Nanotechnology Now - News Story: Skin Care: The Unrecognized Risks of Perricone, M.D. Skin Care Products

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April 29th, 2010

Skin Care: The Unrecognized Risks of Perricone, M.D. Skin Care Products

Abstract:
Dr. Perricone posted a full page ad on his Cold Plasma product in the December 26, 2009 New York Times Magazine. The ad promised that the product, "gives skin everything it needs," and "works better for skin than anything else ever used." According to his website, Dr. Perricone is noted for his "holistic approach to aging," and developing a program that "will enhance your life with better overall health and increased energy."

Dr. Perricone's products, known technically as "cosmeceuticals," promise to rejuvenate wrinkling or sagging skin in aging women. However, his claims are baseless as they are made in the absence of scientific evidence based on double-blind clinical trials. In these, patients are randomly assigned to groups which receive either the test treatment or an alternative untreated control. Neither the patient nor the dermatologist conducting the study know whether the treatment or the control has been given to the patient until the trial is completed. This is the standard way of excluding bias or frank misrepresentation.

As detailed in my Toxic Beauty book (BenBella, 2009), here is how Perricone's website describes his products: "Dr. Perricone has developed a patented technology excusive to this line, called Fullerene. Fullerenes are highly stable, microscopic hollow spheres that carry the active ingredients into the skin. They bring the intriguing and transformative world of nanotechnology to the fine art and science of high performance skin care."

Fullerenes, also known as nanoparticles, with an average size of 1/10,000 of a millimeter, have been introduced without any labeling into a growing number of Dr. Perricone's anti-aging products, particularly skin creams. These are touted as reducing wrinkles and firming up the skin surface. Fullerenes have also been introduced, and without labeling, into Dr. Perricone's products including Ceramic Eye Smoother, and sunblocks.

Source:
huffingtonpost.com

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