Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE) refers to a popular skin care ingredient which is used by a large number of manufacturers. It is very popular because it is one of the few agents that has been proved to produce skin tightening as well as reduce facial sag.
Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE)
The British Journal of Dermatology had published a study in the year 2007 which brought to light some new safety concerns with regards to the use of topical DMAE. This was a study which was conducted by Dr. Morissette as well as his colleagues in the University of Quebec where they had a look at the effects of DMA in both rabbit skin and human skin cells.
Morissette and his team found that adding DMAE to the cultures of fibroblasts, (an important kind of skin cell) vacuolization occurred. Vacuolization is typically seen in damaged cells as the cells try to encompass as well as expel foreign substances besides their own damaged parts. The researchers came to the conclusion that vacuolization induced by DMAE could be a potential cause of cell damage. Besides, they saw that DMAE damaged the ability of the fibroblasts to divide. Also, once the DMAE had been cleaned out of the culture after a short period of exposure, the adverse effects reversed, though, long term exposure to DMAE is yet to be studied.
An experiment in which 3% DMA is applied to a rabbit’s ear resulted in the thickening of the skin as well as perinuclear swelling (swelling of the area surrounding the nucleus) in epidermal cells. This result was an inconclusive indication of vacuolization as well as its resulting cell damage.
The findings of this study with regards to the day to day use of DMAE in skin care are quite complicated. Here are some points to make it less than straight forward:
Most substances, even those which are known to be useful, can be toxic in certain circumstances, which includes; differing levels of pH or temperature, high levels of concentration, in combination with other substances and so on. An example is vitamin C, in case you are adding too much of it to any fibroblast culture it can be lethal to the cells. Similarly, controlled amounts of Vitamin C which is pH balanced can help to stimulate collagen synthesis as well as provide protection to the cells. It is difficult to say if it is correct comparing the results of the studies of the fibroblast cultures to the daily use of DMAE in skin care products.
The study of the rabbit ear skin is not comprehensive enough to prove anything and thus not necessarily valid. Instead of using pH-balanced DMAE, that is most commonly used in skin care products the test used DMAE in a more alkaline version. It is quite likely that the damage would not have occurred in case a pH balanced DMAE had been used. The rabbit ear test did not go far enough in order to be conclusive for skin care products as it studied the epidermal cells only but not the fibroblasts that play a much greater role in the skins youthful appearance as well as its maintenance. There was no clear evidence of any epidermal vacuolization, it was only slightly hinted at by the observation of the perinuclear swelling. Rabbit ears are made of a much tougher skin than the human facial skin.
This study showed that the effect of the DMAE in cell culture was similar to triethnolamine. Skin care products have contained triethnolamine for many years which, at times, can cause a minor amount of damage to the skin in some people; but it is not particularly toxic to the skin in low dosages. This makes the study’s results even more open to question with regard to the usage of DMAE in over the counter skin care products.
DMAE should never be discounted as any skin care ingredient even in case of a minor amount of skin damage which can be attributed to some DMAE formulas. Indeed many of the skin rejuvenation processes use a controlled level of skin damage, which include chemical peels, alpha-hydroxy acids, as well as laser resurfacing and other treatments. The healing process which takes place as a result of the damage which is done by the treatment helps to improve the makeup of the skin matrix as well as makes the skin look younger.
The University of Quebec study is quite commendable but it is difficult to apply its results accurately when you look at the use of DMAE in commercial cosmetic products. The ideal study would be a human clinical trial in which the topical formulas are applied for a number of weeks using various pH levels as well as concentrations of DMAE. The control group can get treated with only an inactive formula. Then the skin layer would be analyzed and measured in order to gain a much better understanding of the effects of DMAE.
Till accurate data concerning the use of DMAE is available, it is really good to be careful with the strength of DMAE concentration that you use. Keep it less than 1%, which should be safe. It is also important to watch for any negative side effects like skin irritation.