Cosmedix: Chirally Correct Skin Care Review

Truth be told, even though I was a TA for Organic Chemistry in my college years, I never really thought Organic Chemistry would be all that useful as a future dermatologist.  And then, hark! – a reader sends me samples of Cosmedix skin care, based on the premise that “chirally correct” skin care is more effective.  (For those of you who don’t know, chirality refers to handedness, or the direction in which a molecule is rotated.  For instance, if the center of a flower is connected to petals labeled A, B, C, and D, the petals can be arranged A->D either clockwise or counterclockwise, assuming that A has greater priority than B, B greater than C, and so on.  While the molecular composition is still the same, the arrangement is totally different.)

I like the Cosmedix skin care line.  However, I tend to like the line for its inclusion of certain well-researched ingredients (e.g., retinol, niacinamide, titanium dioxide), rather than for its inclusion of “chirally correct” molecules.  Truth be told, while chirality certainly sounds like a difference maker, cosmetic chemists know the forms of most well-documented ingredients which optimize their function in the skin (for instance, L-ascorbic acid is the absorbable form of vitamin C, and the only one I have seen used on ingredient lists in the past 10 years or so).  That being said, I do applaud Cosmedix for its inclusion of other less well-known chirally-optimized forms, such as L-malic acid and L-alpha bisabolol.  This should increase the efficacy of these ingredients somewhat; however, the degree to which chirality actually makes a difference in the performance of these ingredients has not been published in any independent peer-reviewed research to date, and furthermore, these ingredients tend to be in lower concentrations than the less well-established ingredients (like vitamin C as L-ascorbic acid).

The Best Cosmedix Products

My favorite products in the Cosmedix line are the Clarity serum ($34.00, Cosmedix.com) and Reflect SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen ($44.00, Cosmedix.com).

Cosmedix Clarity serum features one of the highest concentrations of witch hazel I have found in over-the-counter products to date.  According to the journal Archives of Dermatology, witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) contains tannins that act as natural astringents, drying out oozing or bleeding wounds.  Witch hazel is also cited in Complimentary Therapies in Medicine to have anti-inflammatory properties.  Unfortunately, in some patients, witch hazel has also been documented to cause contact dermatitis, and so it is important that patients (particularly with sensitive skin) patch test the treatment and speak with their dermatologists first.

Reflect SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen ($44.00, Cosmedix.com) contains 15% titanium dioxide – one of the highest concentrations of the UVA/UVB physical blocker I have seen to date.  Although the other major physical blocker, zinc oxide, absorbs more UV light than titanium dioxide in the long-wave UVA spectrum, I still like Cosmedix Reflect SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen for its easy spray-on application and high degree of absorbability (works great under makeup)!

Overall Opinions

While I can’t say that I am entirely sold on the premise of “chirally correct” skin care, I am a fan of Cosmedix for its high concentration of many clinically-proven skin care ingredients throughout the line.  I am also open to the possibility that research may be presented in the future suggesting significant differences between, say, L-malic acid and a mixture of L- and R-malic acids.  But in the meantime, I will be enjoying my Cosmedix Clarity serum and Reflect SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen.  🙂