Tuesday, May 01, 2007
HERE'S THE SECRET INGREDIENT TO A HOT FACE
May 1, 2007 -- A New Jersey hot-sauce guru claims he's found a ground breaking wrinkle remedy - the same ingredient that puts the scorch in his sauces.
Blair Lazar, who makes the nuclear "Blair's Death Sauces" line, has unveiled a new skin-cream, Biocap, whose key ingredient is capsaicin, the element that makes hot foods hot. And he swears the potent product - inspired by a lab accident - works wonders on sagging skin.
"There's nothing like this on the market," he boasts. "Even Botox doesn't do what this does for skin tone."
Not a novel claim, but a top Manhattan dermatologist, who skeptically gave Biocap a test run at The Post's request, said she was "surprised and impressed" at its effectiveness.
Dr. Laurie Polis, of SoHo Skin & Laser Dermatology, tested it on herself and three others, and says that while one quit when her skin grew irritated, all three others achieved meaningful results.
"I absolutely did see improvement in the texture, tone and clarity of the skin," says Polis. "There was improved hydration and a decrease in wrinkling."
As for why it works, the simple answer is that capsaicin is a vasodilator, increasing blood flow to the skin. This not only offers direct benefits, says Lazar, but allows the other active ingredients to work better.
Lazar, 37, came up with the idea several years ago, after he accidentally took a blast of capsaicin to the face while working in the lab. His face was irritated for days, "but on the third day, I noticed that my crow's feet were gone, and my skin was tight. I was like, huh, this is interesting."
He did some Googling, and found capsaicin had never been used for skin. Still, getting into cosmetics sounded like too big a stretch for the gravel-voiced Jersey Shore native.
"I was like, what am I, Chanel?" he says. "I'm a hot sauce guy."
But he couldn't let the idea go, and began pondering how a known irritant could be turned into a pain-free cream. To that end, he approached a dozen scientists, whose general reaction, he says, was: "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."
One cosmetics-industry veteran bit, though, and the two spent more than two years developing the final (pain-free) product. Figuring out the right level of capsaicin was the biggest initial challenge, says Lazar, who made himself the guinea pig.
"We started out at a level we thought would be fine. I walked out of the bathroom with my eyes swollen shut and said, 'I think we have to lower it, guys.'"
Once the formula was patented, Blair - who started Death Sauce out of his apartment with $600 - was determined to market it himself, through a Web site (blairlab.com). Eventually he plans to offer the cream - which runs $54 for a regular tube, $86 for extra-strength - through some retailers.
In the meantime, the longtime "chile-head" is getting used to a different slice of the business world, and he's amused by the unlikely twist in his career.
"Before I wanted to burn your tongue - now I want to cure your wrinkles," he says.
Blair Lazar, who makes the nuclear "Blair's Death Sauces" line, has unveiled a new skin-cream, Biocap, whose key ingredient is capsaicin, the element that makes hot foods hot. And he swears the potent product - inspired by a lab accident - works wonders on sagging skin.
"There's nothing like this on the market," he boasts. "Even Botox doesn't do what this does for skin tone."
Not a novel claim, but a top Manhattan dermatologist, who skeptically gave Biocap a test run at The Post's request, said she was "surprised and impressed" at its effectiveness.
Dr. Laurie Polis, of SoHo Skin & Laser Dermatology, tested it on herself and three others, and says that while one quit when her skin grew irritated, all three others achieved meaningful results.
"I absolutely did see improvement in the texture, tone and clarity of the skin," says Polis. "There was improved hydration and a decrease in wrinkling."
As for why it works, the simple answer is that capsaicin is a vasodilator, increasing blood flow to the skin. This not only offers direct benefits, says Lazar, but allows the other active ingredients to work better.
Lazar, 37, came up with the idea several years ago, after he accidentally took a blast of capsaicin to the face while working in the lab. His face was irritated for days, "but on the third day, I noticed that my crow's feet were gone, and my skin was tight. I was like, huh, this is interesting."
He did some Googling, and found capsaicin had never been used for skin. Still, getting into cosmetics sounded like too big a stretch for the gravel-voiced Jersey Shore native.
"I was like, what am I, Chanel?" he says. "I'm a hot sauce guy."
But he couldn't let the idea go, and began pondering how a known irritant could be turned into a pain-free cream. To that end, he approached a dozen scientists, whose general reaction, he says, was: "That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard."
One cosmetics-industry veteran bit, though, and the two spent more than two years developing the final (pain-free) product. Figuring out the right level of capsaicin was the biggest initial challenge, says Lazar, who made himself the guinea pig.
"We started out at a level we thought would be fine. I walked out of the bathroom with my eyes swollen shut and said, 'I think we have to lower it, guys.'"
Once the formula was patented, Blair - who started Death Sauce out of his apartment with $600 - was determined to market it himself, through a Web site (blairlab.com). Eventually he plans to offer the cream - which runs $54 for a regular tube, $86 for extra-strength - through some retailers.
In the meantime, the longtime "chile-head" is getting used to a different slice of the business world, and he's amused by the unlikely twist in his career.
"Before I wanted to burn your tongue - now I want to cure your wrinkles," he says.
Labels: capsaicin, new product, skincare
Post a Comment