Dr. Jacobs’ Visco-elastic Transforming Serum was featured in a lengthy article in today’s San Francisco Chronicle in a terrific article by Carolyne Zinko called “Stanley Jacobs serum: bitter almond, sweet skin”. In case you missed the article, we have reposted it here. You can read the original on the Chronicle’s website.

Stanley Jacobs serum: bitter almond, sweet skin

by Carolyne Zinko, San Francisco Chronicle

Call him a “Raider of the Lost Art” – the ancient Egyptian art of skin repair, that is. Bay Area facial plastic surgeon Stanley Jacobs has developed a skin cream, Visco Elastic Transforming Serum, that promises to improve elasticity, thanks to the inclusion of bitter almond, a substance that the ancient Egyptians used for skin care. He knows this because he found it in a translation of a 3,000-year-old papyrus scroll detailing surgical practices of the day, and spent a decade of archaeological travel and research trying to find the correct modern-day translation of the key ingredient, hemayet, in a chapter titled “Transforming an Old Man into a Youth.”

It turned out the word meant “bitter almond,” which contains mandelic acid. Scientists have long known that mandelic acid is an alpha hydroxy acid and that its molecule is larger and has a lower penetration rate (which causes less irritation) than others in its class. They also know that it has an anti-bacteriostatic effect that reduces acne and can lighten brown spots, but Jacobs said his own research study of 16 patients showed that its previously unknown, and best, property is improvement of skin elasticity.

Using a German-made Cutometer, a machine that measures the skin’s resiliency and is accurate to 1 micron, Jacobs found that his patients’ skin showed a 51 percent increase in elasticity after using the cream twice a day for one month. The serum also contains resveratrol, glucosamine and licorice root, among other things. It was developed with the help of Jules Zecchino, a chemist and former vice president of research and development at Estee Lauder. At a launch party for the serum tied to the King Tut exhibition at the de Young Museum late last year, Zecchino said that the bitter almond substance was an intriguing find and that he was excited to be working on the product.

Jacobs is enlarging his study group to 30 patients and plans to take his findings to the American Academy of Facial Plastic Surgery meeting in Boston this fall, and envisions other potential applications for use, such as treatment of burn patients and scar tissue. The medical industry widely uses formulations with mandelic acid for pre- and post-laser surgery treatment to reduce irritation and infection.

Jacobs knows that other medical professionals may be skeptical of his findings. “Try it,” he urged. “In science, nobody ever believes anybody unless they do their own testing with their own patients in their own backyard. That’s what we want people to do. We’re bringing a molecule that ancient Egyptians used back into the modern day.”

Look for his daytime sunscreen with SPF 30 and UVA 12+, and a foaming cleanser, both with mandelic acid, in coming months.