Stem Cells In Controversial Beauty Treatments
Article by Janice Wee
How far would you go in order to look younger?
Would you have stem cells, harvested from foetal tissue injected into your body, in order to make your body younger? The theory behind this is that the stem cells would seek out damaged or dead cells in your body and replace them, regenerating your body from within. They also release growth factors that stimulate your body to repair itself more efficiently.
For one thing, this industry (stem cell injections) is not regulated. What if things go wrong? What if the cells injected are genetically incompatible with the recipient and some disease develops instead. What if you get an allergic reaction to the proteins in the injected cells? How safe is it?
By the way, where do these stem cells come from? From the placenta of newborn foetuses, or from aborted foetuses? Are the stem cells from fetuses that impoverished women were paid to carry, in order to harvest the foetus for 8 to 12 weeks, after which the foetus is harvested for stem cell injections?
Stem cell research has many uses. Mainly for more serious medical conditions like spinal cord injuries, juvenile diabetes and Parkinsons disease, among many incurable conditions. Some people feel that its use in beauty is frivolous when so many people are suffering from very real, incurable diseases.
Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos that are still clumps of cells. These embryonic stem cells can become any type of cell in the body, in limitless quantities. These are the most promising stem cells used in research, in the search of cures for otherwise incurable diseases or conditions.
Adult stem cells which are already tissue specific can make one or two types of cells and only in limited quantities. These are currently used to treat leukemia and some blood disorders.
A less controversial, yet rejuvenating alternative, is the use of placental cells for beauty treatments. These are harvested from the discarded placenta of newborn fetuses, hence no fetus is killed in order to obtain these cells.
The use of placental cells in beauty has been around for years. Plazan skincare uses extracts from the otherwise discarded placenta or afterbirth of newborn babies. It is a case of waste not want not. The placenta is rich in growth factors,DNA, RNA amino acids, peptides, vitamins and basically everything your cells need for rejuvenation. Celebs like J.Lo credit plazan for their youthful skin.
Another safe and ethical way to use stem cell research is to use the technology behind stem cell research and not the actual stem cells in the beauty products. Amatokin uses a polypeptide to stimulate your own stem cells to rejuvenate your skin. Now that, and the use of placental cells, might be the better way to go, to achieve younger looking skin.
