When I come across a new and innovative approach for treating aging skin, I get very excited. Lucky for me, this happened recently when I met a skincare line called MEG 21 at an esthetics trade show.
MEG 21 is a new anti-aging line that specifically targets the harmful effects of glycation. Glycation is a major cause of aging skin (there are other causes too). Stopping glycation, however, is not easy, and there are few ingredients that treat it effectively.
I seldom come across research or even discussions about ingredients that inhibit glycation. This is why I was so excited to discover MEG 21 and chat with its founder recently.
MEG 21’s Key Ingredient: Supplamine
Meg 21 is founded by Dr. Annette Tobia and a team of scientists from the Fox Chase Cancer Research Center in Philadephia, a leading academic cancer research center. Dr. Tobia is a long-time cancer researcher with a PhD in biochemistry.
Under a cancer research grant, they discovered an enzyme implicated in diabetic kidney disease and kidney cancer.
This enzyme, called F3K, produces toxic sugars in the body. These toxic sugars activate the inflammation pathway. In skin, inflammation causes all sorts of problems, including premature aging.
Sugar is toxic to skin
While studying this disease pathway in cancer patients, they discovered an ingredient that stops this F3K enzyme. By chance, they found that this ingredient also exerts the same beneficial action in skin.
This now patented ingredient, called Supplamine, is the magic ingredient for treating glycation!
I love it when discoveries in other scientific fields, such as medicine and physics, find their way into skincare. I also love it when a scientist or physician does ground-breaking scientific research, which is why I am writing this blog post today.
Before I talk more about Supplamine and MEG 21’s novel cream, let me do a quick review on glycation.
A Quick Review of Glycation’s Effect On Skin
Glycation refers to sugar attaching to collagen or elastin (both are proteins).
When sugar and collagen link together, the collagen fibers become hard and rigid. This collagen is deformed and no longer the same original shape. It is also non-functional and irreversibly damaged.
This is why sugar is called “toxic sugar.” It is harmful to proteins like collagen and elastin.
And when collagen and elastin become damaged, your skin wrinkles and sags.
What happens to your skin if the collagen is damaged?
As you might imagine, it’s not a pretty picture.
Glycated collagen collapses the dermal matrix (Extracellular Matrix), which is an important support system in the dermis. When it collapses, it reduces the volume of the fluid in the dermis bathing the collagen and elastin. This fluid is a gel made up of water, glycosaminoglycans, proteoglycans, and glycoproteins. The gel gives skin its turgidity and plumpness.
With there is less volume of this gel, there is less water in skin. Skin becomes less plump and moist.
The result of glycated collagen on your skin? Wrinkles, sagging, less firmness, and sallow tone.
When does glycation happen?
When there is sugar in your body!
Especially when you eat foods containing protein and sugar cooked at high temperatures. For example, grilled meat with a sweet barbecue sauce, egg custard (creme brulee), and many other desserts.
This is why cutting back on sugary foods is good for skin. Besides helping your skin, it’s better for your health too. A high level of sugar in the body can elevate insulin levels and lead to diabetes.
Of course, it is unrealistic to cut out sugar from the diet completely. That wouldn’t be healthy either.
No matter what we eat, we will always end up with some toxic sugar in our skin. The body also produces it through normal metabolism.
Skincare products that can inhibit glycation are very useful. If you can reduce some of the toxic sugar, you will have less glycated collagen. And that means your skin will have better integrity, and it will be more plump and moist.
How Supplamine Works In Skin
The ingredient Supplamine is a compound made of:
- Meglumine – an amino sugar
- Arginine – a natural amino acid
Supplamine does two things:
1. Supplamine stops toxic sugar from being made. This prevents inflammation.
The Meglumine is an enzyme inhibitor. It attracts the F3K enzyme (F3K is the enzyme that produces toxic sugar).
As it turns out, the F3K enzyme prefers Meglumine over the sugar it normally acts upon. So when there is Meglumine around, the toxic sugar never gets made. Think of Meglumine as a distractor!
When toxic sugar doesn’t get made, the inflammation process is blocked. Inflammation is a cascade of many steps. Once it gets going, it creates harmful substances that create a vicious cycle of damage.
Inflammation ages skin. It is a large topic, and to avoid digressing, I won’t review it now. But you can read all about it here.
2. Supplamine neutralizes toxic sugar that has already been made.
The Arginine neutralizes the toxic sugar that has already been produced by binding to the sugar. So basically, it’s using up the toxic sugar before it can attach to collagen.
MEG 21 Smooth Radiance Cream
Smooth Radiance is MEG 21’s key product. It is a rich, emollient moisturizer that comes in an airless pump jar. The price is $110 USD for 1.7 oz.
The cream is suitable if any of these situations applies to you:
1). You have lines and wrinkles (or want to prevent them).
Because Supplamine prevents and corrects the effects of glycation, it should improve lines and wrinkles. According to MEG 21, in as little as 28 days.
The ingredient is packaged in a special delivery system that greatly enhances its penetration into skin.
It also stays active in skin for 24-48 hours. That’s a long time in the skincare world!
I’ve been using this cream on my forehead (where I have forehead lines and one tiny glabellar line). I have not reached the 28 day mark, but when I do, this post will get updated with my results.
2). You have dry skin and can never find a cream that’s moisturizing enough.
How many of you struggle to find a moisturizer that keeps your skin moisturized? People with dry skin or mature clients are always telling me they cannot find a moisturizer that’s moisturizing enough.
Well, here is a cream that you could consider. It is very moisturizing without feeling heavy or sticky.
Skin stays moist longer and becomes more plump because collagen does not get glycated.
My skin type is normal-dry. It’s more dry in the winter. Normally, when I apply a cream, my skin feels well moisturized for the first 2-3 hours. After a few hours, my skin is often left wanting for more. With this Smooth Radiance Cream, my skin stays moisturized for much longer.
3). You struggle with sensitive skin or your skin often gets inflamed.
If your skin is always sensitive or it gets irritated easily, you are susceptible to inflammation. Supplamine can help by stopping toxic sugars from activating inflammation.
The cream can also nourish your barrier and keep it more moist. This will alleviate your symptoms.
Keep this in mind – this cream is not a luxury cream with an ultra smooth, silky texture. So you should not judge it as one. But it is a clinical grade, professional quality product with a high amount of Supplamine and superb delivery system. This is what ultimately matters.
The cream is not as thick as a balm (like La Mer’s original cream), but it is thicker than most creams. If you touch your skin after applying, it will feel just a tiny bit sticky. But not in a bad way. I happen to like it, and I suspect that for those of you with dry skin, you will too.
Too often a nice-feeling cream will feel great for the first two hours, and then feel papery dry afterwards. I would accept a tiny bit of stickiness for skin that stays moisturized any day over the one that feels good but doesn’t last.
You can learn more about MEG 21 on the MEG 21 website.
Related Posts:
- Review: Meg 21 Eye Treatment & Moisturizing Toner
- How Glycation Ages Skin
- What Does Inflammation Do To Skin?
- How Chronic Inflammation Ages Skin
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