(dr.) asha
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biochemandowls.bsky.social
(dr.) asha
@biochemandowls.bsky.social
she/her || xe/xem
ask me to deinfluence you from collagen products
gothic transfem biochem phd
little owlet
தமிழ் || ಕನ್ನಡ
the effectiveness depends on information that likely isn't easy to get for most standard formulations that you might purchase
December 7, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I think it has a lot of generally Beneficial things in it at different concentrations, so it's a fairly good "general purpose" thing (and really good if your skin needs hydration especially). the things with wound healing/fibroblast activity/proliferation are probably "technically true", but
December 7, 2025 at 7:21 PM
and either way you'll get a ton of hydration from it because HA is a very good humectant so that already does a lot
December 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
effects. however, anecdotally if it works, it's definitely likely to be doing something -- it does contain components that should work, but you should be aware of what they are and how they interact with the rest of your skin care (e.g. do you already use a lot of HA? or like a retinoid)
December 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
molecular weight of the HA/whatever else (HA forms very large polymers in the extracellular matrix) is, and that does dramatically affect absorption (this is why collagen products applied topically don't really work; the collagen cannot enter the skin ECM) so it's worth knowing that to be certain of
December 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
upregulation of fibroblast activity is Likely good for wound healing, but the clinical trials aren't very large, though HA in general is involved in cell proliferation so boosting it is likely to help with that
the difficulty with snail mucin type products is that it is hard to tell what the
December 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
my thought on it is that generally nothing in it is likely to be harmful for collagen production, but you basically need to treat it like a hyaluronic acid plus extra stuff serum, because the benefits you get from it are similar to what you'd get from other HA products
December 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
so: snail mucin is primarily hyaluronic acid and glycolic acid and some mixture of peptides and other stuff. there are definitely some studies that suggest that it might stimulate fibroblasts (the cells that produce collagen) though given that it's quite a lot of HA, primary benefit is humectant
December 7, 2025 at 7:15 PM
ok unfortunately you were closer to correct the first time than I'd ideally like to admit 😭 I get very anxious about specifically joining conversations
December 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
I have some thoughts on this general thing from the perspective of "I did my PhD on how cells assemble collagen" but I am not really part of this conversation so I don't want to dump without asking first?
December 7, 2025 at 6:29 PM
the issue is I do forget anyway and then they probably think I don't care regardless and then not only have I done this but I did it badly
December 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
if it helps any with the embarrassment, I've also done this before 😭🫂
December 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM
she is so pretty and adorable 🥰
December 7, 2025 at 4:45 PM
a quick search tells me something a bit like this happened in Prague a while ago due to some switch error but the tram did derail
December 7, 2025 at 3:34 PM
(this is kind of uncommon to be clear but it does exist)
December 7, 2025 at 3:26 PM
it likely depends on the specific rail line? there are some that have switches that are specifically designed so that trains at low speed can push them back into place without damaging them (usually for specific types of operations) but otherwise you would probably at least get a lot of damage
December 7, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I love him
December 7, 2025 at 3:19 PM
interesting, it's different for me because I was raised vegetarian (I do also eat eggs) and therefore am not used to meat at all, even the vegan plant based meat substitutes (beyond meat or whatever) I don't find appetizing
December 7, 2025 at 3:07 PM
(in physical space I am also vegetarian)
December 7, 2025 at 1:43 PM
but you see I am a soft and cute owlet
the thing I would be more offended by is just that merlins are not aesthetically dramatic enough
December 7, 2025 at 1:26 PM
from the perspective of a mouse, maybe
December 7, 2025 at 12:08 PM
oh my goodness yes I miss her short hair it was SOOOOOOO GOOD
and she has always been stunning
December 7, 2025 at 11:43 AM
(a bit pleased with myself for correctly identifying that it's different ones)
December 7, 2025 at 2:58 AM
I was going to say the top one looks more purple but thought maybe it's like a lip liner situation? but yes ok I was seeing that correctly then, amazing
December 7, 2025 at 2:56 AM
where was this energy when I decided to damage my hair to put purple in it (not being very serious)
December 7, 2025 at 2:55 AM