Silver is an old anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and antibiotic which has been used for many years to treat infections and diseases. It is an effective skincare active that supports people suffering from atopic dermatitis, acne, rosacea and other skin conditions.
How do Silver particles work against bacteria & fungus?
Typically the higher bacterial load is found in the skin-folds & close to the hair follicle so when a product containing silver is applied to the skin, the silver particles stick to the skin-folds and hair start releasing positive silver ions and these positive ions inactivate the structures on the bacterial surface and kill the microorganisms.
The great thing about silver ions is that they kill all types of bacteria while no other single antibiotic works uniformly against all types of bacteria! [1] However, it is reported that silver ions damage more the normally non-resident bacteria on the skin, less the normal bacteria population. [2] Silver is also not susceptible to antimicrobial resistance because silver causes affected organisms to die before they can develop resistant mutations. [3]
Benefits of Micro-silver over Colloidal silver
Silver is used in many different forms in medical and cosmetic products: Silver Citrate, Silver Zeolite, Nano/Colloidal silver ,โฆ& Micro-silver.
– Colloidal silver is a very popular form of silver which is made of particles of metallic nano-silver suspended in a liquid solution. The disadvantages of Colloidal silver is that it typically is produced with numerous impurities and the nano size of the colloidal silver particles will not stay on the surface and penetrates the skin which might not be safe!
– Micro-silver is the latest form of silver that is developed and claims to provide the antibacterial benefits without all the safety issues associated with the previous versions of silver-infused products. It is 99.99% pure elemental dry silver powder which has the ideal structure. The micro-silver is like a sponge and is highly porous and it has a high surface area so a low concentration of micro-silver is enough to supply a high amount of positive silver ions. This depot effect ensures that even an excessive microbial load on the healthy or damaged skin can be effectively reduced!
The porous structure of micro-silver helps the particles to physically cling to the skin and remain on its surface & since the large particles of micro-silver don’t penetrate the skin they are safer in comparison with other forms of silver.
Micro-silver works on the skin in 3 ways:
- It provides antibacterial effects.
- It stabilizes the condition of the skin & provides longterm efficient dermatological care of inflammatory skin conditions like atopic dermatitis, acne and consequently also for rosacea.
- It helps in the regeneration of the damaged skin. Using micro-silver products can help to protect & restore the skin after procedures such laser therapy and microdermabrasion.
Trial studies
- The results of a trial testing the effect of micro-silver on acne patients showed that the average reduction in the number of papules following 12 weeks of treatment with micro-silver was approximately 36%. In seven of the patients, the treatment even led to a significant improvement in the degree of severity of the acne from grade II to grade I, while in ten patients the severity did not change despite the reduction in the pustules. [4]
- The results of a study on 102 neurodermatitis patients showed significant improvements in the most severe symptoms following treatment with a lipocream that contained 0.1% Micro-silver. 93% of patients were able to stop using creams containing cortisol as a result.
- In a controlled dermatological observation study a subject group of 20 people suffering from rosacea face redness were evaluated over 4 weeks. Results showed that the inflamed skin status was improved by up to 90% after application of microsilver within 4 weeks. In the same time the number of visible small blood vessels were reduced already by approximately 30% and the visible face redness was reduced by 43%. [5]
- Tape Stripping Tests was used to test if micro-silver actually remains on the surface of the skin. The results showed that Micro-silver particles reside in and on the Stratum Corneum which is ideal since it can give the most support to the skin against germs from the environment.
