Category: Blog

Sunscreenr: The gadget that shows you gaps in your sunscreen application

KindofStephen

This is really cool! I came across this project on Kickstarter a few months ago and it looks like they now have a functioning prototype.

 

sunscreenr

How does it work? From my understanding most smartphone cameras use a CMOS type sensor – which is sensitive to both UV and IR wavelengths. In order to create images that match what we can see, special filters are applied to filter out the UV and IR. Humans can’t perceive UV or IR, but other animals can — like the damselfish!

So the Sunscreenr seems to just be a smartphone camera without the UV filter! That means that anything we apply to our skin that absorbs light in the UV spectrum will show up as darker on the device.

The team at Sunscreenr recently took it to Mashable for a demo and there’s a video of it in action below:

 

The projected price is $109 USD, and the creators say if it is ever mass produced it could go down to $20 USD.

Personally, I think I would buy one at the $20 to $30 USD price-point. While it is useful, it won’t be able to catch an important aspect of sunscreen – which is the density or how thickly it’s applied.

It’d be great if someone could invent a camera that could measure how much UV is being absorbed – but I don’t think that exists yet.

I’m also waiting for the day where smart mirrors because more ubiquitous – imagine a mirror that can show you where you’ve applied your sunscreen and how much!

People are already DIY-ing their own smart mirrors, so hopefully the day that putting on sunscreen is an exercise in pure elegance is near!

I’m on The Daily Dot! Talking about spray-on sunscreens

KindofStephen

My friend Colette Bennett, who writes at The Daily Dot, put me in touch with their science writer Cynthia McKelvey.

Cynthia had some questions about spray sunscreens after she got sunburned using one. She wanted to know if they work differently than other types of sunscreen, if they were worth using, and how to use them properly…so I helped her find answers!

The Daily Dot: Do spray-on sunscreens actually work?

I’m writing on Charlotte Cho’s Klog! …and I’m working on videos!

KindofStephen

You may be familiar with Charlotte’s book The Little Book of Skin Care or her shop Soko Glam, but you may not know that she’s split off the blog into its own separate entity at The Klog.

Here’s a list of what I’ve written so far for The Klog 🙂

I had the chance to attend the launch party for The Klog in New York City, along with my good friend Tiffany (who runs #LupusChat).

I also ran a giveaway for her book, and the winner will be announced in my first video…

Yes! I’m making videos! Almost all of my equipment has finally arrived, and I’ll be doing an in-depth post of what I’ve picked up and some useful YouTube tutorials that helped me along the way. I’m really excited to begin sharing these with you, there are some concepts that are just much easier to explain in person.

Have a great week, and I’ll be talking to you guys soon 😀

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Galderma Announces FDA Approval of 0.1% Differin® Gel For Over-the-Counter Acne Use

KindofStephen 1 Comment

Galderma Announces FDA Approval of 0.1% Differin® Gel For Over-the-Counter Acne Use

What is Differin?

Differin is a topical acne treatment which contains a synthetic retinoid called adapalene. Adapalene is not similar in structure to tretinoin or other retinoic acid compounds. However, like other synthetic retinoids like tazarotene, adapalene activates the same receptor targets in the skin like retinoic acid receptor (RAR) β and γ and retinoid X receptor (RXR).

Adapalene is more stable than tretinoin and can be used in conjunction with benzoyl peroxide. It is also more lipophilic, so more can accumulate within the sebaceous unit.

Differin for Acne

In a head to head comparison, 0.100% adapalene gel  was more effective than a 0.025% tretinoin gel in non-inflammatory (open and closed comedones) and inflammatory (papules and pustules) acne – it was better tolerated as well, which means less irritation.

A multi-ethnic study with Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Caucasian subjects found good tolerability among all races. A separate study on Black South Africans also found efficacy in treating acne and good tolerability.

A meta-analysis of 5 studies that compared 0.100% adapalene gel and 0.025% tretinoin gel also found them similarly effective for acne. Of particular interest, it seems adapalene begins to reduce acne after 1 week of use – which is faster than tretinoin and may be due to adapalene causing less irritation.

Another study showed that 0.1% adapalene gel was less irritating than 0.100%, 0.050%, 0.025% tretinoin and even 0.100% tretinoin microspheres (Retin-A Micro).

A study comparing 0.030% and 0.100% adapalene gel found that the 0.100% adapalene gel was significantly more effective than the 0.030% gel in treating acne.

A supplementary article submitted to Cutis reported a decrease in sebum production on subjects that were using 0.100% adapalene gel for 4 weeks. Sebum production returned to normal after the treatment was stopped. There’s a possible mechanism for adapalene to reduce sebum production by suppressing triglyceride formation in sebocytes – in hamsters.

Differin for Hyperpigmentation

Adapalene seems to also be effective for hyperpigmentation, however there is more research and evidence supporting tretinoin and tazarotene.

A non-blinded study on 65 Black African patients using a 0.100% adapalene gel found significant improvements in hyperpigmentation. Less than 5% of subjects in the study experienced skin irritation.

Studies covered in the next section on Caucasian and Chilean subjects also found brightening in overall skin pigmentation.

Differin for Anti-Ageing

In terms of treating photodamage and photoageing, there is very little research on the topic, especially compared to tretinoin and to a lesser extent tazarotene.

A Galderma study with 0.100% and 0.300% adapalene gel on 90 Caucasian subjects saw improvement in solar lentigines (freckles) and actinic keratoses. Trained dermatologists noticed an improvement in fine skin wrinkling and an overall brightening of the skin’s pigmentation. No significant change in deep wrinkles was noticed. Results were much more pronounced with the 0.3% adapalene gel.

Another Galderma study on Chilean women found similar results. They found marked improvement in skin wrinkling at 90 and 180 days of treatment using a Visia skin analyzer, though they did not differentiate between fine and deep wrinkles. Of interest is that skin thickness did not increase, which is common with tretinoin treatment, however they did find an improvement in abnormal elastin accumulation (elastosis band) in the skin.

Questions and Answers

I’ve gotten a few questions about this on my Instagram, so here they are with their answers!

pricklygoldenpear asks: Can adapalene and other retinoids be used with niacinamide? I mean like layering them. If yes, which one over or under – or are both ways OK?

As with many questions regarding ingredient compatibility and order of application – there’s very little to often no research on the topic. Almost every skin study compare one treatment vs a control treatment. Very rarely do studies look at results from one ingredient, then an additional ingredient, etc. This type of study design is significantly more complex, more time-consuming, and costly to perform.

When looking for studies that examined niacinamide and retinoids, I found none that looked at the combination of niacinamide and tretinoin or adapalene.

A study published in the JCD did compare the use of a retinyl ester (hydroxypinacolone retinoate) with niacinamide, and found an improvement in melasma, however the control cream was just a gel – so we can’t tell which ingredient in particular was responsible for the benefits.

A supplementary article submitted to the JAAD looked at a combination of niacinamide with retinaldehyde and glycolic acid and also found improvements. Again it suffers from the same problem as the previous study – which ingredient was responsible? Were the effects synergistic?

And an open-access paper comparing the combination of niacinamide, two peptides (Pal-KT and Pal-KTTKS), and retinyl propionate found it produced similar effects to 0.02% tretinoin – with less dryness and irritation.

A study published in CCID found that the combination of niacinamide, retinol, and 7-dehydrocholesterol reduced metalloproteinase and other inflammatory markers in the skin.

An in-vivo study on cultured human keratinocytes found that niacinamide could reduce some of the increased expression of aquaporin-3. This increase of aquaporin-3 is thought to increase water permeability – which could lead to skin dryness.

So while none of these studies looked niacinamide and adapalene or tretinoin directly, it seems likely that there should be no issue combining the two.

As to the “proper” ordering of the two topicals, there is no data and I don’t think it really matters. Choose the product with the lowest lipid content first, but above all else: Consistency matters more than product application order.

elspethxieI asks: Is this suitable for mothers who are breastfeeding?

From Medications’ and Mothers’ Milk by Thomas Hale, “Differin Gel (Adapalene 0.1%) is similar to Retin-A (retinoic acid or tretinoin)…Adapalene is virtually unabsorbed when applied topically to the skin. Plasma levels are almost undetectable, so milk levels would be infinitesimally low and probably undetectable.”

My 2016 sunscreen buddies!

KindofStephen 1 Comment

While picking up a new bottle of my go to, Ombrelle SPF 60 Complete, I noticed that they had reformulated their Kids version and also released a few new sunscreens.

New for 2016, Ombrelle’s Sport Clear Continuous Spray SPF 50+ and Face Cream SPF 60 both contain the highest amount of Mexoryl SX and XL among their sunscreens.

Mexoryl SX and XL are two modern sunscreen filters that are patented by Ombrelle’s head company – L’Oreal. You’ll only find the filters in their products, and often in the high-end ranges like La Roche Posay. Unfortunately the US FDA has limited their use in the USA, so these products are often only available in Europe, Asia, and luckily for me – Canada! A bill was passed last year to help push through the approval of newer sunscreens like Mexoryl and Tinosorb, and while it became law – the US FDA’s response was to deny all pending applications.

I tried the Sport Continuous Spray and while it offers great protection, it becomes quite tacky if you apply it heavily – while it is convenient for the body, at $16 CAD for a bottle I’ll be saving it for camping trips and the like. I haven’t tried the Ombrelle Face Cream, because it’s a quarter of the size of the Kids version and the same price, $17 CAD.

I’m really liking the Ombrelle Kids Water Resistant Lotion SPF 50+. It’s much less heavy compared to the Ombrelle SPF 60 Complete and contains 4.5% Mexoryl XL and 1.5% Mexoryl SX. The Complete SPF 60 on the other hand contains only 2.5% Mexoryl XL and 0.5% Mexoryl SX, and isn’t water or sweat resistant.

The Kids version does contain 5.85% Titanium Dioxide so there is some whitening upon application, but it fades on my medium skin once the sunscreen is dry. It also leaves a nice natural looking finish once dried, and I double-layer my sunscreens! It does contain humectants so will likely become shinier and more moist throughout the day – I recommend a light dusting of powder if you have oily skin.

Ingredients of Ombrelle Kids Water Resistant Lotion SPF 50+

Active Ingredients
Titanium Dioxide: 5.85%
Octisalate: 5%
Drometrizole Trisiloxane (Mexoryl XL): 4.5%
Avobenzone: 3%
Octocrylene: 2.5%
Ecamsule (Mexoryl SX): 1.5%

Other Ingredients:

Aqua, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Alcohol Denat., Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isododecane, Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Methicone, Synthetic Wax, Ammonium polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Silica, Triethanolamine, Cellulose Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Isostearyl Alcohol, Dodecene, Poloxamer 407, Glycine Soja Oil, Tocopherol, Pentasodium Ethylenediamine Tetramethylene Phosphonate, Hydrolyzed Algin, Magnesium Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol.

Aqua, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Alcohol Denat., Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isododecane, Propylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Glycerin, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Lauryl PEG/PPG-18/18 Methicone, Synthetic Wax, Ammonium polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Silica, Triethanolamine, Cellulose Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Isostearyl Alcohol, Dodecene, Poloxamer 407, Glycine Soja Oil, Tocopherol, Pentasodium Ethylenediamine Tetramethylene Phosphonate, Hydrolyzed Algin, Magnesium Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Benzyl Benzoate, Benzyl Alcohol.

I’ve also picked up the Biore UV PERFECT Milk SPF50+ PA++++, unfortunately Japanese sunscreen manufacturers aren’t required to list the % of their sunscreens though PA++++ indicates a UVAPF of 16 or greater. It’s a runny milk and dries to a matte finish on the skin.

I’ll likely not repurchase the Biore AQUA RICH Sarasara SPF50+ PA++++ because of its lemon scent. I also don’t like how it feels on my skin. I find it a bit filmy and powdery.

And lastly for Canadian shoppers: Each year Ombrelle releases a $3 off coupon for any of their sunscreens, so they’re super affordable. The coupons can be found here on MyGarnier.ca