many compounds made from ascorbic acid that are designed to keep the antioxidant more stable. However many of these compounds haven’t been shown to act the same way as ascorbic acid or penetrate the skin. As well, enzymes in the skin are required to convert these compounds back into ascorbic acid, and there is little evidence to show that this occurs to a large extent.
By removing water from the formula, ascorbic acid can be stabilized against oxidation and experiments have shown that it can be so stable that it can resist months of exposure to oxygen (the test formulas were bubbled through with oxygen, like a fish tank!).
By removing water, we often create heavier, stickier, and much shinier products. This prototype, while heavy feeling on the finger, applied with a relatively matte and light finish. Hopefully it will stand up to stability testing, but I was so excited that I had to try it on myself immediately!
I’m excited to tweak this into a more elegant and light formula, especially with dramatic results like these!
So far, so good with the prototype – it’s been almost 2 weeks and yet to change colour. The smaller bottle contains unstabilized ascorbic acid in water.
Those handheld skin analyzers are based on devices used to quantify skin hydration in many cosmetic studies.
The most commonly used one is the Corneometer made by Courage-Khazaka. While there have been a few studies looking at differences in measurements between the Corneometer and other devices, like the Skicon made by I.B.S., very few have looked at how well they work at actually measuring the hydration of the skin.
These devices measure either the conductance or capacitance of the skin. Conductance is the skin’s ability to conduct or pass an electrical charge, whereas capacitance is the measurement of the skin’s ability to hold a charge. The idea is that an increase in the capacitance or conductance of the skin indicates an increase in the amount of water within the skin. The Corneometer is based on skin capacitance, and the Skicon is based on skin conductivity.
The problem is that many things can increase the capacitance or conductance of the skin, like moisturizers. When you’re measuring your skin with one of these devices, you’re not just measuring the water in the skin…but also everything that’s dissolved in it.
An unpublished paper compared the Corneometer and Skicon against solutions of different substances commonly found in skin care products and found that they can have a large effect on the results. Increasing concentrations of salts like sodium chloride or calcium chloride increased the capacitance and conductance measurements of the devices. Different types of solvents like glycerin or ethanol also affected the readings, and the Corneometer tended to be more sensitive to dissolved substances than the Skicon.
So these devices should be left in the range of fun and interesting, but probably aren’t a great indication of actual hydration levels in your skin. Even if you apply it on the same area of skin, using the same type of water (tap water’s conductance and capacitance changes day to day), things like the room’s humidity, or if you’ve sweat recently will affect the readings. As well, using the devices on cleaned skin doesn’t capture the effect created by the moisturizer.
Ideally one would measure the moisturizer, the skin with the moisturizer on, and then “cancel” out the effect from the moisturizer itself – but I think that is beyond what the consumer devices are capable of, especially the ones that rate skin hydration with smiley faces :)!
