Georgia-based CosMedix bills itself as providing “chirally correct medical skin care.” Of course, the first question that comes to my mind is what in the world is chirally correct? I’ll get to that in a moment, but clearly this is a new angle (given that practically no one has ever heard the term before) that sounds impressive until you realize the many shortcomings of this collection of products, not the least of which are inflated prices and poor formulations. Before I discuss how these products aren’t the least bit chirally correct or related to anything medical, I’ll give you some details about what chirally correct is intended to mean (but doesn’t mean) in terms of your skin’s health. Bear with me, because this gets complicated.
The concept of chirality refers to molecules being arranged along an axis in a way that means the left and right portions cannot be superimposed on their mirror image. The human body is a great example of the chirality concept, in the sense that we have two hands (and two feet, ears, eyes, ….) that are mirror images of each other, but not exact duplicates. Think of the concept of trying to place a left-handed glove on your right hand, and you have a simplified, real-world example of chirality.
CosMedix claims that because all of their ingredients are chirally corrected (that is, the molecules are manipulated to remain chirally stable), the user will enjoy effectiveness without the irritation that can result when the same ingredients are present in a product that has not been chirally corrected. There is absolutely no proof in the scientific literature that such molecular manipulation (even if it were possible in a cosmetic) is inherently better for skin or that it can make irritating ingredients harmless. In fact, the concept of chirality as it applies to skin-care products is little more than cosmetics quackery. A report on the Australian Web site of the Melbourne Dermatology Association (
http://www.treatment-skincare.com/July-2007/Chiral-Skin-Care.html) examined what has been medically reported about chirality, and came to the conclusion that what has been published is “either unclear, confusing, and at worse, misleading.”
As is almost always true in the cosmetics industry, claimed “scientific concepts” often have a trace of fact behind them, and that’s true for chiral compounds. They do have physiological realities for people. In terms of biochemical compounds, amino acids can be chirally rotated to the left, while sugars are rotated to the right. Yet as was pointed out, whether oriented to the left or to the right, the human body is capable of identifying and using molecular complexes regardless of their chirality.
There is some research showing that transdermal drugs and other medicines have greater benefit when they are chirally manipulated, but not so great that it provides a distinct medical advantage, and therefore this technique is rarely, if ever, used. Most important, based on the manner in which molecules rotate on their axes, it is impossible to maintain chiral balance; there will always be shifting, and our bodies have evolved to accommodate these shifts. This rather complex concept was summed up beautifully by the following statement, with which I completely agree: “The only people benefiting from skin care product chirality are charlatan pseudoscientific skin care manufacturers, and beauticians who relish the opportunity for therapeutic legitimacy, just so long as it’s unaccountable and presented in a bewildering manner” (Source: Melbourne Dermatology Association Web site).
My co-writer, Bryan Barron’s aesthetician retails the CosMedix line, and her explanation of why it’s important to use chirally correct products was nothing more than marketing double-talk. She couldn’t provide a single substantiated source of information proving such products had any edge when compared to products from any other skin-care line (although she tried, using marketing materials from CosMedix). In fact, she told him that even the CosMedix sales representative could barely explain it beyond the brief description provided in the company literature. As it turns out, there is no reason in the real world to seek or use products claiming to be chirally correct. It’s just another marketing gimmick that hasn’t been proven, but it certainly makes CosMedix stand out as offering something different and, according to them, better for skin.