What Is Transdermal Sulfur?

The word "transdermal" means "through the skin." It is one of the main thrusts of this web site that the cells in the skin are often mal-nourished because of chemical cosmetics laid on them, because of poor blood circulation in the tiny capillaries and because the blood, no matter how little of it reaches the skill cells, is deprived of nourishment because of the terrible diets people live on.

In this scene one of the most promising methods of restoring the health and beauty of the skin is to find out what nutrients are the most basic for skin health and beauty, then find out how that nutrient can be delivered to the cells in the skin.

As covered very thoroughly elsewhere, it is the element sulfur, in any one of several natural forms, that is the primary nutrient for skin, nails and hair. Whether or not a diet rich in sulfur-containing foods would be sufficient, it is clear that this might not be enough when the blood doesn't reach those cells.

If some substance can be applied topically (on the skin) which IS the food needed by the skin cells that might work wonders.

AND IF THAT SUBSTANCE had the characteristic of being able to "pass through" the skin -- that substance would bypass the normal barrier function of the skin and deliver that food through the skin and into the top layers of skin. Those would be the layers where the substance could be absorbed by those cells of the skin -- bringing the very nourishment they need.

For a final marvel, if that (food) substance not only passed through the skin easily but CARRIED OTHER SUBSTANCES WITH IT, then you would have just what the drug industry has been excited about for decades -- a "transdermal patch" that allows one or more substances (such as birth control drugs, or chemo therapy or even vitamins) to be applied "topically" (on the skin) and thus move through the skin to do their work within the body.

Such stuff does exist.

 

Link Definition Source
1/pop12 Through or by way of the skin. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
1/pop12 relating to, being, or supplying a medication in a form for absorption through the skin into the bloodstream Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
 

trans = "through"

dermal = "skin"

Derivation
     
/1/pop12

It is thought that certain compounds help to penetrate the skin barrier by opening naturally closed channels for a period of time. These penetration enhancers help the skin to absorb the drug.

 Eeric Truumees, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Weissman, Gitlin, Herkowitz, PC
Southfield, MI, USA

When taken orally, many drugs are destroyed by the liver. Drug administration through the skin often provides a slower, more controlled alternative route for release into the blood stream. The mechanism by which drugs penetrate the skin and enter the blood stream is not trivial, as the skin behaves as a natural barrier. It is vital, therefore, to understand the structure of the skin, and in particular the stratum corneum, or upper surface, before trying to address drug transport across it. A group of workers from the Leiden Center for Drug Research in The Netherlands has used the SRS to study this problem in detail. (Source)

The word indicates, usually, some substance which, when applied on the skin moves ("perfuses") through the skin in some way that can be measured as significant.

 

Link
Definition
Used In
v 1: force a fluid through (a body part or tissue); "perfuse a liver with a salt solution" 2: cause to spread or flush or flood through, over, or across; "The sky was suffused with a warm pink color" [syn: suffuse] WordNet ® 2.0, © 2003 Princeton University
  1. To pour or diffuse a liquid over or through something.
  2. To force blood or other fluid to flow from the artery through the vascular bed of a tissue or to flow through the lumen of a hollow structure.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary

 

How would you measure the amount of "perfusion" of some substance -- comparing it to another. That is,

  • What percentage of the topical material perfuses>
  • How long does it take to perfuse 50% of what will be perfused?
  • What indication is there of how "deep" it penetrates?
  • How do you detect the perfusion of other substances that might be combuned with the "transdermally active" substance?

Here is a study of some of these factors:

Connect Tissue Res. 2005;46(4-5):251-7.

 Related Articles, Links
 
Transdermal delivery of amino acids and antioxidants enhance collagen synthesis: in vivo and in vitro studies.

Han B, Nimni ME.

Department of Surgery, Keck School of Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90032, USA.

One of the most visible changes associated with the aging process in humans relates to a progressive thinning of the skin. This results from a decline in both collagen and glycosaminoglycans, as well as from changes in their chemical structure and 3-dimentional organization.
 
Transdermal administration of antioxidants, a -lipoic acid (LA) (0.5%) and proanthocyanidin PA) (0.3%) in a standard cosmetic vehicle base formulation supplemented with 2% benzyl alcohol as a penetration enhancer, a mixture of essential amino acids (0.2%), significantly enhanced collagen synthesis and deposition.
 
The amino acid mixture was designed to mimic serum concentrations, with supplemental methionine added to provide additional sulfur.
 
The histological appearance of the skin of mature female rats treated in this fashion reflected the increased deposition of collagen in the dermis as well as a thickened epidermal layer.
 
The changes do not seem to be mediated by TGF- ss or PDGF, two growth factors known to stimulate collagen synthesis. At lower concentrations, a -lipoic acid did not affect cell proliferation but at higher doses, while it had an inhibitory effect on (3)H-thimidine uptake, it did enhance collagen production. Pronanthocyanidin did not affect cell proliferation but significantly increased collagen synthesis by cultured fibroblasts.

PMID: 16546829 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE](source)

The above research report, like most of those published by the PubMed service, contains fancy words that make it difficult for the layman to understand. Click here for the local copy, in a pop-up window, of some 20 similar studies.

You can take with you the simple understanding that the perfusion of sulfur through the skin is something that has been studied -- almost only with the perfusion of drugs or cosmetics, even if sulfur was involved, it has not been shown to be a "natural organic sulfur" as is MSM -- Methyl Sulfonyl Methane. MSM is the base ingreident in the Vibrant Skin Repair Cream.

In fact this cream holds the maximum of MSM that could be put into the mixture since some of the ingredients, such as essential oils and vitamins, are oil soluable, not water soluable, and they do not act to dissolve MSM.

I researched and published on just these interests, originally, for my good friend, Dr. Ayyangar, the creator of the Vibrant Skin Repair Cream. Click here for a full description of MORE information about the transdermal nature of MSM and as it can be enhanced with Ayurvedic components.

 
 

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