Foreskin derived beauty products are not new

There has been a hum about Valveta, a substance purported to be the newest anti-aging skin treatment (see below).

Although the concept of using foreskins for cosmetic purposes may seem quite radical, it is not really new. This approach is the basis for a very popular skincare cream known as Neocutis. Neocutis products, first developed for burn patients in Switzerland, contain a variety of growth factors -- all derived from a single group of human foreskin cells. We use Neocutis in our Boca Raton, NYC and New Jersey offices as part of our anti-aging skin care approach.

The basis of Neocutis cream’s healthy skin benefits derives from research I performed several years ago. This research, now published in the Journal of Cosmetic and Laser Therapy, showed that when women applied this cream to their face for 6 months, aging skin looked healthier and shinier. When biopsies were performed on the treated skin, new healthier collagen was noted to be induced by the foreskin derived growth factors in the cream.

Foreskin derived beauty products may seem radical, maybe even weird. But they are not new and they can make skin look good.

David J. Goldberg, MD
Skin Laser & Surgery Specialists of NY/NJ
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Upcoming filler will use discarded baby foreskins

You'll be hearing a lot about this filler soon. From today's NY Daily News:

"Vavelta is a clear liquid derived from baby foreskins, donated by mothers whose babies have just been circumcised. The liquid is injected into adult skin damaged by acne or burns.

The results look promising so far, but it's a bit early to get too excited. Vavelta, developed by a British biomedical company called Intercytex, is at least four years away from being available in the U.S. If it does win FDA approval, chances are Vavelta would be used only in the treatment of burns and acne, at least initially, a company spokesperson says.

The treatment, which claims to be permanent, is different from skin fillers like Juvederm and Restylane because it contains tiny skin cells, called fibroblasts. The cells rejuvenate and revitalize damaged, aging skin from the inside by actually repopulating the lower skin layers with millions of healthy young skin cells."

The article goes on to add that one foreskin is enough to create thousands of treatments, as the skin cells can be grown into cultures and frozen. We will back soon with Dr. Goldberg's recent publishedstudy on growth factors in foreskin cells used by Neocutis that lead to healthier skin.