Beauty

RIFLING THROUGH a
packet of coupons left at my
doorstep, my eyes fell upon
one ilyer touting a new med-
ical discovery. “Grow a fresh
new skin! — in as little as 10
to 14 days,” it screamed in
acid yellow letters.

My curiosity peaked, | read on:
“Now there’s a wondrous discovery
that can help you grow away lines
and signs of age ... grow ina brand
new, smooth-as-silk complexion ...
and make you.Jook 10, 15, even a
whole generation younger in just
two weeks or less!”

Could this really be true? Have
we finally found the fountain of
youth, contained in a $15 pot of
cream available through muail-
order? ;

No, on both accounts, according
to Richard Deasson, a chemist and
founder of OptaDerm Skincare
Clinic on West Broadway in
Vancouver.

“Sounds like a one-hit wonder,”
says Deasson. “If you're 80 years
old, it might make you look 10
years younger, but those are pretty
grandiose claims.”

While no product is going io
shave a generation of sun damage
and hard living off your face, this
“wondrous” and “new medical dis-
covery” — the exfoliating and
wrinkle-reducing properties of
alpha-hydroxy acids (AHAs) — do
have some validity.

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STYLE NOTES

Treatment products containing
AHAs, naturally occurring com-
pounds chiefly derived from fruits,
have enjoyed tremendous success
in the marketplace since the first
ones debuted two years ago.

Now just about every major
skincare manufacturer has at feast
one product containing the magic
ingredient in its lineup.

Estee Lauder’s Fruition and
Clinique’s Turnaround Cream lead
the pack in terms of total sales vol-
ume.

Fruition’s 1992 debut in the U.S.
was proclaimed “the most success-
ful launch in the company’s histo-
ry,” by Lauder’s Muriel Gonzalez,
senior vice-president of marketing,

who was quoted in Women's Wear
Daily (WWD).

The influential fashion industry
trade paper had found AHAs so
newsworthy it recently devoted an
entire supplement, “The
Acid Equation,” to the
ingredient and its rise in
popularity in the beauty
industry.

Fruition figured
prominently in WWD's
coverage.

The emollient cream
($80 for 5O0mL or $50 for
a two-month 30 mL trial size, avail-
able ut Estee Lauder beauty coun-
ters) is designed 10 resurface,
restore and renormalize “dysfunc-
tional” skin through “skin cell com-
munication,” according to product
information.

A triple fruit-acid formula accel-
erates skin cell renewal. Layers of
dead skin cells are gently sloughed
off and replaced by fresh, new
ones. The result is increased skin
clarity, refined texiure, uniformity
of tone and, after four to six weeks
of twice-daily use, a reduction in
the appearance of fine lines and
wrinkles.

Other less visible companies
have also jumped on the AHA
bandwagon.

OptaDerm carries its own line of
affordably priced cosmetics and
skincare products.

Performance Cream ($24.50 for
60 mL) contains salicylic acid,
extracted from the bark of the sweet

birch tree. Like AHAs derived from
fruits, salicylic acid will eat away at
the top layer of skin, smoothing out
wrinkles and refining skin tone.
Unlike AHAs, salicylic acid won't

6@ AHAs. ... will eat away at the top
layer of skin, smoothing out wrinkles
and refining skin tone. 99

irritate hypersensitive skins. The
active ingredient is also available in
an oil-free lotion ($24.50 for 120
mL). Glycolic acid stimulates peel-
ing action in an alcohol-free rinse
{$18.50 for 240 mL) and gentle and
extra-strength masques ($12.50 for
60 mL).

To capitalize on this latest wave
in skincare technology, skincare
companies continue to explore the
limitations of AHAs and are com-
ing out with new products all the
lime.

Avon’s Anew for Face, when
launched in the U.S. in February
1992, did US$20 million in sales in
its first 10 weeks, according to
WWD. Anew for Chest and Neck,
and Anew for Hand and Body fol-
lowed that successful launch and in
turn were followed by the launch of
Anew Intensive Treatment for Face,
containing 8% glycolic acid, earlier

industry rides wave of skincare technology with alpha-hydroxy acids

this year. A three-product men’s
line is expected to debut in the U.S.
next month.

And just this past week,
NeoStrata launched a line of glu-
conolactone-based prod-
ucts that include an eye
contour cream, lip con-
ditioner, moisturizing
cream and facial
cleanser. With the .
exception of the “7!
cleanser, the products
contain a titanium diox-
ide sunscreen that, simi-

lar to zinc, helps deflect harmful
UVA and UVB rays.

“The newest-and most gentle
AHA on the market,” according to
NeoStrata, gluconolactone is an
acid-based moisturizer that rejuve-
nates the skin through exfoliation.

While in the U.S. the NeoStrata
line is sold exclusively by derma-
tologists, here at home, the line,
priced between $15 and $25, is sold
over-the-counter at major pharma-
cies,

If you're considering the pur-
chase of an AHA product, Deasson

‘advises that you approach it cau-
tiously.

“Always test on the inner arm,
where the skin is sensitive, to watch
for redness or irritation.”

And if you’re still unsure about
buying into the AHA craze, ask for
a sample to take home. Many of the
top skincare lines will be happy to
provide one.

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