Detail view of some Skin Authority products on display at the company's Carlsbad offices.Like a lot of women, Krystal Champion's hormones played tricks on her skin when she was pregnant, leaving her with hyperpigmentation, or dark spots, under her eyes.
She had also hit her 30s and started seeing fine lines and wrinkles on her face.
So like a lot of women, Champion turned to a growing class of products that merge science with cosmetics. Called cosmeceuticals, these creams, lotions, serums and injections have proved - to varying degrees - a boon to many consumers and San Diego's biotech industry, a fertile breeding ground for much of the research going into these products.
Champion, director of the Rock Spa at the Hard Rock Hotel in downtown San Diego, found an at-home glycolic acid chemical peel made by Carlsbad-based Skin Authority. She says she saw results.
'I was glowing and people started asking me what I was using,' said Champion. 'So we brought (the brand) into the spa.'
Today, Champion, now 35, also uses other Skin Authority products, most based on stem cell research originally developed to heal skin scarred from burning. And the Hard Rock's spa is one of 120 or so high-end spas around the world that carry Skin Authority, which is also sold in GNC stores and through the Home Shopping Network.
Celeste Hilling, CEO of Skin Authority, at her company's Carlsbad offices.Skin Authority's evolution from skin care spa brand to mass market company mirrors the growth in the science-based segment of the beauty industry, which by some estimates is a $20 billion business, based on promises to treating everything from wrinkled skin to baldness.
Cosmeceuticals are now accessible in department stores, drugstores or online, as companies get more adept at translating what happens in the lab into creams and serums - and tapping into aging baby boomers' desire to turn back the clock.
Are they effective or just glorified cosmetics? Trying to answer that question poses somewhat of a wrinkle. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn't recognize the term cosmeceuticals and companies don't need FDA approval to bring their products to market. And as levels of scientific validation vary, so do actual results.
'Everyone wants hope in a jar and everyone needs to believe it helps,' said Dr. Marie Jhin, a dermatologist practicing in the Bay Area.
'Some of these can be very good products, but to bypass the FDA (companies) go more the cosmeceuticals route,' said Jhin, who carries the SkinMedica line - which was created in San Diego - in her office. 'But over the counter, there's nothing that will make a huge difference. It will help a little with fine lines, it will help a little with acne, it will help a little with dry skin.'
Joshua Zeichner, an M.D. and the director of Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, said some cosmeceuticals 'have basic science and clinical research behind them demonstrating efficacy. However, since most do not, we simply do not have the answers based on research and can only rely on anecdotal data. ... (They) really may be no better than fancy moisturizers.'
Entities 0 Name: Skin Authority Count: 4 1 Name: FDA Count: 2 2 Name: San Diego Count: 2 3 Name: Carlsbad Count: 2 4 Name: Rock Spa Count: 1 5 Name: SkinMedica Count: 1 6 Name: Bay Area Count: 1 7 Name: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Count: 1 8 Name: Joshua Zeichner Count: 1 9 Name: Jhin Count: 1 10 Name: Cosmetic and Clinical Research in Dermatology Count: 1 11 Name: GNC Count: 1 12 Name: Mount Sinai Hospital Count: 1 13 Name: New York City Count: 1 14 Name: Dr. Marie Jhin Count: 1 15 Name: Celeste Hilling Count: 1 16 Name: Hard Rock Count: 1 Related Keywords 0 Name: skin Score: 56 1 Name: cosmeceuticals Score: 50 2 Name: spa Score: 26 3 Name: wrinkle Score: 21 4 Name: champion Score: 20 5 Name: jhin Score: 20 6 Name: cosmetic Score: 19 7 Name: products Score: 19 8 Name: authority Score: 18 9 Name: carlsbad Score: 17 Authors Media Images 0
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