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Biotechnology

The differences between a cosmetic product which only treats the surface of the skin, and a professional cosmeceutical, which can actually change the function of your skin is that a cosmeceutical contains higher percentages of the active ingredients meant to target the specific skin condition. At SURPLEXION the results are not only driven by the quality and highly effect ingredients, but the technologically advanced delivery systems that allow those ingredients to penetrate the skin. 

Our chemists then oversee how each product is formulated; how each ingredient is added to our unique products, some cold pressed, some heated but all are created with one purpose, to improve skin clarity, lighten dark spots, pigment and uneven skin tone.

Understanding Delivery Sysytems

The term delivery systems are used in the skincare industry as a way to define the mechanism of how ingredients are delivered into the deeper layers of skin. The delivery systems can help even ingredients with a large molecular structure that normally sit on the surface of the skin, to fulfill their function and reach the targeted layer of skin. 

By encapsulating active ingredients at the nanoscale, these products achieve enhanced skin penetration and controlled release of therapeutic agents. This allows for selective inhibition of melanin synthesis at the cellular level to correct hyperpigmentation, while their anti-inflammatory action modulates the inflammatory processes associated with acne, thus optimizing therapeutic efficacy, and minimizing adverse side effects

Factors of Ingredient Delivery

  • Intercellular - These active ingredients travel in between keratinocytes into deeper layers. 
  • Transcellular - This means that active ingredients must penetrate from cell to cell in order to reach deeper. 
  • Transappendageal - This means other openings, such as sweat glands, sebaceous glands or hair follicles, are used as travel pathways to reach lower levels of the skin.  

Factors that contribute to product penetration capability

Concentration

Concentration of active ingredients play a key part in penetration. The higher the concentration of a particular ingredient, the more the skin will try to absorb it, leading to more of the active ingredient ultimately being accepted into the deeper layers of the skin. 

PH

Penetration is also influenced by the pH of the ingredient. pH alone is a great delivery system, because the skin is always attempting to neutralize pH differences and stay in a pH-balanced state. The lower the pH, the more product will travel into deeper layers, because the skin is trying to balance and increase the pH again to a higher level. The higher the pH of a particular product, the less the active ingredients will penetrate the skin; instead, they will sit on the surface. 

Molecular size and weight

The molecular size of the active ingredient also plays a crucial role in the efficacy of skincare products. If the molecules of ingredients used are too large to penetrate the skin, the product will simply linger on the skin’s surface. Thus, hydrating or giving a temporary, mild change to the surface of the skin but penetrating deep enough to actually cause change within the skin. Molecules under 500 daltons (kDA), the measurement of molecular weight, can penetrate the skin, while ingredients that are above this threshold will not penetrate the skin, if not attached to other ingredients or used in delivery systems which allow these ingredients to be pulled into the skin. 

Characteristics of ingredients

Whether a substance is water-soluble or lipid-soluble also influences the amount that can be absorbed through the skin. The skin actually accepts ingredient that have a balance of both lipid and water to not penetrating deep enough through the epidermis to the active cellular membrane, but if this is not possible due to the make up of a particular ingredient, that is when delivery systems can be used most effectively.