For the Love of Squalene
Tom Gawriluk, PhD (tom@tritera.co)
Thank you for checking out the first series of posts about our favorite ingredients. We will continue to produce this content and hope that we can use this space for conversations with you (our customers!) about current and upcoming products. The first ingredient is squalene, which Davis introduced during Shark Week! In this series of posts, we will present why we are excited about squalene with the goal of helping you understand how squalene keeps your skin healthy and why you will want to use Tritera products in your daily skincare routine. Where a scientific study is mentioned the reference is given so that you can delve further at your leisure. Please send us any questions and we will do our best to keep the conversation going.
At Tritera, we love squalene. In fact, we are and will continue to include squalene in every one of our products because we love it so much. Squalene is natural, acts as an antioxidant, and our skin needs it. Squalene is a molecule that contains 30 carbon and 50 hydrogen atoms with 6 double-bonded carbons. As you can see in the model below, the double bonds give squalene some distinctive kinks in its structure and provide unique chemistry. Squalene is classified as an unsaturated hydrocarbon—or oil—and is also known as a triterpene—hence our name Tritera and our Tri-size bottles. Terpenes are a wonderfully diverse and useful group of molecules that we will discuss in a future post. Data from a recent genetic study supports that squalene is synthesized by nearly every Eukaryotic organism on Earth (Wang et al. 2014). It is produced by so many organisms because squalene is the precursor for sterols, like cholesterol and estrogen, which are fundamental molecules for countless biological processes. Squalene is synthesized by combining two farnesyl pyrophosphate molecules and the reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme named “squalene-synthase”. Remarkably, squalene is synthesized in greater than 99% of the cells in our bodies. Beyond being an intermediate to sterols, squalene is also used directly by many organisms, like in human skin. The almost ubiquitous use of squalene makes it an essential molecule for life and a natural product.
Squalene Model
This cartoon representation of squalene depicts hydrogen atoms (white), carbon atoms (gray) and bonds (black).
When it comes to our skin, squalene is a vital oil. Here, we will take you down several layers to describe why. Our skin is our largest organ and it is composed of hundreds of layers of cells, nerves, blood vessels and glands classified into three distinct regions: epidermis (outer), dermis (middle) and hypodermis (inner). Each one of the layers has a slightly different role but all of them work together for one major goal (see diagram below). Skin functions as a barrier to the environment by keeping bad organisms (think bacteria, viruses and parasites), electromagnetic waves (think ultraviolet light and radiation) and pollution out of our body and by preventing water loss from inside of our body. One way that skin performs its barrier function is through the presence of skin surface lipids. Composed of sebum and skin-cell membrane lipids, skin surface lipids provide that oily and protective layer we are all familiar with when we wipe our foreheads. Sebum is a complex mixture of oils and waxes that is created by skin cells and secreted onto the surface of our skin from sebaceous glands. These glands are found on most of our skin with a few exceptions and the greatest number of sebaceous glands are located on our faces. Sebum is most visually striking as the thick stringy mixture that comes out of pores when you squeeze your skin or use a peeling mask. There are plenty of debates focusing on the how and why overproduction of sebum creates skin problems, like acne. This is something we can discuss in a later post if there is interest. Nonetheless, it is clear that a consistent turnover of sebum—to remove old sebum and replenish with new—is needed for skin to remain clean and moisturized.
Diagram of Skin Structure
Interestingly, while the total amount of squalene inside an individual cell remains very small, data comparing skin from many different animals shows that our skin sebum contains one of the highest concentrations of squalene when compared to other animals (Nicolaides et al. 1968; Lindholm et al. 1981). Why there is such a stark difference in squalene concentration between humans and other animals remains mostly untested and unknown, but comparing the enzymes present in skin and components of sebum among closely related species to humans, the data suggests squalene content is an acquired trait during human evolution (De Luca 2010). Similar to how the Amaranth plant has high amounts of squalene, which Chase discussed recently, our skin is unique in its squalene content. Multiple studies estimate that approximately 12% of the weight of our sebum is squalene (Downing and Strauss, 1974). Additionally, the components of sebum—like squalene—bathe skin cells present in the epidermis and dermis, which keeps our skin layers lubricated, flexible and healthy. As such, squalene acts as a barrier and moisturizes skin AND is a natural and prominent component of human skin.
Maintaining the amount of squalene in our skin becomes important when we want youthful skin. As we age, our skin loses elasticity and firmness, and becomes drier. This results in wrinkles, discoloration and sagging skin. These changes are in part due to reduced enzyme activity in our skin cells and a reduction in the total amount of sebum created. By sampling skin from people of different ages, it is known that the amount of sebum produced by our skin peaks between 22- and 42-years old and then starts to decrease (Pochi and Strauss 1974; Nazzaro-Porro et al., 1979). This is most extreme for women who experience a 45% decrease in sebum secretion over the two decades after turning 40-years old (Cotterill et al. 1972). It follows that the total amount of squalene associated with our skin would also decrease as we age. One study tested the concentration of squalene in human skin biopsies and found a 17% reduction in the total squalene present in 70- compared to 22-year old skin (Passi et al. 2002). Therefore, the data suggest that a decrease in the amount of squalene on our skin is associated with the start of dry and wrinkled skin.
While Tritera is a young product that has been on the market for less than a year we have seen some wonderful results. Self-reported reviews from customers support that applying Tritera Pure Squalene Serum or Optimal Antioxidant Serum reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Additionally, several customers have described a reduction in discoloration and inflammation after using Tritera for a few weeks. These are individual data points and we have not performed a scientific clinical study, but sometimes the results speak for themselves. Please follow our Instagram page (@triteracare) to look at reviews of Tritera for yourself.
We hope you have a better understanding that squalene is a natural skin oil and that the amount of squalene in our skin decreases with age. We put squalene into Tritera products so that you are able to maintain and replenish your natural squalene and keep your skin looking and feeling healthy. For our next post, we will focus on how squalene acts as an antioxidant and some of the physical properties how it absorbs quickly and evenly into our skin.
References
Cotterill, J.A., Cunliffe, W.J., Williamson, B. and Bulusu, L., 1972. Age and sex variation in skin surface lipid composition and sebum excretion rate. British Journal of Dermatology, 87(4), pp.333-340.
De Luca, C. and Valacchi, G., 2010. Surface lipids as multifunctional mediators of skin responses to environmental stimuli. Mediators of inflammation, 2010.
Downing, D.T. and Strauss, J.S., 1974. Synthesis and composition of surface lipids of human skin. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 62(3), pp.228-244.
Lindholm, J.S., McCormick, J.M., VI, S.W.C. and Downing, D.T., 1981. Variation of skin surface lipid composition among mammals. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Comparative Biochemistry, 69(1), pp.75-78.
Nazzaro-Porro, M., Passi, S., Boniforti, L. and Belsito, F., 1979. Effects of aging on fatty acids in skin surface lipids. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 73(1), pp.112-117.
Nicolaides, N., Fu, H.C. and Rice, G.R., 1968. The skin surface lipids of man compared with those of eighteen species of animals. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 51(2), pp.83-89.
Passi, S., De Pità, O., Puddu, P. and Littarru, G.P., 2002. Lipophilic antioxidants in human sebum and aging. Free radical research, 36(4), pp.471-477.
Pochi, P.E. and Strauss, J.S., 1974. Endocrinologic control to the development and activity of the human sebaceous gland. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 62(3), pp.191-201.
Wang, J.R., Lin, J.F., Guo, L.Q., You, L.F., Zeng, X.L. and Wen, J.M., 2014. Cloning and characterization of squalene synthase gene from Poria cocos and its up-regulation by methyl jasmonate. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 30(2), pp.613-620.
