FAQs ................................................................................................................................................................................ What causes wrinkles - and what can be done about them? The primary cause of wrinkling, puckering, and other skin imperfections is called cross-linking -- when a build-up of free radical toxic plaque binds your skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, causing your skin’s supportive structure to become inflexible and unhealthy, leading to cavities (holes) in the structural layer beneath your outer skin. As the muscles beneath the skin are continually contracting against these cavities, it causes your outer skin to fold into furrows, making your visible skin wrinkled and uneven. As you age, the amount of free radical toxins built up in your body increases, making wrinkles more prevalent in older skin. By dissolving the cross-linking, by counteracting the free radicals, and by enhancing the production of new collagen and elastin fibers, you can strengthen the skin’s supportive structure and reduce the number and size of the cavities in your skin, thereby reducing wrinkling and creating a softer, more even skin texture. This is the mechanism by which Bioque® skincare products, utilizing a combination of Dr. Rodbell’s Nobel prize-winning Signal Technology delivery system and highly beneficial natural compounds, can improve your skin and minimize wrinkles. How does Bioque’s Nobel Prize-winning ‘Signal Technology’ work, as opposed to the formulations used in other skin care systems? World-renowned micro-biologist Dr. Martin Rodbell won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of ‘signal technology’--the bio-chemical language our cells use to communicate with one another, regulate their inner cellular processes and deliver instructions for replication. Although he initially applied his breakthrough discovery to the fight against cancer, Dr. Rodbell soon realized it could also do much to counter the process of aging—and ‘signal technology’ became the scientific foundation of Bioque. This unique and groundbreaking delivery system enables key beneficial ingredients to pass through the cellular wall. ‘Signal technology’ deposits 100% of these compounds inside of the skin cells that make up both the inner and outer layers of skin. In other skin care lines lacking the benefit of ‘signal technology,’ a much smaller percentage of beneficial compounds penetrates through the cellular walls and makes it to the interior of skin cells; most ingredients are lost on the surface of skin. Additionally, skin care systems lacking ‘signal technology’ can deliver little to no beneficial compounds to the inner layer of skin that provides skin’s structural foundation. Lacking the ability to efficiently and effectively penetrate cellular walls, other systems must rely on the small and shifting openings between skin cells for their access to this inner, structural layer. This handicap prevents them from repairing and rejuvenating these highly important structural skin cells; because of this, they have little long term success in slowing and reversing visible signs of aging. On the other hand, the ‘signal technology’ delivery system enables Bioque products to penetrate beneath the surface and under the structure of skin, where cavities causing wrinkles are formed. There, Bioque products deposit beneficial botanical, peptide- and vitamin-based compounds; these compounds promote the collagen synthesis that repairs and rebuilds the damage in skin’s ‘under structure,’ while simultaneously improving appearance of outer skin. What are the differences between Botox and Bioque? Botox provides a ‘quick fix’ that only reduces the appearance of aging, whereas Bioque products deliver a long-term result that permanently rebuilds skin structure. Botox injections work to paralyze facial muscles so they don’t contract over the outer layer of skin; this keeps cavities in the inner layer of skin from becoming visible—thereby diminishing the appearance of wrinkles. As you age, cavities in the inner layer of skin become more frequent and larger and unless you keep disabling your skin muscles with Botox injections 3 or 4 times a year, your skin will exhibit deeper and more prevalent wrinkles. A Bioque regimen including Serum XL will not only relax facial muscles to hide the appearance of wrinkles in the short term, but will simultaneously work to address the root causes of wrinkles by repairing these cavities in the structure of skin. The results? Your skin actually becomes more youthful—it doesn’t just look that way. Botox is much more expensive then Bioque. Botox injections cost $250-400 and must be administered every two to three months; a Bioque regimen yielding similar results (such as Bioque Purifying Facial Wash and Serum XL) costs about $130 for the same time period. Since Botox injections paralyze muscles, they can not be used everywhere. Bioque products on the other hand can not only be applied to the forehead, but also to the throat, neck, hands, around your eyes, around your mouth and anywhere on the face and body. Botox injections have the potential of harmful side effects, whereas Bioque products contain only natural beneficial ingredients and no toxins. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned the maker of Botox that it must reveal the risk of death or permanent damage when that product is injected into the body. There is a slight chance that the toxin will migrate to other, unintended muscles (like the heart muscle) with potentially devastating results. Bioque skin care products are, in comparison, completely safe since they contain only ingredients science has proven nourish skin cells and enable them to more efficiently perform their normal cell functions, such as the production of collagen and elastin fibers. How does Bioque compare to stretch mark treatments, currently popular for use on the face and described as ‘Botox alternative?’ Similar to the comparison with Botox, a Bioque regimen delivers both short term and long term anti-aging results, whereas facially-applied ‘stretch mark’ treatments have only a very limited and surface effect. A regimen including Bioque’s Serum XL will deliver two sets of active ingredients deep into your skin cells to combat wrinkles: the first, a peptide based formula including 20% Argireline will relax facial muscles (similar to the effect of Botox) so that cavities in the inner layers of skin are not revealed on the surface as wrinkles; additionally, vitamin-rich compounds and botanicals promote collagen synthesis to repair and rebuild damaged skin structure, eliminating wrinkles in the long run. Facially-applied stretch mark treatments contain mending ingredients that ‘glue’ the surface layer of skin into a smoother surface. Beneath that surface however, damaged skin will continue to deteriorate and cavities will continue to form as you age. I noticed there is no separate ‘eye cream’ in the Bioque line. Are any of your products designed for use on skin areas around the eyes? Absolutely. With correct application, any and all Bioque products can be used to extremely successful effect around the eye area. Use your ring finger to tap on serums and creams, taking care to keep product out of the eyes themselves and away from the soft tissue closest to the eyelids. Depending on the specific benefits of the product used, you will experience firming, wrinkle reduction, and/or diminishment of dark circles and bags under your eyes. At Bioque, we want to keep skin care as simple, affordable, and effective as possible. Why create a long list of extra products and pile on additional costs for our customers? Skin care doesn’t have to be confusing and expensive. It just has to work!! Is does the effectiveness of Bioque compare with that of plastic surgery? Facelift surgery deals with skin cavities that cause wrinkle folds in our outer skin by simply stretching the outer skin tighter across the cavity. This works for a while, but our skin is very elastic and, as time passes, the skin will get loose again and the folds will reappear. And, in the meantime, the cavities have gotten bigger and there is a bigger cavity to stretch across the next time the surgery is performed. Fat injections, and collagen injections as well, inject material like fat or collagen into the cavities to ‘fill up’ the hole. These work only for a few months because the injected material migrates and is absorbed into the body and this drains the holes and you will soon be back to where you started; only now the holes are bigger unless you did something to rejuvenate your skin cells to produce more collagen and elastin fibers. Unlike surgery, Bioque® products enable the natural cellular mechanisms of your skin to correct the cavity problems permanently and diminish the potential for wrinkles in the long term.