Product Review: Vitaphenol Cellustructure Rejuvenating Serum and Skin Care Collection

If your skin is too sensitive for retinol or AHAs, or if you simply have to try the latest and greatest, you might very well like the Vitaphenol Skin Care Collection.  Created by Avidas Pharmaceuticals, the Vitaphenol line features a unique combination of some very potent antioxidants (mangosteen, pomegranate, green tea, white tea) to fight free-radical induced aging, plus the Vitaphenol Cellustructure Rejuvenating Serum ($195.00, Vitaphenol.com) includes a combination of human growth factor TGF-Beta-1 and a stabilized L-ascorbic acid (7.5%) to increase collagen production.  According to a 2006 study in Dermatological Surgery, this exact combination of human growth factor TGF-Beta-1 and 7.5% L-ascorbic acid improved physician-assessed wrinkle scores by an average of 21.7% in 27 of 31 blinded subjects.  Although the Vitaphenol Skin Care Collection was developed by Dr. Michael Goldman, and Dr. Goldman was also an author of the publication, the study notes that the physicians were “blinded” so as not to know which patients received treatment and which did not. 

Growth Factors:  Effective Without a Transdermal Delivery System?

Growth factors in general present an interesting question for the dermatological community.  TGF-beta-1, a profibrotic cytokine, is currently found in both TNS and the Vitaphenol Skin Care Collection.  In a number of wound studies, including this 1997 Nature article,  TGF-beta-1 has been associated with collagen synthesis, increase tensile wound strength, stimulate granulation tissue formation, increase the thickness of regenerated dermal tissue, and to stabilize the dermoepidermal juncture.  However, these are wound studies, where the top layer of skin (the stratum corneum) is abraded.  As Dr. Douglas Kligman, M.D. Ph.D. points out in a 2007 letter in Dermatologic Surgery, arguments that TGF-Beta-1 and other growth factors stimulate collagen growth would be strengthened by the presence of evidence that growth factors are able to penetrate the stratum corneum (the outermost layer of skin) and thereby affect the dermis, where collagen fibers are produced.  Current methods in development to deliver growth factors to the dermis are iontophoresis, microporation, phonophoresis, and liposomal delivery systems, but until these methods are mainstream in skin care, the mechanism by which topically-applied TGF-Beta-1 (and other growth factors) are able to stimulate collagen production in intact skin is unknown. 

Other Ingredients = Excellent

Of course, even without the inclusion of TGF-Beta-1, the Vitaphenol Skin Care Collection provides some well-established ingredients.  Stabilized 7.5% L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on its own has been shown to stimulate collagen production in numerous studies, including this article from PNAS.  The other antioxidants in the Vitaphenol Skin Care Collection are also phenomenal: mangosteen, pomegranate, green tea, and white tea.   While mangosteen has been associated in a large number of recent studies with the potent antioxidant activity (due to its high content of xanthones), anti-inflammatory activity, and anti-carcinogenic activity like other popular antioxidants in skin care, this is the first line I have encountered featuring the ingredient.

Personal Use and Opinions

After one month use of the line, my favorite product is the Vitaphenol Cellustructure Rejuvenating Serum ($195.00, available from selected physicians’ offices), which is the only product in the line to feature both TGF-beta-1 and the full 7.5% L-ascorbic acid.  The product is lightweight under sunscreen for day, locks in moisture well (due to its high inclusion of dimethicone and dimethicone cross-polymer), and left my skin feeling soft.  In a study comparing Vitaphenol Cellustructure Rejuvenating Serum ($195.00 for 1.0 oz) to the popular similar growth factor-containing Skinmedica TNS Skin Recovery Complex ($98.50 for 0.63 oz, Amazon.com), subjects preferred Vitaphenol Cellustructure Rejuvenating Serum over TNS, mainly due to the unpleasant smell of TNS.  In addition, 65% of the patients said they like the way Vitaphenol Cellustructure Rejuvenating Serum felt on their skin vs 47% for TNS.  My only qualms with the product are the price (a bit steep) and the fact that the growth factors are not delivered with a transdermal delivery system.

At any rate, a solid product.  I give it a solid 7.5/10. (High concentration of ingredients proven in peer-reviewed studies:  3/3.  New technology or formulation: 2/3, with a deduction for no transdermal delivery system.  Price: 1.5/3.  Expensive!  Sunscreen: 1/1, for it is available in the day lotion).