WELL+GOOD posted "Cosmetic Chemists Explain What The Heck “Plant Stem Cells” Do In Skin Care" featuring Dr. Purvisha Patel and Visha Skincare .
The article includes Dr. Patel's expert commentary on plant stem cells and the benifits of having it part of your skin care.
I think it was around the time I was in high school that I learned that people were using stem cells to repair otherwise diseased organs. Science is crazy, right? But now, I see “plant stem cells” touted as skin-care ingredients in beauty products all the time—and immediately my mind goes back to the laboratories. WTF are they actually?
“The term stem cells is a generic phrase which refers to a special type of cell in an organism that can develop into many different types of cells,” explains cosmetic chemist Perry Romanowski. “Embryonic stem cells can be developed into all types of human cells like nerve cells, skin cells, muscle cells, etc. It’s important to know that these are human cells that are specific to an individual.”
In layman’s terms, they’re “undifferentiated cells that have not chosen a path as to what cells they are going to be yet,” adds Purvisha Patel, MD, board-certified dermatologist and founder of Visha Skincare. More specifically, however, I’m looking at plant stem cells—which are different, but have somewhat similar functions. “In plants, these cells live in the meristems of plants,” says Dr. Patel. “They help and regenerate live plants after they have an injury.”
Original studies on plant stem cells on skin came using Swiss apple stem cells, according to Dr. Patel. “Stem cell extracts were found to reverse the aging process of cultured fibroblasts,” she explains. “One of the first specific studies showed a decrease in the appearance of crow’s feet after extract administration. Other studies have followed, and it seems that the major benefit of plant stem cells is in the repair of the skin. These extracts may be beneficial as an anti-aging agent, especially if mixed with tissue exfoliating agents such as retinol, bakuchiol and alpha-hydroxy acids.”