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Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview

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 Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview
Review Articles

Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview

Muthukumar Amirthalingam, Raviraja N Seetharam*
Email: raviraja.ns@stempeutics.com

Abstract
In the modern society we live in, people prefer to look well-groomed and presentable. Although, this is
completely based on the individual taste and personality, the beauty products help this cause in a great
way and enhance the external appearance. There are many natural and synthetic cosmetic ingredients
in beauty products, providing the aesthetic effect to the person. As the society and science advances,
the search for newer cosmetic ingredients, which offer renewed hope to the growing beauty industry
and consumers. Conditioned media has emerged as one of the disruptive innovations of recent times
in cosmetic ingredients, which may provide superior products compared to conventional products. The
new generation cosmetic products containing growth factors and cytokines of conditioned medium offer
superior benefits to modern age consumers.

Key words: Stem cells, Conditioned media, Cosmetics, Growth factors, Cytokines.

Introduction of a cosmetic industry is driven primarily by product

The definition of beauty has changed over time. In innovation.
the dynamic world we live in, the external appearance
Cosmetics
becomes more important as the beauty within. It is
important for us to look and feel beautiful in our Cosmetics can be defined as any substance that is
living too. It is increasingly important to appear well “meant to decorate or improve the appearance of the
groomed and beautiful in the modern world not only human body without affecting the body’s structure
to impress others but also to boost our confidence. or function.” The word ‘cosmetic’ is derived from
The worldwide market for cosmetic products is likely the Greek word ‘kosmetikē tekhnē’, which means the
to increase between 3.5 and 4.5% over the next five practice of beautifying the human body using dress
years, with a total market value of US$500 billion and ornaments. In the ancient times, the humans
by 20201. The cosmetic industry in India is growing used natural pigments found in plants and fruits to
at an appreciable speed, nearly twice than that of the beautify themselves. Ever since, cosmetics have gone
cosmetic markets in the United States and Europe. through several makeovers and evolved through
According to recent market research, the overall
centuries in terms of the ingredients used (natural
Indian beauty and cosmetic market is currently
or synthetic), source (plant or animal), usage (skin,
marked at INR 60 billion and is anticipated to reach
hair or tooth), etc., and have opened up new avenues
INR 170 billion by 2020; growing at the degree of
15-20% per annum2. In order to appear aesthetically in the current world to explore on.
pleasing and to minimize the effect of ageing, we The global beauty market is broadly divided into
turn towards ‘cosmetics’. The growth and progress
five main business segments
Muthukumar Amirthalingam, Raviraja N Seetharam • Skin care - includes creams, lotions, powders, etc.
Stempeutics Research Pvt Ltd, 4th Floor, Shirdi Sai Baba Cancer
Hospital, Manipal 576104, India • Hair care - includes shampoos, conditioners,
*Corresponding Author leave-on, serums, sprays, gels, colours, etc.
How to cite this article: Muthukumar A, Raviraja NS. Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview. MJMS. 2016; 1(2):
46-52.

46 Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences | December 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 2

 Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview

• Colour (make-up) – includes blush, eye shadows, The growing consumer understanding , the raising
foundations etc. expectation of the product in terms of activity and
• Fragrances – include perfumes, deodorants, efficacy, led extensive research with regard to the
body mists etc. active ingredients used in the cosmetic products.
• Toiletries – include toothpastes, soaps, etc. Despite the presence of ingredients with proven
activity, there is a need to conduct studies on
Branding is an important parameter for the success the safety and efficacy of the product as a whole
of a product. An asset that connects a product to its complying with the regulatory standards.
consumer and helps distinguish the products. The
brand name is the one, consumer tends to remember Stem cells based cosmetics
initially. Consumers want quality products that they Stem cells are emerging science and progressively
can trust on. Being a very brand-aware society, we being used in regenerative medicine and offers hope
tend to associate brand names with quality, making it to cure many critical diseases, especially in unmet
the only reason for which one buys a product. There medical needs. The stem cells are also known to
are other factors, mostly technical and scientific, promote wound healing and several companies are
that consumers have started looking at lately viz., developing wound healing products from the stem
composition and efficacy of the product, safety and cells. When the stem cells are grafted to the tissues,
product registration. differentiate and form specialized cells. However, the
ability of stem cells to survive and integrate into the
Cosmetic ingredients host cell is dependent on the various growth factors
As mentioned earlier, cosmetics have undergone and cytokines. According to a few studies, these
several changes and one of them is in terms of the use factors alone are available in the spent media of
of ingredients. The ingredients that manufacturers harvested stem cells, which can be used for treatment
used earlier, as early as 4000 BC, are strikingly in regenerative medicine and making cosmetic
different from the ones that are used now. For products. This conditioned medium (CM) consisting
instance, ancient Egyptians made use of minerals of various growth factors and cytokines is known
such as copper, lead, ash, etc., to enhance their facial to promote regeneration of damaged tissue. Thus,
features, whereas, Chinese and Japanese used rice the stem cell conditioned medium is an innovative
powder. These instances indicate that cosmetics technology, which can be used in skin care, hair care,
used in those times consisted of naturally occurring and dark circles under the eye3.
ingredients. Over the years, the ingredients changed Collagen, Elastin, and Hyaluronic acid are the
dramatically, and we discovered how to manufacture structural components of the skin and provide
our own cosmetic formula by chemical processes, the skin its strength, elasticity, smoothness, and
replacing the previous known arduous and labour- structure. These structural elements in the skin,
intensive procedures. Presently, several regulations reduce with age. Vulnerability to environmental
and regulatory bodies have been put in place to stresses like UV rays of sun, smoking, toxins,
regulate the use of ingredients in cosmetics. pollutants, and lack of nutrition cause skin damages,
whereby the skin loses its elasticity leading to the
Cosmetic ingredients come from a variety of sources,
appearance of wrinkles, dark circles, and sagging of
including biological, marine, herbal and synthetic
skin.
origins. The effectiveness of these ingredients for
a particular cosmetic application is through the use Growth factors and cytokines present in the CM
of a single ingredient or a combination of several play a role in cell division, growth of new cells,
ingredients in a suitable cosmetic formulation. These and promote the synthesis of collagen, elastin, and
cosmetic formulations deliver the required aesthetic hyaluronic acid. Collagen synthesis, which helps in
effect to the consumers. keeping the elasticity and durability of the skin,

Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences | December 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 2 47

 Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview

making it appear younger. Cytokines, are chemicals We have conducted a market survey of more than 60
produced by stem cells that regulate cell division stem cell based cosmetic products and the following
and promote healing. Cytokines, promote healing of figure (Figure 1) represents the segment wise
tissue by attracting macrophages that clean the cell analysis of these products.
damage, stimulate fibroblasts that secrete collagen
and elastin. Some growth factors and cytokines are
responsible for the reduction of melanin synthesis
that helps in making the skin look fairer reducing
the darkness of the skin. Human stem cell growth
factors are said to stimulate epidermal cells to
thicken the skin, which leads to tightening of the
skin.

Various factors secreted by the stem cells into the

conditioned medium offer important role in various
diseases and conditions (Table 1). Figure 1: Segment-wise analysis of internationally marketed
conditioned media based cosmetic products
Table 1: Source of stem cell conditioned medium and treatment
conditions
Multiple benefits of stem cell conditioned
Source of conditioned Disease condition
medium medium
Human-Adipose derived-MSC Alopecia 4 The growth factors and cytokines present in the
conditioned medium like VEGF, TGF- beta, PDGF
Human-Adipose derived-SC Wound healing 5
provide healthy skin, whereas the factors like KGF,
Human-Adipose derived-SC Myocardial Infarction 6 IGF-1, IL6, and TGF-beta are important in wound
Human-Amniotic fluid-MSC Acute hepatic failure 7 healing. Apart from the skin health benefits, the
Bone marrow-MSC Cerebral ischemia 8 conditioned medium contains essential growth
Human-Adipose derived-MSC Ischemic stroke 9
factors for healthy hair growth and regeneration.
The growth factors present in the conditioned
Human-Bone marrow Fluid percussion-traumatic
derived-MSC brain injury 10 medium have the ability to skin whitening effect,
Human embryonic MSC Chronic kidney disease 11
and used in skin brightening cosmetics and under
eye dark circle reduction products. The conditioned
Bone marrow-MSC Spinal cord injury 12 medium derived cleanser provides mild cleansing and
Human-Adipose derived-SC Acute hind limb ischemia 13 rejuvenation to the skin on daily usage. The stem cell
Human-umbilical cord-MSC Diabetic skin wound 14
cures the critical diseases, and the byproducts make
the person beautify and provides anti-ageing benefits.
Many stem cell companies in the world are selling By applying suitable formulation techniques, these
their own adipose or bone marrow derived stem stem cell derived factors can be made into suitable
cell conditioned media based skin and hair care cosmeceutical and biopharmaceutical products. The
cosmetics products (Table 2). The cocktail of growth stem cell technology not only cures the diseases,
factors and cytokines present in the conditioned but also beautifies and provides a younger look to
medium helps in revitalizing the skin and produces the ageing society. This stem cell research provides
more prominent result. These growth factors are a new hope to the growing population for unmet
biocompatible and help in achieving the suitable medical needs and fulfills the aesthetic look to the
results on continuous application. future generations.

48 Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences | December 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 2

 Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview

Table 2: List of stem cell companies and stem cell based cosmetic products
Parent Company Product Conditioned Medium Indications
source

Luminesce Cellular rejuvenation AD-SCM Anti-wrinkling; Anti-ageing, Firming ,

serum Skin revitalizer
Luminesce advance night repair AD-SCM Anti-wrinkling, Anti-ageing, Firming ,
Jaunesse Global, USA Hydration of skin, Diminishing the
appearance of age spots, evenness
of skin tone

Luminesce essential body renewal AD-SCM Dry and Damaged skin repair, Photo
ageing, Skin elasticity
Luminesce daily moisturizing complex AD-SCM Anti-ageing, Anti-wrinkling
Reluma skin illuminating serum AD-SCM Anti-ageing
Reluma skin illuminating stem cell AD-SCM Cleansing
anti-ageing cleanser

Reluma advance stem cell facial AD-SCM Anti-ageing

moisturizer

Reluma Lash AD-SCM For longer, thicker and darker

eyelashes
Invitrix, USA Reluma Pserene stem cell cream AD-SCM For dry and sensitive skin, eczema,
psoriasis
Reluma hair complex for men AD-SCM Male pattern baldness
Reluma hair complex for women AD-SCM Female pattern baldness
Reluma stem cell hair complex original AD-SCM Male and Female pattern baldness
formula

Reluma stem cell shampoo AD-SCM hair growth and anti-hair loss
Cellure restart skin cleanser AD-SCM Cleansing
Cellure recode balancing toner AD-SCM Skin Hydration and Skin Toning
Cellure regenerate serum booster AD-SCM Anti-ageing, Anti-wrinkling
RNL Bio, USA
Cellure rework eye treatment AD-SCM Under-eye wrinkles
Cellure rebuild AM day cream AD-SCM Skin care
Cellure recover PM night cream AD-SCM Skin care
Luminessce anti-ageing skin serum AD-SCM and iPS-CM Anti-ageing

CyGenX, USA Regenrxx hair serum HFB-CM,AD-SCM and Hair growth

iPS-CM

Stemulation facial cream HMSC-CM Anti-ageing

Cole Martin Inc, USA Stemulation elevate eye cream HMSC-CM Anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle
Stemulation Relance body lotion HMSC-CM Photo-ageing
Osmosis Pur medical Osmosis stem factor serum MSC-CM Anti-ageing
Skincare, USA
Regenica advance rejuvenation day HFB-CM Anti-ageing
repair
Regenica advance rejuvenation HFB-CM Anti-ageing
overnight repair
Suneva Medical, USA
Regenica facial rejuvenation complex HFB-CM Anti-ageing
post procedure

Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences | December 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 2 49

 Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview

Parent Company Product Conditioned Medium Indications

source

Dr Mary stem cell whitening BM-SCM Anti-ageing

Medon Co. Ltd, South
Korea Dr Mary stem cell wrinkle BM-SCM Anti-wrinkle

Dr Mary stem cell renew BM-SCM Anti-wrinkle

International Stem Cell Recovery night moisture serum HNE-SCE Anti-ageing, Moisturizer
Corporation, USA
Defensive day moisture serum SPF 15 HNE-SCE Anti-aging, anti-wrinkle
TNS essential serum HFB-CM Anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle
TNS recovery complex HFB-CM Anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle
TNS eye repair HFB-CM Under-eye wrinkles
Skin Medica, USA
TNS line refine HFB-CM Anti-wrinkle
TNS Lip plump system HFB-CM Anti-wrinkle

TNS illuminating eye cream HFB-CM Under-eye wrinkles

The prestige counter ageing essence BM-SCM Anti-ageing
The prestige counter aging cream BM-SCM Anti-ageing

Luxury cell performance toner BM-SCM Skin hydration and skin cleansing
Beaucell luxury cell performance eye BM-SCM Under-eye wrinkles
cream
Beaucell luxury cell performance BM-SCM Anti-ageing
Pharmicell lab, South serum
Korea Beaucell luxury cell performance BM-SCM Under-eye wrinkles
emulsion

Beaucell luxury cell performance BM-SCM Anti-ageing

cream
Prestige BB cream BM-SCM Anti-wrinkle, skin whitening, UV
damage
Prestige sun block BM-SCM Anti-ageing
Anteage serum MSC-CM Anti-ageing
Cellese, USA
Anteage accelerator MSC-CM Anti-ageing
U autologous adult stem cell AD-SCM Anti-ageing
regenerative firming serum

Personal life science, USA U autologous adult stem cell AD-SCM Under-eye wrinkles
regenerative eye cream
U autologous adult stem cell AD-SCM Anti-ageing
regenerative moisturizer
Carecell gold nourishing cream SC-CM Anti-ageing
Carecell perfect skin 3 in 1 lotion & SC-CM Anti-ageing
Essence
Carecell, South Korea
20% men hair and skin cell SC-CM Hair care
conditioned media

AQ skin solution active serum HFB-CM Anti-ageing

AQ skin solutions
AQ advance hair complex HFB-CM Hair care
Blue horizon skincare Blue horizone stem cell special skin PL&UC-SCM Anti-ageing
serum

50 Manipal Journal of Medical Sciences | December 2016 | Volume 1 | Issue 2

 Raviraja NS et al: Stem Cell Derived Cosmetic Products: An overview
Parent Company Product Conditioned Medium Indications
source

Cell revive serum complete SC-CM Anti-ageing

Stemology Skincare, USA
Cell revive brightening serum SC-CM Skincare
Revitacel replenishing complex HFB-CM Skincare
Revitacell, USA
Revitacel replenishing complex for HFB-CM Under-eye wrinkles
eyes
Caregen Co. Ltd, South Dermaheal stem C'rum HL AD-SCM Anti-hair loss
Korea
Stempeutics, India Cutisera BM-SCM Anti-ageing

AD-SCM-Adipose derived stem cell conditioned medium, BM-SCM-Bone marrow derived stem cell conditioned medium, iPS-
CM – Induced pluripotent stem cell conditioned medium, HFB-CM-Human Fibroblast conditioned medium, HMSC-CM- Human
mesenchymal stem cell conditioned medium, HNE-SCE-Non-embryonic stem cell conditioned medium, PL&UC-SCM- Placenta and
umbilical card derived stem cell conditioned medium.

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