"It leaves my skin nice and soft."
A skin care treatment being promoted by a British
model-turned-fashion blogger is rubbing some experts the wrong way.
Tracy Kiss, a former glamour model with two kids, was
looking for ways to ease her rosacea, a condition that causes the face to
redden, often producing pus-filled bumps, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Kiss may love sperm facials, but dermatologists are strongly
against her bodily fluid beauty regimen.
Kiss came about the method after a beautician suggested an
acid facial for her rosacea.
The 28-year-old decided to try more natural skincare methods
instead.
"Semen builds babies, they come out very soft and have
beautiful skin, and it leaves my skin nice and soft, so I'm very happy to use
this as a facial," she said, according to the Mirror.
"It feels like a face pack that pulls the skin inwards,
it feels so glossy to wipe it off. It's like having a
kind of oil on the face
or a wax where it just glides beautifully against the water. It's so cooling
and soothing."
Kiss isn't the first person to sing the praises of sperm
facials.
In 2013, when TMZ asked actress Heather Locklear for
anti-aging secrets, she replied,
"You just put semen on your face."
Former Cosmopolitan magazine editor, Helen Gurley Brown,
also swore by the "semen facial" in her memoir, "I'm Wild
Again."
"Spread semen over your face," she advised.
“[It’s] probably full of protein as sperm can eventually become babies.”
Dr. Lynne Haven, a dermatologist in Greenwich, Connecticut,
hopes the semen facial doesn't catch on with others.
"I've never seen any evidence of benefits, and there
are several areas of concern," she told The Huffington Post.
"Sexually transmitted diseases, like herpes, HIV and others could be transmitted,
and there are many other better treatments for rosacea."
San Diego-based dermatologist Dr. Fred Shahan is also
dubious of sperm facials.
"Semen does have protein, but rosacea is related to
hair follicles," he told HuffPost. "I don't see any basis for this
working."
Kiss admits getting the semen needed for her daily dose can
also be a sticking point.
That's why she recommends a person invest "in a
reliable male with a healthy diet and stamina to ensure a plentiful supply,
perhaps a boyfriend, husband or, in my case, a health-conscious friend"
before beginning the treatment.
She explains in more detail on her blog: "Whoever you
choose to provide a donation, it is important that you use the same caution you
would around all bodily fluids, always ensure that they have had a sexual
health check and are eating clean and nutritious food a few days before instead
of smoking, drinking and binging on junk, or the quality will suffer.
"I would
never condone using anonymous semen, and in no way encourage this to become a
sexual act. I am simply looking at this from the angle of beauty. You have to
strip away the shock-horror of the ingredients and any preconception of how it
may feel, smell or look and base it solely on what it does."
Although most of the dermatologists interviewed don't
believe Kiss' sperm facial has much medical merit, she gets grudging support
from at least one.
Dr. Tess Mauricio, a southern California-based skin doctor,
said semen does contain a protease -- that's what helps sperm break through
eggs in order to conceive -- so it may also have a chemical or enzymatic effect
on human skin.
"It may make the skin feel softer and smoother, but the
evidence is all anecdotal," she told HuffPost. "There are more
cosmetically acceptable products that can achieve similar results."
New York-based dermatologist Dr. Tabasum Mir concedes that
some people may want to give themselves a natural facial, but said semen
doesn't really have enough bang to do the job.
"The amount of protein in seminal fluid is small. You'd
be better off using egg whites," she told HuffPost. "Plus, sperm has
urea -- which is basically pee -- and testosterone, which causes
breakouts."
Source: HUFFPOST Weird News
