SkinDNA takes Rachel Hunter
to the Great Barrier Reef
DNArray Marie Claire
Nicky Briger – Editor of Marie Claire talks about DNArray
Marie Claire 2018
OK! Magazine – 2011 The launch of SkinDNA ™ – the world’s first comprehensive genetic skin profile test – is
The DNA GAME
Porter Magazine – 2017
With just a drop of saliva we are now able to glean priceless information about how our skin will age. But will the latest advances in the study of genetics and skincare mean we can use this data to enhance the way we look? Genomes expert, Vivienne Parry, investigates
GENOMES – AS PERSONAL AS IT GETS
Your genome is your body’s instruction manual. There is an identical copy of it in almost every healthy cell in your body. It is unique to you, containing all the information needed to make you, run you and repair you. Reading the first human genome cost $3billion and involved tens of thousands of scientists, taking 13 years. Today, a whole genome sequence costs around $1,000 and can be done in a day, making it available to a wider audience. And for those in the business of making skincare more effective and more personalized, the race was on.
“The Human Genome Project,” says Dr Veronique Delvigne, scientific director at Lancome, “allowing us to go back to the fundamentals and to start to understand skin.” Establishing that around 700 genes are active in normal skin, Lancome launched the first mainstream genomics skincare, Genifique in 2009, with Advanced Genifique, a youth-enhancing serum, following soon after.
“Older skin has a different genetic signature to younger skin,” explains Delvigne, “and genomics has rewritten the beauty bible on the cause of age spots, which are not caused by over-synthesis of the pigment melanin as previously thought, but are the result of activity by firbroblasts, (responsible for maintenance and tissue metabolism) in the dermis, Lancome’s Dream Tone pigmentation serum, for example, harnessed this finding by targeting fibroblasts. For the most part, though, claims center around altering “genetic expression” – not to be confused with the actual altering of genes themselves. There is never likely to be a single gene for youth, or collagen or dark spots or, indeed, anything else (apart from well-known single gene diseases such as Hungtington’s).
Rather, beauty companies are seeking to influence the activity of key groups of genes that have been identified as important in a particular skin process, be it hydration or aging. The way they do this is generally by increasing the signals to get them to switch on. Amore Pacific’s best-selling Time Response range, based on gene science, claims to reverse aging at a genetic level by, for instance, increamins hyaluronic acid production. Founded in Korea, the brand’s high-level research and development has led to it gaining a cult following in the USA.
EPIGENETICS – THE LIFESTYLE ELEMENTS THAT IMPACT YOUR GENES
Knowing what genes you have, or being able to increase their activity, will only take you so far, however. Knowledge of the genome is nothing without looking at the external factors that affect it. To which end we have epigenetics, which is essentially the way your genome makes sure you are best adapted to the environment you are exposed to.
Extra instructions in the form of chemical ‘marks’ are added to your DNA, particularly to those bit between genes (less than five percent of your genome is made up of genes. The DNA between genes is now known to be crucial in controlling gene activity). These might prevent or slow down one gene’s activity or enhance another’s. It allows your genome to be interpreted in a different way. It is why identical twins with identical genome can behave differently if they’re raised apart. The most obvious environmental markers are UV light, smoking and pollutants, but equally emotions – especially abuse in childhood – stress and diet can trigger epigenetic change.
Beauty companies are trying to mobilise epigenetic knowledge to increase activity of genes, particularly those whose activity has slowed with age. One of the best known epigenetic ‘marks’ is when a chemical methyl group gets attached to the genome. Amore Pacific’s Prime Reserve Epidynamic Activating Creme claims that by binding a methyl group to its formidable patented green tea extract it will latch itself onto the genome to “awaken the longevity gene… to prolong cell life”.
The marketing phrases are bold, but the fantastic reception for this product may be down to something far simpler – it contains and even more potent version of green tea extract, which has solid evidence behind it in terms of prompting cell activity. Chanel’s new “smart” cream Le Lift, has a different approach, aiming to reduce the number of epigenetic ‘marks’, thus neutralizing the skin’s ageing mechanisms and reactivating the production of good proteins.
Estee Lauder, too, has been looking at epigenetics. Its research into sirtuins (a family of genes that plays an important role in cell metabolism) forms the backbone for its skincare, including the new Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond Sculpting/Refinishing Dual Infusion serum. However, it is very early days for epigenetics in skin formulations. As Dr Nessa Carey, author of The Epigenetics Revolution, points out, companies “will find epigenome changes if they leave their cells [that they are using for testing] out of the incubator for too long, sprinkle crackers on them or add some aspirin… Almost everything will cause a statistically significant epigenetic change if you look hard enough.
But it doesn’t mean that the change has any real biological impact.” And there’s another truth here. We all have favourite brands and, yes, culture plays its part, but it is all about what works for us. No skincare is universally effective, in the same way that in pharmaceuticals one drug may work brilliantly for one person but cause another unwanted side effects. We are all different.
GENE TESTING FOR HEALTHIER SKIN
The Australian pharmacogenomics company, SkinDNA, founded by leading researchers and specialists in genetic analysis and skin therapies, takes a different approach (and, by the way, provides some of the best information of the effect of genes on skin on its website, skindna.com.au). You are sent a DNA swab kit and lifestyle questionnaire (costing between $299 and $399), with 16 SNPs within five different areas affecting skin health: firmness and elasticity, wrinkling, sun damage, free-radical protection and sensitivity and inflammation. The results take a week and are presented as a low, medium or high risk in the five areas.
You are then advised about available products that are suitable for you, either through partner companies or from off-the-shelf brands. Founder Stefan Mazy says, “First and foremost, the advice provided is intended to answer the ‘whys’. Why should someone use this ingredient instead of another? Why is it beneficial?
The advice at the end of the day is designed to help justify the need to use specific ingredients rather than focus on brands and ‘product of the month’ advertising.” So what if you luck out and you are low risk for everything? Mazy is stern. “If you want to consume of box of donuts everyday, you override your luck.” SkinDNA’s technology is licensed to various partners including Dr Ruthie Harper of SkinShift, as well as DNAge and a number of other dermatologists worldwide. This approach is clearly gaining in popularity.
PERSONALIZED BEAUTY: THE FUTURE OF SKINCARE?
One person who is not 100 percent convinced is Margo Marrone, the highly-respected founder of the Organic Pharmacy group, who flirted with gene testing and was involved with IMperial College in early trials, Organic Pharmacy initially offered gene testing along with a 90-minute advice session, but now chooses to focus on changing the way genes are expressed in skin by looking at a client’s lifestyle. “It’s going to take quite a long time for people to get their heads around this,” says Marrone. “Our approach has always been holistic; genetics alone is not sufficient. It’s a balance between repair of damage and tissue longevity.
We can all see what stress does to people’s faces.” Her Gene Expression Lifting Serum has been clinically tested and in Marrone’s own words “works very well”. The use of genomics has already had a profound influence on our understanding of skin, leading to highly effective products. Epigenetics may yet emerge as a major force in skincare, but for my money, it has to be combined with knowledge of the genome – precision skincare based on an individual’s DNA and linked to lifestyle information. The future of beauty, it seems, is truly personal.
It’s In The Genes
MINDFOOD – 2017
Elsewhere, beauty brands are combining a multitude of protective elements in order to defend and repair the skin from damage.
“Even with the best sunscreen products, some of the damaging UV rays will sneak through” advises Angela Frazer, plastic surgical and cosmetic nurse for Prescription Skin Care. “Using an antioxidant serum such as vitamin C will act as a second line of defence, picking up where your sunscreen leaves off [while] stimulating collagen production and lightening pigmentation.” Frazer advises layer antioxidants under a mineral make-up with broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection.
At Clinique, the current focus exciting researchers is infrared radiation (IR), which was previously thought to have a benign effect on the body. Recent research by a team from Seoul National University Hospital demonstrated IR adds to premature skin ageing. “What is exciting in the suncare research area is the news that IR and pollution is damaging to skin,” says Dr Tom Mammone, executive director of Skin Physiology and Pharmacology at Clinique Research & Development, Worldwide. “The future of protecting skin from suncare includes protection from IR and pollution. We are working on making our products not just stronger against these damaging environmental insults but also making them last longer.” When it comes to repair, the world’s leading dermatologists agree that a combination of antioxidants and peptides are needed to mend any sun damage that occurs despite using sunscreen.
“For repair, the technologies for the next 20 years are going to be extremely potent and will rival dermatologists in their efficacies. We are already making products that compete with prescription treatments and lasers. Our next wave of products will surpass them,” says Cliniques Dr Mammone. SkinDNA’s Stefan Mazy, points to the study of biomimcry, where science imitates beauty phenomena. “What stops plants from burning or shrivelling up during the long summer days? Scientists [are studying] these specimens and isolating the exact chemicals produced by the plant.” Two of Mazy’s suncare ingredients are resveratrol, which is released in some plants after sun exposure to repair UV damage, and kojic acid – which is used by plants to prevent browning, and can help reduce pigmentation in human skin.
Similarly, American skincare brand DNA EGF’s Intensive Renewal is a product that contains an enzyme derived from one of the most UV-resistant organisms known to science, according to Kim Larsen, national sales manager at House of Camille, supplies of salon brand including DNA EGF. Larsen says the enzyme, found in soil and the ocean, stimulates the recognition and elimination of damage to the skin, to reverse sun damage (dnaegfrenewal.com). Increasingly, genetics is being incorporated into the industry’s approach to skincare and protection. “Our genetic predispositions play an important role in determining how well your skin can naturally cope under the strains of the sun,” says SkinDNA’s Mazy. “The SkinDNA Genetic Test can help to identify many underlying issues that cause pigmentation and skin damage before the signs become apparent.”
TAILORED CARE
SkinDNA’s test kits involve taking a swab from inside your mouth and sending it to the company for analysis (available at inskincosmedics.com.au). The results can help uses to tailor their sun protection and care to their own genetic risk factors. “We know that two in five people have a genetic impairment affecting their body’s UV-protecting ability,” says Mazy.
“Genetic variations can lower your body’s ability to produce melanin, [causing] the skin to be highly sensitive when exposed to sunlight.” Such knowledge is seeing products customised to the individual and their personal needs, with the addition of specific sunscreens, peptides, antioxidants and photo protectants tailored to the user’s needs. Genetics will have an increasing role in the coming decade, as scientists isolate the individual genes involved in pigmentation and sun protection.
Researchers at Harvard University Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Dermatology have been studying the possibility of stimulating skin pigmentation with a molecule rather than UV radiation, as a way of naturally boosting the skin’s melanin levels from within. The resulting “safe tan” would provide fairer skins with a more naturally protected state.
SkinShift uses SkinDNA Genetic Test to
predict skin’s future.
SkinShift in this video, uses SkinDNA™ Technology to help you prevent imperfections in your skin before they occur, and recommend a specific skin care product, tailored to your skin’s needs.
Bespoke Skincare Solutions
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING – 2017
Your friend raves about a moisturiser but, even though you have the same skin type, it does nothing for you? It may be time to consult your genes…
Since 2012, beauty brand Olay has been collaborating with genetics company 23andMe to investigate the genes linked to skin ageing and understand how they vary according to ethnicity. Led by a Harvard professor of dermatology, the study examined approximately 20,000 genes and identified that ‘exceptional skin ages’, those people who appear almost ageless, have a unique skin ‘fingerprint’ of around 2,000 genes. Decoding these could hold the keys to looking youthful for longer. In the meantime, there’s a small but growing number of companies in the UK offering the ultimate in personalised skincare – a regime based on genetic tests. The latest service, FutureSkin DNA (£495, katekerrlondon.co.uk), comes from holistic facialist Kate Kerr at London’s Phi Clinic, and may just be the best skincare consultation I’ve ever had.
Kate begins by taking a DNA swab from the inside of your mouth. This goes off to an Australia company that looks at 16 genetic markers related to skin ageing and compares your results with its database of over 40,000 people. Kate also gives you a mini exploratory facial, asking endless questions about your skin and then yet more questions via an in-depth questionnaire that also goes off to Australia.
Two weeks later, you back to learn you genetic predisposition to collagen breakdown (think firmness and elasticity), sun damage and pigmentation, free radical damage, inflammation and sensitivity, and glycation (excess sugars link to skin’s collagen and elastin fibres, reducing their regenerative ability and, in the long term, causing deep wrinkles). Specific skincare, ingredients and supplements are identified that will work well with your ene profile, which Kate explains thoroughly. Armed with this information, you can buy tailored beauty products from her or simply read labels when you go shopping – and of course, re-assess your current skincare routine and any products you already have at home. Kate also gives plenty of lifestyle advice and tips, as healthy habits can override your genetic results – just as bad habits can eventually get the better of in-built genetic protection. Although I found I had plenty to thank Mum and Dad for, I do have a high risk of glycation. One solution? Eat less cake!
Tailor-Made Health
GOODHEALTH – 2017
Tests that promise to deliver personalized health and wellbeing plans to make the traditional one-size-fits-all approach seem old school. Karen Fittall discovers what’s available
In recent years, genetic testing has jumped out of laboratories and into our living rooms, with tests that promise to shed light on everything from the type of exercise your body responds best to, to which skin-ageing concerns you should be most worried about, based on your DNA. Dubbed ‘lifestyle genetics’, here are a handful of tests available in Australia that promise to help you personalise your approach to staying healthy.
WHAT IT PROMISES
A personalised skin profile based on what your DNA reveals skin’s individual ageing risk factors, so you can tailor your skin care routine to suit. You’ll also be given suggestions about products and skincare ingredients to help tackle the problems you’re most at risk of.
THE DETAILS
Your mouth swab is assessed for 16 genetic markers linked to five different skin-ageing categories, including whether you’re genetically predisposed to premature wrinkling, based on how quickly your collagen breaks down; how well-equipped your skin is to cope with the sun; and how it fights free radical damage.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The test is only available via a face-to-face consultation at more than 400 clinics around Australia. Prices start at $299.