Supplier of: skin actives, cosmetic ingredients, cosmeceuticals, active ingredients, and skin care ingredients, for DIY skin care and cosmetics, and homemade skin care products.
Reviews
This is the best product I have ever used on my skin and I tried a LOT of expansive brands. It helps with redness and overall skin tone. Please do not ever stop making this stuff... ...»
Helena
I' m not sure about this: "11% solution gives 1% EGCG content in final product." What is the weight of final product? .. ...»
Vesna Hanich
It is true, this product does leave the skin silky smooth! I can highly recommend using it in your masks... ...»
Mati Fuller
I am 69 and I have used this product for two years almost every day at a high dose, adding it to my antioxidant day cream, with excellent results. For me it has a very high quality and effectiveness: reduction of wrinkles, hydrated skin, unified color without blemishes ... A product of 10, the same score that I give to John for the quality of the products he sells, his excellent description / use and the bibliographic contribution.En .. ...»
María Jesus
Tried this on my week-old rash from flea bites. Got an almost instant relief and rash healed in 2 days. Tried it on my daughter who has eczema for a very long time. The rashes calmed down after a few days and her skin is now healing well. Really great product. Just put in order for another jar.... ...»
Eliz
This is great stuff. I add it to my liquid face soap and it does an excellent job in preventing acne and gently exfoliating the skin... ...»
Marie
Really loving this product. I make the best Centella toner and most concentrated ever. 2 g of centella extract dissolved in 10g of alcohol(you have to stir a lot) plus 88 grams of water and you get a very concentrated toner. Creams, toners, ampoules... all have only 0,1% of triterpenes, this toner i make have 1,4%. I am loving it, will see the results. .. ...»
Francisco
Just recently ordered this and LOVE! Green Tea EGCG truly is one of the most fantastic skincare actives out there. Very difficult to find good quality product (90%) and even harder to actually solubilize it! Love that it comes in pre-dissolved solution. I enjoy adding it at 1% (so 11% sol) to my serum formulations containing Niacinamide 5% + NAG 3%. Excellent for oily acne prone skin. *Only gripe... because the Pre-Dissolved Solution is SO heavy in propanediol (10 parts Propanediol for 1 part E.. ...»
Victor
Wonderful base cream! Only multi-lamellar structured cream I've found on the market. Cream itself is lightweight (no oil) yet very conditioning/hydrating. Easily accepts water-soluble active ingredients as well as oil-soluble ones. I've even pushed the additional ingred % up to 20 (meaning 80% this cream, 20% added) without any separation issues. Ideal base cream for delivering actives. Personal favorite recipe calls for 5% straight Grapeseed Oil with 5% SebumREG oil active + Panthenol 1% + E Ac.. ...»
Vic
excellence product, very good and made my skin soft and smooth just like baby's skin. Thank you john.. ...»
nky
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Important Stuff

 All customers PLEASE read:

 the FAQ and Delivery Info pages!

Canadian Customers:

Any long delivery delays are caused by The Canada Border Services Agency.
I now ONLY offer EMS as a shipping option to Canada. 
This appears to have resolved most of the delays caused by The Canada Border Services Agency.

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We take NO responsibility for delivery issues caused by customers entering the wrong address in the checkout page

Delivery

BulkActives is a part-time business. Orders are processed and mailed on Saturdays. (TimeZone Order Deadline Chart)

What we sell

We sell  COSMETIC RAW MATERIALS, which are meant to be used at an appropriate percentage in a cosmetic formulation of your devising. Please do not order our products unless you know how to formulate creams and lotions with it!  

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SHIPPING SUSPENSIONS AND DELAYS

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE READ THIS!!!!

Please READ this before placing an order, and select the CORRECT shipping option for your country at checkout!

Due to Wuhan Pneumonia Virus (aka Covid-19) border restrictions and a reduction or cancellation of flights by airlines, we CAN ONLY ship to the counries listed below!

We have also been advised to expect delivery delays at your end, and yes, that INCLUDES USA customers!!!

UK customers, we are finally ABLE to ship to the UK.

We CAN ship to:

Registered Airmail and EMS:
NORTH AMERICA: USA (NOT including Hawaii and Guam), UK
ASIA: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam,Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines
EUROPE: France, Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Finland

EMS only ! (Do NOT select Registered Airmail at checkout)
NORTH AMERICA: Canada
EUROPE: Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Czech, Italy
OCEANIA: New Zealand, Australia

Registered Airmail only!
Cambodia, Spain, Austria, Slovakia, Bahrain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Lithuania

IMPORTANT: If your country is NOT in the above lists, then we CANNOT ship to you at the moment.
If your country does not accept Registered Airmail, then do NOT select it from the shipping options at checkout!

 

Alpha Lipoic Acid (RS-ALA)

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a naturally occurring antioxidant that also shows numerous attractive features for use in cosmetic skin care. It is known as a dietary supplement for a long time, but recent research suggests it may be more effective through other applications, such as skin creams. ALA neutralizes free radicals, thus helping to fight ageing and cancer. It is more effective in combating free radicals than common vitamins, such as vitamin C or E, hence lipoic acid is called the “universal antioxidant”. In skin care, ALA was also shown to promote wound healing, treat and prevent diabetic ulcers. Cosmetics research suggests that ALA can promote collagen synthesis, thus reducing the visible effects of ageing on skin, and improving the appearance without any noticeable side effects. Alpha Lipoic Acid is a key active ingredient in Perricone MD products

Key benefits of Alpha Lipoic Acid in skin care:

  • Antioxidant [1] [2] [5] [7] [8]
  • Anti-inflammatory [5] [7]
  • Stimulate collagen production [14]
  • Reduce fine lines and wrinkles [16] [15]
  • Sun damage protection [17] [19]
  • Sun damage repair [1] [2] [5] [7] [8] [16] [15]
  • Wound healing support [10] [11] [12]

 
Product Code: BulkActives
Assay: 99.83%
CAS#: 1077-28-7
Net weight: 30g /1.06oz
Availability: In Stock
Price: $21.45


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About Alpha Lipoic Acid in DIY Skin Care

Alpha-lipoic acid, commonly abbreviated ALA or LA, is a naturally occurring cofactor, essential for several enzymes involved in generating energy in human cells [1]. It is found in many meat-based foods, such as kidney, liver and heart. However, the quantity assimilated in a normal diet is low, and positive therapeutic effects of ALA were described only using supplements [1]. Also, ALA is synthesized in the body of healthy young adults, but this capability significantly declines with age, suggesting increased need of supplements for the elderly [2].

Most healthcare uses of lipoic acid stem from its antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are a class of molecules that function to combat oxidizing agents, such as free radicals created by UV radiation or metal toxicity. These agents are believed to be among the main causes for ageing and cancer, so supplementary antioxidant use is associated with increased life span and reduced cancer risk in model organisms [3], [4]. Alpha-lipoic acid, unlike other common antioxidants, is able to act both in aqueous and lipid environments, e.g. scavenge free radicals at different parts of the cell [5]. Furthermore, another unique property of ALA is that it is capable of regenerating other antioxidants, such as vitamin C, E or glutathione, and even activate their synthesis in the cell, hence the name “universal antioxidant” [5]–[7]. A strong cooperative effect, emerging when lipoic acid is used together with other naturally occurring antioxidants, has been recently shown in human skin cells [8]. ALA benefits may extend even to vascular disease prevention, metal detoxification, hypertension treatment, and anti-inflammatory properties [5], [7].

Besides the well-researched use as an antioxidant, lipoic acid is attracting interest as a powerful treatment  in various other problems. Despite earlier research focusing on dietary supplements of alpha-lipoic acid, they appear to be both absorbed and cleared rapidly, resulting in limited and transient pharmacological activity [7]. ALA absorption through skin is proven to be effective and shows promise in pharmacology [9]. Therefore, dermal ALA applications are gaining more interest, with most current studies focusing on animal models. Applied directly on skin, lipoic acid has been recently shown to promote wound healing in rats [10]. Together with epigallocatechin gallate, ALA applications successfully treated diabetic skin wounds (ulcers) [11]. It is also suggested as a prophylactic measure, to prevent wounds from deteriorating in individuals at risk for ulcers [12]. Recent studies implicate that lipoic acid supplements could be beneficial for systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) patients [13].

Concerning cosmetic skin care, ALA is an attractive ingredient not only due to its antioxidative properties. Reduction in collagen is the key factor associated with changes that occur in skin appearance due to ageing, and ALA was found to enhance collagen synthesis in human cell lines [14]. A study where subjects  applied 5 % ALA cream to one half of their face found that ALA significantly improved the appearance of treated skin, as evaluated by the subjects themselves, other researchers, and even automatic laser-based measuring methods [15]. Recently, poloxamer (P407) gels containing 5 % ALA were found to reduce facial wrinkles, especially around eyes and in upper lip area, improve overall skin color and texture, without any instances of irritation, peeling or other apparent adverse side effects [16]. In skin care preparations, lipoic acid is often mixed with vitamin C or similar molecules – this combination also protects skin from UV damage, while maintaining the deeper layers hydrated [17], [18]. Protection against radiation damage may also be useful for radiation therapy patients [19]. Vitamin A also increases the stability of ALA, suggesting grouping these substances together [20].
 

The major impact of Alpha Lipoic Acid is as an antioxidant where it has been found to have the following key properties:

  • It has a capacity and ability to chelate metals.

  • It is able to scavenge reactive oxygen species. This means that it is powerful in stopping the chain reactions of free radicals which saves the body from a lot of cellular structure changes and DNA changes.

  • It has the ability to regenerate antioxidants such as Vitamin C and Vitamin E when these have been depleted due to the action of free radicals.

  • It has the ability and capacity to repair the results of oxidation.
     

The effectiveness of Alpa Lipoic acid is believed to be due to its by-product, dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA).

Although DHLA has a more powerful antioxidative effect than Alpa Lipoic acid, it is very unstable and is oxidized in the skin within minutes of application.

Alpa Lipoic acid has become popular due to the fact that it is absorbed in a stable form and after entrance into cells, is immediately converted to DHLA
 

Alpha Lipoic Acid side-effects.

Alpha Lipoic Acid does not appear to have any major side-effects. However, higher amounts of Alpha Lipoic Acid may also cause burning or stinging sensations or a mild rash on skin.
Alpha Lipoic Acid is highly sensitive to UV radiation and degrades very quickly in the presence of UV radiation.
Alpa Lipoic acid should therefore be used as a sun damage treatment, NOT a sun damage prevention product.
  • Alpha Lipoic Acid is an acid and it may irritate. Start of with small amounts. A slight tingling/burning feeling upon application is common, this should go away after a few minutes. If not, remove from face and use a smaller percentage.
  • Alpha Lipoic Acid is highly sensitive to UV radiation and degrades very quickly in the presence of UV radiation. Alpa Lipoic acid should therefore be used as a sun damage treatment, NOT a sun damage prevention product.
Assay: 99.83%
CAS#:1077-28-7
INCI: 1,2-dithiolane-3-pentanoic acid (thioctic acid)
Appearance: yellow powder
Solubility: oil (mixes in a cream), propolyne glycol
Suggested percentage:3% to 5%

Storage: Cool, dry place. Do not freeze. Keep away from light and moisture!
Country of origin: China

NOTE: We are often asked to stock the R form of ALA, instead of  the R/S (racemix) product we currently stock.  At this stage we are not prepared to do so. As far as we know (and if we are wrong please send us the info) there is no solid published evidence to support the negative comments circulating the use of the S form in skin care products. In addition, the problem with the R form, once isolated from the S, is that it is unstable and extremely sensitive to heat, thus making it entirely unsuitable for shipping (unless send refrigerated) and most importantly DIY skin care.
[1]          K. P. Shay, R. F. Moreau, E. J. Smith, A. R. Smith, and T. M. Hagen, “Alpha-lipoic acid as a dietary supplement: Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential,” Biochim. Biophys. Acta BBA - Gen. Subj., vol. 1790, no. 10, pp. 1149–1160, Oct. 2009.
[2]          S. Park, U. Karunakaran, N. H. Jeoung, J.-H. Jeon, and I.-K. Lee, “Physiological effect and therapeutic application of alpha lipoic acid,” Curr. Med. Chem., vol. 21, no. 32, pp. 3636–3645, 2014.
[3]          C. Peng, X. Wang, J. Chen, R. Jiao, L. Wang, Y. M. Li, Y. Zuo, Y. Liu, L. Lei, K. Y. Ma, Y. Huang, and Z.-Y. Chen, “Biology of ageing and role of dietary antioxidants,” BioMed Res. Int., vol. 2014, p. 831841, 2014.
[4]          Y.-S. Ho, C.-S. Lai, H.-I. Liu, S.-Y. Ho, C. Tai, M.-H. Pan, and Y.-J. Wang, “Dihydrolipoic acid inhibits skin tumor promotion through anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation,” Biochem. Pharmacol., vol. 73, no. 11, pp. 1786–1795, Jun. 2007.
[5]          M. Gomes and C. Negrato, “Alpha-lipoic acid as a pleiotropic compound with potential therapeutic use in diabetes and other chronic diseases,” Diabetol. Metab. Syndr., vol. 6, no. 1, p. 80, 2014.
[6]          F. A. Moura, K. Q. de Andrade, J. C. F. Dos Santos, and M. O. F. Goulart, “Lipoic Acid: its Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Role and Clinical Applications,” Curr. Top. Med. Chem., Jan. 2015.
[7]          K. Petersen Shay, R. F. Moreau, E. J. Smith, and T. M. Hagen, “Is alpha-lipoic acid a scavenger of reactive oxygen species in vivo? Evidence for its initiation of stress signaling pathways that promote endogenous antioxidant capacity,” IUBMB Life, vol. 60, no. 6, pp. 362–367, Jun. 2008.
[8]          E. Fasano, S. Serini, N. Mondella, S. Trombino, L. Celleno, P. Lanza, A. Cittadini, and G. Calviello, “Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Selected Natural Compounds Contained in a Dietary Supplement on Two Human Immortalized Keratinocyte Lines,” BioMed Res. Int., vol. 2014, pp. 1–11, 2014.
[9]          M. Podda, M. Rallis, M. G. Traber, L. Packer, and H. I. Maibach, “Kinetic study of cutaneous and subcutaneous distribution following topical application of [7,8-14C]rac-alpha-lipoic acid onto hairless mice,” Biochem. Pharmacol., vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 627–633, Aug. 1996.
[10]        I. C. Külkamp-Guerreiro, M. N. Souza, M. D. Bianchin, M. Isoppo, J. S. Freitas, J. A. Alves, A. P. Piovezan, A. R. Pohlmann, and S. S. Guterres, “Evaluation of lipoic acid topical application on rats skin wound healing,” Acta Cirúrgica Bras. Soc. Bras. Para Desenvolv. Pesqui. Em Cir., vol. 28, no. 10, pp. 708–715, Oct. 2013.
[11]        S.-A. Chen, H.-M. Chen, Y.-D. Yao, C.-F. Hung, C.-S. Tu, and Y.-J. Liang, “Topical treatment with anti-oxidants and Au nanoparticles promote healing of diabetic wound through receptor for advance glycation end-products,” Eur. J. Pharm. Sci. Off. J. Eur. Fed. Pharm. Sci., vol. 47, no. 5, pp. 875–883, Dec. 2012.
[12]        H. Lateef, M. N. Aslam, M. J. Stevens, and J. Varani, “Pretreatment of diabetic rats with lipoic acid improves healing of subsequently-induced abrasion wounds,” Arch. Dermatol. Res., vol. 297, no. 2, pp. 75–83, Aug. 2005.
[13]        P.-S. Tsou, B. Balogh, A. J. Pinney, G. Zakhem, A. Lozier, M. A. Amin, W. A. Stinson, E. Schiopu, D. Khanna, D. A. Fox, and A. E. Koch, “Lipoic acid plays a role in scleroderma: insights obtained from scleroderma dermal fibroblasts,” Arthritis Res. Ther., vol. 16, no. 5, p. 411, 2014.
[14]        B. Han and M. E. Nimni, “Transdermal delivery of amino acids and antioxidants enhance collagen synthesis: in vivo and in vitro studies,” Connect. Tissue Res., vol. 46, no. 4–5, pp. 251–257, 2005.
[15]        H. Beitner, “Randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind study on the clinical efficacy of a cream containing 5% alpha-lipoic acid related to photoageing of facial skin,” Br. J. Dermatol., vol. 149, no. 4, pp. 841–849, Oct. 2003.
[16]        S. Sherif, E. R. Bendas, and S. Badawy, “The clinical efficacy of cosmeceutical application of liquid crystalline nanostructured dispersions of alpha lipoic acid as anti-wrinkle,” Eur. J. Pharm. Biopharm. Off. J. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Für Pharm. Verfahrenstechnik EV, vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 251–259, Feb. 2014.
[17]        P. M. B. G. M. Campos, F. B. de Camargo Júnior, J. P. de Andrade, and L. R. Gaspar, “Efficacy of cosmetic formulations containing dispersion of liposome with magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, alpha-lipoic acid and kinetin,” Photochem. Photobiol., vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 748–752, Jun. 2012.
[18]        A. I. Segall and M. A. Moyano, “Stability of vitamin C derivatives in topical formulations containing lipoic acid, vitamins A and E,” Int. J. Cosmet. Sci., vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 453–458, Dec. 2008.
[19]        G. D. J. Davis, J. G. Masilamoni, V. Arul, M. S. M. Kumar, U. Baraneedharan, S. F. D. Paul, I. V. Sakthivelu, E. P. Jesudason, and R. Jayakumar, “Radioprotective effect of DL-alpha-lipoic acid on mice skin fibroblasts,” Cell Biol. Toxicol., vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 331–340, Aug. 2009.
[20]        A. Segall, M. Sosa, A. Alami, C. Enero, F. Hormaechea, M. T. Pizzorno, C. Bregni, and R. Serrao, “Stability study of lipoic acid in the presence of vitamins A and E in o/w emulsions for cosmetic application,” J. Cosmet. Sci., vol. 55, no. 5, pp. 449–461, Oct. 2004.
 

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