Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/734484
www.ascpskincare.com 45 held in stasis and can interact with each other—and then things happen. This is how an enzyme works—by docking with a specific substrate and producing a reaction. ENZYMES AND SKIN REVISION TREATMENTS There are many enzyme and coenzyme (vitamin) activities in the skin that regulate its normal functions. For example, the enzyme collagenase helps to regulate the synthesis of collagen fibers. If collagenase is destroyed by the invasion of an aggressive treatment—such as the drug Roaccutane, acid peels, or severe laser skin resurfacing normally performed on acne-scarred clients— the collagen fibers rush to the source of trauma. These harsh treatments can cause a keloid or hypertrophic scar. This is one of the reasons the old-fashioned phenol acid or trichloroacetic acid peels left the client's skin looking plastic or waxy. The normal proliferation of collagen fibers was accelerated and rushed to the surface in an effort to participate in repair and remodeling of the skin too quickly. A gentler alternative is enzyme therapy. Many enzymes that can be applied topically to the skin can assist in removing the buildup of dead skin cells, often misdiagnosed as dry skin, that manifest in superficial wrinkles. Enzymes can also release gases, impurities, and other effluvia from the skin. This type of treatment can result in younger and tighter skin. It is not the number of enzymes used in formulation that accomplishes this, but the stimulation of enzyme activity in the skin itself. If the correct formulations of enzymes are applied to the skin, hydrolysis of the dead cells and the impurities burdening the living cells begins in about 20 minutes. TOPICALLY APPLIED ENZYMES Enzymes are categorized into several groups. Some dissolve dead protein; others digest starches and excess glucose. Still others help to break up solidified fats in the shunts or openings of the skin. A special enzyme, transferase, can send messages across cell membranes. This is called transcription. In this process, a strand of messenger RNA (mRNA) is synthesized according to the nitrogenous base code DNA. The enzyme RNA polymerase binds to one of the DNA molecules in the double helix. The other strand remains dormant. RNA moves the DNA strand reading the nucleotides and positions them in an mRNA molecule according to the principle of complementary base pairing. The mRNA WHAT IS AN ENZYME? Enzymes are nature's biological catalysts. For many years, skin care therapists and even physicians believed that enzymes were not suitable for real skin therapy because they were huge protein molecules—too big to penetrate the skin. The fact is, enzymes are not proteins any more than a light bulb is electricity. Skin therapy enzymes use proteins formed in plant and some animal cells to act as organic catalysts in initiating or speeding up specific chemical reactions. HOW DOES AN ENZYME WORK? Research shows that enzymes combine temporarily with a reacting molecule. Mutual contact and interaction of surrounding molecules is then no longer a matter of chance but a matter of certainty; hence a faster reaction or result. For example, when the body breaks down a carbohydrate, the energy used to hold the carbohydrate is released and immediately used or stored in the body. This is called metabolism. Metabolism is divided into two functions: anabolism (for synthesis of cell material) and catabolism (for the decomposition of cell material). These reactions would be very slow unless assisted by proteins and orchestrated by enzymes. Enzymes work by joining to the substrate (reactant) to form an enzyme- substrate complex and then produce the products of the reaction. The enzyme itself never changes and is not used up in this reaction; it is released for repeated use. Think of an enzyme as a space station. Around this station could be many different types of spaceships flying at random, not interacting with each other at all, thus accomplishing no missions. The space station has a docking port for a specific style of ship. If the ship docks in its own port and another ship lands in its correct place on the space station, they are