Stem cells have been integrated into beauty for the last few years. There are apple stem cells, rose stem cells and even plant stem cells. When it comes to reaping the benefit of these specialized extracts, the world of plastic surgery has gained ahold of them, too. First, it was all about the skin-rejuvenating benefit of stem cells when extracted from fat and used to rejuvenate the face. While it seemed promising, there was no hardcore scientific data that proved that the stem cell facelift actually did any more than regular fat injections.
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Now, it’s all about utilizing stem cells from the umbilical cords of newborns—controversial, yes—in hopes of turning back the hands of time. New York facial plastic surgeon Joshua Rosenberg, MD explains that stem cells extracted from umbilical cords (they are often used with filler, laser and microneedling treatments to further stimulate collagen production and create healthier skin) are believed to have advantages over stem cells extracted from adult fat cells due to their “naïve” status. “There are also skin creams on the market that purportedly use cord cells as potent anti-aging topical treatments. Calecim is one of them.”
While the treatment is still new and studies continue to be conducted, Dr. Rosenberg says, “It makes sense that the trend in applying stem cell treatments would embrace umbilical cord stem cells and their potentially unique properties. Nonetheless, the research and data on the efficacy of these treatments remains thin.”
