Lip Explosion® Comprehensive Analysis
Lip Explosion®: a Cosmetic Solution for Fuller, More Attractive Lips
~Dr. Nathalie Chevreau, PhD, RD
Introduction
All women want full, plump, seductive "movie star" lips. Often, in quest of perfect lips, women spare no expense, resorting to invasive and painful injections or surgery. In the same way they constantly strive to improve the quality, tone and firmness of their face with cosmetics, most women would choose a cosmetic solution to enhance the quality and the look of their lips... if they were convinced one existed. Now, exciting new research in cosmetic lip enhancement is about to revolutionize how women care for their lips.
The skin of the lips is different from skin in other areas of the body, and this difference necessitates special care. Most skin on the human body has a thick epidermis that limits water loss. However, the lips have a very thin epidermis, making them extremely susceptible to dehydration, chapping, roughness and surface irregularities. Under this thin epidermis, we have a dermis rich in blood vessels that gives lips their red color. The dermis also contains a network of collagen and water retaining macromolecules (glycosaminoglycans, or GAGs) that combine to give the lips their plumpness, elasticity, and softness. But since the underlying dermis in the lip area is prone to dehydration, often these GAGs lose their water content and the collagen molecules become stiff and brittle, much like a dried out kitchen sponge... giving lips an unattractive wrinkled and shriveled look. Reversing the effects of dehydration on the appearance of the lips while protecting these fragile structures will result in plump, well-contoured, attractive lips.
Body Innovations® Lip Explosion is an advanced topical formula that imparts a visible, dramatic improvement in the appearance of lip plumpness and redness within minutes of application and in so doing answers the need women have for effective and long-lasting cosmetic lip enhancement.
Lip Explosion combines a novel peptide (Pal-GHK), an effective moisturizer, a plumping and coloration enhancer, anti-oxidants and a fragrance to provide a topical, non-invasive method for maintaining well-contoured, smooth, and plump lips.
How does this formula work? The improvements in appearance due to the application of Lip Explosion may be related to the findings of research on certain components of the ingredient blend, including reduced water loss, redefined lip contours, enhanced lip moisture retention and increased lip plumpness and coloration.
Methods
To validate these cosmetic effects, in-vitro studies were conducted in which human fibroblasts (cells) were treated during their growth cycle with either the palmitoyl tripeptide (Pal-GHK) or nothing.
The results of this study were quite remarkable, demonstrating that the treated cells underwent specific and dramatic changes indicative of increased plumpness when compared to the untreated cells.
However, it took a human clinical study to demonstrate the dramatic cosmetic effect repeated application of a Pal-GHK containing stick will have on increasing lip plumpness and volume and improving lip contour through the combined actions of dermal hydration and tissue amplification.
Ten female subjects between the ages of 22 and 40 (average 27 years) participated in the clinical study. All subjects had thin, small-vol-ume lips with significant dryness and chapping as assessed by dermatological examination.
Following a week during which nothing was applied to their lips, the subjects applied the colorless Pal-GHK containing stick 3 times daily for a period of 30 days.
Evaluation and lip measurements were performed using the three methods described below at Day 0 and at Day 29 and changes noted. The before and after data comparisons were carried out using a Wilcoxon's statistical test.
Method 1: Clinical evaluation by a dermatologist
A thorough dermatologist examination assessed the surface folds of the lips and scored them on a scale from 1 to 4, with a 1 score being the worst, indicating very marked surface folds and a score of 4 being the best, indicating very slight folds.
Similarly, the dermatologist rated hydration content on a 1 to 5 scale with a 1 indicating dehydration, a 2 indicating poor hydration, a 3 indicating fair hydration, a 4 indicating fairly good hydration and a 5 indicating good hydration.
Method 2: Subjective self evaluation
Subjects rated the changes in comfort, protection and roughness by answering a questionnaire.
Method 3: Lip volumetric measurements
Each subject's head was placed in an ophthalmologic system where the chin and the forehead were resting in a vertical position. Digital images were taken from 2 different angles without touching the lips. Data processing software reconstituted the 3-D image of the subjects' lips by calculating a rectangular area around the lips (Figure 1). The plumper the lips, the greater the area within the rectangle occupied by the lips.
All subjects completed the study and tolerated the test very well. No adverse local reactivity or sensitization was observed during the study.
Results:
The Pal-GHK containing stick produced excellent improvement in the area of hydration, a statistically significant 50-60% increase (p < 0.05). The Pal-GHK containing stick also produced a statistically significant 10%-30% reduction of the lip folds (p < 0.05). These improvements were confirmed by each subject’s own subjective self-evaluation. Every subject (100%) observed an improvement in the state of her lips. 70% of the subjects experienced an increased feeling of softness and noticed that their lips were less rough to the touch.
In addition to reduced roughness and improvement in lip softness, lip volume increased significantly by an average of 40% (p < 0.05) by the end of the treatment period (Table 1). The variability of the effect obtained was within the norm expected for a panel of 10 subjects. Seven out of eight subjects (more than 87%) experienced an increase in lip volume after only 29 days. Subjects also noticed a marked improvement in lip contour.
The other ingredients in Lip Explosion® must be mentioned as they have a known, powerful effect on enhancing the appearance of the lips. Niacin is a proven vasodilator that will temporarily increase blood flow to the lip area. This also results in brighter, redder, plumper, more attractive lips. Camphor and menthol provide a fragrance, flavor and a feeling of freshness, making Lip Explosion pleasant to apply to the lips. Tribehenin in Lip Explosion® is a known powerful moisturizer that will improve the already remarkable hydrating effect of the Pal-GHK compound.
Case Report
This author conducted a test of Lip Explosion gel. Six women between 40 and 51 years old were recruited. They had not applied any lipstick or lip color on the day of evaluation.
Each participant, who served as her own control, was asked to apply a small amount of Lip Explosion gel, thoroughly covering the entire area within her top and bottom lip lines. Digital close-ups of subjects' lips were taken before application and again at 30 minutes after application.
Results:
The participants reported that the gel was pleasant to apply and that they felt a slight tingling sensation and a feeling of warmth in their lip area shortly after application. After 30 minutes, every subject exhibited glossier, redder, plumper, and more visibly defined (contoured) lips. Results started to become visible within 10 minutes of application.
Figures 2 and 3 show before and after photographs of one of the participants. These photographs are representative of the results experienced by the entire group.
Conclusion
Body Innovations® Lip Explosion contains the most advanced and effective compounds known to plump the lips, thereby beautifying their appearance within minutes after application. Continued use of Lip Explosion will increase lip contour, volume and lip "wetness." Lip Explosion is a truly effective, non-invasive cosmetic approach to immediate, visible lip enhancement that women of all ages will avidly seek and appreciate.
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