Plant regeneration at the cellular and tissue level is a unique process. Similar to animals, the stem cells in plants have properties that help stimulate and regenerate plants after injury. The unique properties of plant stem cells have been a recent area of interest and focus both in developing new cosmetics and studying how these extracts/phytohormones will influence animal skin.
This special report focuses on the current evidence-based trends in plant stem cell-based cosmetics and sheds light on the challenges that we need to overcome in order to see meaningful changes in human skin using topical cosmetics derived from plant stem cells.
In plants, these cells live in the meristems of plants,”says Dr. Loral, MD. “They help and regenerate live plants after they have an injury.”
The same comes in how the cells act, though. “Stem cells have the ability to self renew and self repair, just like human stem cells,”. “The difference is that the plant ones actually have stronger antioxidant properties than human cells because plants are stationary. They have to protect themselves from the insults of weather.”
Skin care benefits
When use in skin-care products, the stem cells are not live, but you get the same benefits of antioxidants, amino acid content, and ability to boost collagen synthesis from these stem cell extracts.
One exciting area of research for stem cells is in treating skin problems, such as wrinkles, visible capillaries and sun damage. In the basal layer of the epidermis (the deepest layer of the outer surface of the skin), stem cells divide and replace lost or dying cells.
They also repair the skin when it suffers injury. The epidermis is in a constant state of renewal—sloughing cells every single day—so it requires non-stop cell replacement. Therefore it’s essential that we optimize epidermal stem cell population throughout our lives, even as we age.
As our skin faces its daily assaults—environmental toxins, excess sun exposure, improper nutrition—we run the risk of overwhelming the epidermal stem cells. When this happens, stem cells might not be able to keep up with the demand of cellular turnover, resulting in an excess of damaged cells and, eventually, aged and damaged skin.
Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum) is an herbaceous plant that grows on mountain ranges from the Pyrenees and Alps to the Himalayas. Over time it has developed many natural defenses in order to survive the extreme climates in which it grows. It has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
In a recent study, 30 participants applied a cream containing Edelweiss stem cells to their faces twice daily for 40 days.
The cream was found to reduce wrinkle depth of the eye contour area by 15 percent after only 20 days. Edelweiss stem cells also seem to be helpful in preventing collagen loss, firming and restructuring the skin, and preventing aging and sun damage.
I’m Fabulous Cosmetics, organic plant based skin care brand, created a few products with plant stem cells.
- The Luxury Caviar Lifting Serum
- The Super White Bio Serum
- The 20% Niacinamide Serum
- The Peptide Collagen Repair Cream
