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Editor's Note: This story is part of an In-Depth Report on the science of beauty. Read more about the series here.
Scientists now know that sleep helps to keep hearts healthy and waists trim, but can it also help refresh tired skin? And what about that old ritual of cucumber slices on the eyes: ineffective or innovative?
As budgets tighten and cosmetic labels boast increasingly complex chemicals, more consumers are looking to remedies that are more affordable and natural. And despite the millions of dollars companies are investing in R&D for high-tech skin treatments, some of the common-wisdom cures may still do the trick, and are the very foundation of maintaining—or recapturing—a healthy glow.
But, cautions Leslie Baumann, director of cosmetic dermatology at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine in Florida and author of The Skin Type Solution published in 2006 and the blog Skin Guru, "Natural's not always best." Some homemade remedies are ineffective and can even be detrimental to skin.
With summer just around the corner, Baumann and Diane Madfes, a clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, give us the facts and fiction about 10 home skin therapies.
Slide Show: How 10 Natural Skin Helpers Work—Or Don't
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6 Comments
Add CommentNever thought of smoking as a remedy . . .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLol...I was thinking the same thing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Scientific" American !!!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissmoking is a remedy if you want to get rid of young looking skin
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisare any of these based on real scientific evidence or guess work? obviously it is very popular to use terms such as antioxidant, free radical etc but does anybody know what these are doing to skin, body or mind.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm disappointed that something titled 'The Science Behind Skin Remedies..." would contain such little actual science. A few of the remedies that were said to work do so because they contain 'anti-oxidants', which are supposedly act as 'free-radical scavengers' that work to repair and rejuvenate skin.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe fact is antioxidants have yet to be successfully linked with aging.
The theory that aging is caused by "oxidative stress", the action of reactive oxygen types, such as superoxide, has dominated the field of aging research for over fifty years. Numerous studies have failed, however, to find any empirical evidence in support of this. Despite this fact the free-radical theory still dominates the field of aging- not to mention the fact that so many products, treatments, and diets are focused on this malarkey.
Seems to me that since you bothered to go and interview these people that claim such things, you could have at least asked them about the lack of credibility behind the theory. That's not only good reporting, it's also good science.
Finally, if you would have bothered to even do a lit search - how about on the very site your writing this article on - Scientific American - you may have come across some of these article explaining why there is no science behind antioxidants and aging. I provided some links below to help you get started!
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=antioxidants
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=the-truth-about-human-agi
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mouse-research-bolsters-c
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=no-truth-to-the-fountain-of-youth&page=3