Not all stem cells are created equal. They vary greatly in their source, potency, cost, clinical and therapeutic value. There are many differences, and they are very important ones. You've surely heard the expression, "it's the difference between apples and oranges." Here we are talking about the difference between apples and humans. Really, the two have next-to-nothing in common.
Yet skin care products based on apples (they come from the Uttwiler Spatlauber apple tree, which is prized because it lives to a ripe old age) are called stem cell skin care. It's a clever use of words. In fact, the "stem cells" are so-called because they are extracted from the stem of the leaf. Other sources of plant stem cells include herbs.
Lifeline's Neck Firming Complex, ProPlus Night Recovery Moisture Complex and Eye Firming Complex are based on the growth factors derived from human, non-embryonic stem cells that are sourced from some of the nation's top In Vitro Fertilization clinics. That’s a big difference—a research clinic or an apple orchard. But it’s only part of the difference.
Before they can have any benefit to the skin, the delicate growth factors that are extracted from these human stem cells have to be preserved and protected. They're very fragile and easily damaged. So Lifeline encapsulates the growth factors in a lipid nano-sphere, similar to the way in which many time-released pharmaceutical ingredients are produced. These microscopic lipophilic (oil-loving) spheres protect and preserve the ingredients from the hydrophilic (water-loving) base of the skin care cream. This technology isn't unique to Lifeline—it's also used in pharmaceutical products and nutritional supplements. After the cream is applied to the skin, the microspheres penetrate the epidermis and then release the growth factors to the skin.
At that point, the growth factors can begin to communicate directly with the skin cells and act as a messenger to signal the skin to produce more collagen and elastin. That's the body's natural mechanism to repair skin aging—fine lines, wrinkles, and loss of elasticity.
Do you remember the Federal Express tagline, "when it absolutely, positively has to be there." It's not just shipping the growth factors that matters, it's actually delivering them. It’s then—and only then— they can begin to go to work.