Plant Stem Cells In Skin Care

Stem Cells
Stem Cells

Yep, the kitty is an extra and nothing to do with the post! But the flowers are. It cannot be just me that’s head scratching a bit about the use of plant stem cells in skin care. Even with my very limited knowledge of science, I know that plant stem cells and human cells just don’t work together – yet.

You have to bear in mind that stem cells are a ‘thing’ – we hear about them all the time on the news and various programmes and we’ve absorbed the fact that they’re important medically. Ergo, if stem cells are a good thing for the human body in curing disease and so forth, then plant stem cells might well have some sort of positive of beneficial effect on humans too. They really don’t. There isn’t even any substantial evidence that any stem cell, human, animal or plant, can really change anything about the skin. It’s clever marketing. There must be some pretty uncomfortable beauty scientists wondering when the heck this claim might be going to lead back to them and how on earth they are going to prove that plant stem cells have really made any difference to human skin. For a start, I’m pretty sure that stem cells can’t actually enter the skin without some kind of nano-delivery.. and I don’t know if anyone is claiming that combination. Even if they did, what then? What could they possibly do other than deliver an antioxidant boost (they are high in antioxidents)?

So, don’t be put off by the stem cell flag up in your favourite cream but neither be swayed by it. Plant stem cells certainly won’t do your skin any harm.. they just won’t do anything tangible at all. It will be all the other ingredients, such as hyaluronic acid that are helping the look of your skin.

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Jane Cunningham

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12 responses to “Plant Stem Cells In Skin Care”

  1. Leigh Wildthyme (@MsWildthyme)

    Maybe they mean cells from the stems of plants? 😉

    Reply
    1. Jane Cunningham

      Yes, I thought that might make a good defence!

      Reply
  2. Pampered Prince (@PamperedPrince)

    It’s like fairy tale skincare. It would be amazing if it were true but doesn’t matter how much we hope, it’s just not going to happen *turns back into a pumpkin*

    Reply
  3. Phil (@Mirror_Reality)

    Hello Origins haha, I take all claims with a grain of salt usually. My product is a decent spf cream but don’t expect miracle anti aging effects.

    Reply
  4. beautyscientist

    Marketing types will scrape the barrel until they have splinters. I once flippantly suggested ‘washes the hands only where they are dirty’ as a claim for a bar of soap. I was horrified to see it written down and added to the list of suggestions.

    Reply
  5. Heather de Bruin

    Can’t say I agree with your final conclusion as Stem Cells basically take on and reproduce the nature of the environment in which they are , plant stem cells can only reproduce healthy cells{nature’s inbuilt protection} where as human placental stem cells can reproduce cancerous cells and this calls for concern … so once again I choose green! To read more

    http://femmelifestyle.blogspot.com/search?q=STEM+CELLS

    Have a great day.
    x Heather

    Reply
    1. Jane Cunningham

      I’m not sure any stem cells, from whatever source, can be a viable beauty product. Medically, yes, but beauty no. x

      Reply
      1. foofooclubHeather de Bruin

        Well research tends to disagree , here is the evidence from the pioneers in Apple Stem Cell technology?
        http://www.mibellebiochemistry.com/pdfs/Plant_Stem_Cell_Extract_for_Longevity_of_Skin_and_Hair_SFW_05_08.pdf

        Reply
  6. Henry Smate

    I love this, thank you! On a related note, I’d love to hear your thoughts on the efficacy of caffeine in hair products please. *waits nicely*.

    Reply
    1. Jane Cunningham

      I have to confess I have no clue. I like caffeine in my coffee and that’s about it!

      Reply
  7. i love cosmetics

    hi! I work in cosmetics and I would like to share with you some of my insider knowledge.
    You shouldn’t consider plant stem cells as with the function of human stem cells, so to have and extreme and medicall regenerating effect on organs, tissues, etc
    but you should see as a methodology of extracting the plant activity as its full force
    anyway plant stem cells can be very potent actives, as demonstrate by in vivo test on some of them
    I won’t tell you which ones, but I see the scientific papers, the in vitro & in vivo tests with pictures made by external laboratories and most of all I saw the result on myself, which are incredible
    so what is written in this post is quite misleading and most of all not true

    Reply
  8. Marc

    Dear all,

    The diversity of opinions around this post reflect the limited understanding that the lay public has around plant stem cells, mostly because of misleading communication by some industry players. As a disclaimer, I work for a company that produces actives from plant cell culture, and I will explain that term and how it relates to plant stem cells below.

    The article is very right in that plant “stem cells” as such have no value: rubbing cellulose against epidermis has never really helped to make one look 10 years younger. Now plant cells, whether in the usual full plants or cultivated in suspension in bioreactors (this is how you cultivate plant “stem cells”) have the ability to produce secondary metabolites to protect against external stress factors such as cold, UV rays, chemicals, … those metabolites are polyphenols, alkaloids, … Those are the active compounds that you typically expect to find in your traditional plant extracts that make up the vast majority of the natural cosmetic ingredients.

    So plant cells really are only a carrier, a small biofactory that can, when grown correctly (and there is a lot of variation in expertise there), produce interesting and valuable active compounds, sometimes in much higher concentration than what you would find in a typical plant. I would invite people to check http://www.plantcellculture.com to learn more about the scientific foundations of this technology which also has valuable applications in the fields of dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals. In those sectors, the “dream” has no place to exist and it is all about proven efficacy. And that is the potential of plant cell culture, to produce in a green and sustainable fashion valuable compounds found in rare plants. Like for any rather new technology, the end customers have to do their homework to get educated and distinguish the good, from the bad, from the plain ugly…

    Enjoy your products!

    Reply

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