Acai berries make jump from food into skin care

Karen's Specialty Skincare has grown into a business with a worldwide reputation over the past ten years and is now launching a skin care line featuring the much-heralded superfood. Company founder Karen Dunlap said she was able to 'connect the dots' between science and nature, allowing her to develop the Açai berry Anti-Aging Facial at her skin care clinic in Lake Forest, California. She claims that thanks to the antioxidant rich properties of the Açai berry extract incorporated into the formulation, the product is able to combat premature aging, as well as nourishing the skin and improving the tone. Açai nourished skin to fight a host of ailments ​ "With the proper nutrients, the body has the ability to heal itself,"​ said Dunlap. "I developed the Açai berry treatment to nourish the skin with everything it needs to fight aging, acne, and other skin ailments,"​ she added. Otherwise known as the Amazonian palm berry, Açai was shown to top the antioxidant rankings in a study conducted by AIBMR Life Sciences back in 2006 that showed it had the highest ORAC antioxidant value of any food. The product also taps into the major trend towards cosmetic products incorporating food ingredients into formulations as a means of providing naturally derived active properties. Touches on nutricosmetics trend ​ It also touches on the nutricosmetics trend, a fast evolving category that has developed around the launch of food and drink products that are marketed on the strength of their beautifying properties. Dunlap says that as well as being enriched with antioxidants, the inclusion of Açai berry in the treatment also means that it contains phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals to help promote skin cell health. The berry extract is also enriched with flavanoids, which fight inflammation, together with essential amino and fatty acids to help regenerate skin cell growth and phytosterols to preserve collagen. The treatment is currently only available at the Karen Dunlap specialty care clinic in California.