DNA repair enzymes and growth factors are more effective at reversing skin damage – and preventing skin cancer – than any antioxidants, according to leading Beverly Hills dermatologist Dr Ronald Moy.
Dr Moy, who was in Sydney this week to promote DNA Renewal, the skincare brand he founded eight years ago, says that DNA repair enzymes and growth factors are currently the most effective anti-ageing ingredients known to science but it is difficult to “move consumers away from their false belief in the power of antioxidants”.
“DNA repair enzymes and growth factors are still new concepts for most people but the effectiveness of both has been proven.”
In 2015 a study into DNA repair enzymes’ effectiveness won a Nobel Prize for Chemistry while around 30 years earlier a team of scientists was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for the discovery of cellular activators known as Growth Factors.
Dr Moy says the scientific proof of the effectiveness of both is particularly exciting for Australia “which has such a high rate of skin cancer”.
“Sadly despite the use of sunscreen in the last 20 years or so the rate of skin cancer is not going down.
“I think sunscreen tends to just give people a false sense of security as most simply don’t apply enough for it to work effectively.”
Dr Moy began developing the DNA Renewal skincare range after a 2001 study proved the effectiveness of topically applied DNA repairing enzymes in reducing the number of skin cancers that developed in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum, a condition that increases their risk.
Dr Moy, who is as a past president of the American Academy of Dermatology and American Society of Dermatology as well as former vice president of the US Skin Cancer Foundation, said the study instantly opened his mind to the possibility of preventing skin cancer in the general population with a topically applied cream.
Today the DNA Renewal range is made up of 12 “age-reversing products”.
“By replenishing those DNA repair enzymes that have been compromised by our environment and bad habits, DNA Renewal is clinically proven to decrease wrinkles and pore size, as well lift and tighten the skin of the eyes and lower face,” says Dr Moy.
“At the end of the day, youthful skin is the result of repairing the damage already done and preventing any further damage in the future.”
Yet despite the increasing success of the skincare range, Dr Moy laments that many consumers and skincare professionals remain unconvinced of the effectiveness of DNA repair enzymes and growth factors in skincare health.
“Sadly many people, particularly older ones who need effective skincare the most, don’t believe that DNA can be repaired.”
Dr Moy attributes this reluctance to even try products containing DNA repair enzymes and growth factors to “the fact that most consumers, and professionals, believe that antioxidants, particularly vitamin A, are the best, or even only option, in the fight against skin ageing” – although the belief is based on 50-year-old research that has now been superseded.
‘There is little scientific evidence that topically applied vitamin A actually improves skin health very much,” he says.
“Big pharma is largely behind the popular belief although most of the original evidence was based on a study of just 17 people over 12 weeks which showed that the patients got small benefits (and irritated skin).
“Although small benefits that can be provided by antioxidants, DNA repair enzymes are superior in repairing sun damage and skin health so I believe that DNA repair enzymes and growth factors will be the way of the future as instead of potentially mopping up DNA damage with antioxidants, we now know that we can attack skin damage head on.”
Dr Moy believes the only impediment to the popularity of DNA repair enzymes and growth factors is educating consumers and professionals about the scientific advances.
“Companies such as DNA Renewal at the forefront in developing skincare products with DNA repair enzymes and growth factors don’t have the money to compete with the marketing budgets of the big companies that have invested millions of dollars the promotion of antioxidants for the last five decades,” he says.
“And that’s a pity because DNA repair enzymes and growth factor can stop skin cancer from occurring – and reverse visible signs of skin ageing.”