Not to throw more scientific jargon at you, but we cannot begin this year without giving you a heads up about Biotech Beauty. Since our launch, we’ve been introducing all these concepts around the microbiome and pre, pro and postbiotics in skincare, and now we think that you mindful beauties are ready for Biotech Beauty!
The Biotech Boom
Biotech Beauty, also known as bio-beauty, combines biotechnology and cosmetics to create skincare products that are backed by scientific research and technology. These products are developed using advanced biotechnology techniques such as cell culture, genetic engineering, and microorganism fermentation.
We at Pure Culture find this space so cool and exciting because it helps address so many of the issues that we face around mindful product development.
As an example, we are always looking for ways to lessen our impact on the environment, and a lot of our efforts are around finding sustainably sourced raw materials. Majority of raw materials traditionally come from one of the following sources:
- Animals and animal by-products
- Plants
- Petrochemicals
But, thanks to biotechnology, we are so proud to share that the collagen that is found in all Pure Culture products is not derived from any of these sources. It is derived from microorganism fermentation!!!
The goal of Biotech Beauty is to create high-performance, scientifically-proven, sustainable skincare products that are effective in addressing specific skin concerns. These products may contain active ingredients derived from plants, microorganisms, or biotech processes that mimic the beahvior of natural ingredients. What’s amazing is that these ingredients have been found to have better results than the ones that were derived from animals.
With the constant innovations in this type of technology, we have been very purposeful in continuously researching and testing around biotech to ensure we are making the most of what these natural ingredients can offer. There is still a lot we have to learn but in the meantime, here are the most important points to remember:
- Biotech, as intimidating as it sounds, is just the use of microorganisms and enzymes that have been fermented in order to get specific results
- Biotech ingredients are created by scientists who collect natural substances to repurpose and recreate them into raw ingredients.
- Through this process, we are able to study what exactly is good for our skin and in return, we are able to create them in an almost endless supply. Biotech Palm Oil alternatives and fermented polysaccharides are only a few examples of what we were able to recreate thus far.
Pure Culture is Biotech
As we previously mentioned, Pure Culture’s building blocks are very much aligned with biotech. It only makes sense as our values around biocompatibility, microbiome-friendliess and sustainability go hand-in hand with biotechnology.
Here are some of the biotech ingredients we are currently using in our formulations:
Collagen
Gelator, a California based biotech firm created HumaColl21, the first ever bio-designed vegan human collagen. It is the first of its kind commercial human Type 12 created through microorganism fermentation, and is demonstrated to deliver superior effects compated to marine collagen. It is a goldmine for us because it is unmatched in purity and biocompatibility.
Elastin
Elastin is the talk of the town these days with skin elasticity being a huge beauty focus. Elastin is what allows the skin to stretch and recoil, and be bouncy.
Elastapure is the world’s only pure human elastin ingredient for topical skincare, and is the highest molecular weight elastin ingredient available in the market.
Lactic Acid
Purac, another biotech leader, provides us with our lactic acid solution - an ingredient made by fermenting carbohydrates and purifying it untill it is left with the purest form of the ingredient itself. Lactic acid can be found in the majority of our products but primarily our Wild Algae Collection, known for its ability to lighten dark spots, fine lines and its usability to all skin types.
CoQ10
Lastly, Kingdomway gives us our Coenzyme Q10. Created through fermentation, this ingredient is packed-full of antioxidants that protect the skin from environmental stressors whilst simultaneously energizing your skin by helping it retain moisture. It is a super enzyme in itself.
We have primarily chosen to go the biotech route for two reasons, the first having to do with sticking with the all-natural path and second to avoid extracting these ingredients from animals. It is simply the better, more environmentally friendly and humane way to produce skincare.
So now that you’re all caught up, you now have no excuse but to level up your skincare. If you don’t have time to keep up with the latest biotechnology innovations, you can start by minding the labels before buying your products. Firstly, make sure that they don’t contain harmful toxins found in our Heck No Checklist. Secondly, go with brands that declare where their ingredients are derived from. Are they plant-derived? Are they fermented through biotech or extracted from animals? Majority of the time, if they aren’t declared, chances are they are petrochemical-derived. These questions are hard to answer but leveling up is not a walk in the park. Not to worry though, we will still be here to hold your hand through it!