YOU put your right hand into a glove made for your left hand. It has a place for four fingers and a thumb, but it does not fit perfectly because your hands are mirror images of each other. The same logic applies to beauty products, or so scientists who espouse the importance of chiral correction in cosmetics and skincare claim.
'Chiral' which comes from the Greek word (kheir) meaning 'hand' refers to molecules that exist in the left and right-handed mirror image forms, analogous to our hands.
Each 'hand' holds different properties and scientific research has shown that choosing the wrong 'hand' of the ingredients to go into your skincare products might have detrimental effects on the skin. For example, ascorbic acid - Vitamin C - exists as L-ascorbic acid (L for levo meaning left) and D-ascorbic acid (D for dextro meaning right).
L-ascorbic acid is beneficial to humans and our skin, promoting health but D-asorbic acid promotes drying, itching and burning and thus should not be used in any skincare products.
Thus, when a product is chirally correct, it means that it contains only the right side of the molecules that gives the desired results (be it the D or the L form).
Enter Cosmedix, a range of treatments/products newly brought in by Renewal Day Spa that are chirally correct. This ensures that each ingredient in their products contain only the side of the molecules that will produce positive effects to the skin.
'I decided to bring Cosmedix in because I sought products that have high-quality ingredients which have been filtered to their purest forms,' says Renewal's founder Elizabeth Wong. 'Cosmedix's utilisation of chiral correction safely combats inflammation and diminishes the possibility of irritation. It also improves the skin's physiology on both the cellular and molecular level.'
The spa offers six types of medi-facials (menopausal; hyperpigmentation; photodamage; anti-oxidant; acne and deep cleaning) as well as a retail range of home-care products that are said to be excellent for skin inflammation conditions like acne, and hyperpigmentation.
According to Mrs Wong, the introduction of Cosmedix is the spa's way of moving beyond the 'traditional' pampering skin-care rituals, aiming instead to offer an innovative alternative that is simple, fuss-free but more importantly, results-oriented and safe.
'The treatments are very safe,' she reiterates. 'Alongside intensive training, we remain within the boundaries of what is permitted for aestheticians to do. And we know that is definitely the case because Cosmedix itself has a Results RX range of treatments/products that is designed purely for physicians' use.'
With facials priced between $120 and $180 and products from $98 to $200, Cosmedix is by no means cheap - after all, a premium is placed on products containing chirally correct ingredients - but Mrs Wong believes that there will be a market for this new technology in Singapore.
She concludes: 'I see the potential of offering Cosmedix treatments/products because educated consumers will welcome a brand that delivers its promise and is results-driven.
'Women who find that their skin reacts badly to facials are probably using products that are not chirally correct.
'When you are doing less superficial treatments like peels, for example, it is extra important that the ingredients used are chirally correct. In addition, with a specific range of pre- and post-care products designed specially for peels, clients are ensured of efficacy and safety.'
This article was first published in The Business Times.
