Can family run cosmetic cream disrupt billion dollar sunscreen market?

As the mercury rises, Americans go into summer mode. They grab the sunscreen and spray or layer. Then repeat. Often. The hope is that it will protect our skin—and especially our kids’ skin–from damaging sun rays.

No sunscreen claims it can prevent melanoma. So what do you do, even with applying and reapplying, you still burn?

Well, if you ask Ron Moy, MD, a dermatologist and facial plastic surgeon with offices on the storied and ritzy Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif., he’ll tell you to use a product he created that contains DNA repair enzymes, that can be used with sunscreen or alone overnight, that actually reverses the effects of UV exposure.

So it not only soothes the skin but helps repair it.

His line of skin-care products, DNAEGF Renewal DNA Intensive Renewal, contain DNA repair enzymes that he says dramatically reduce the effects of sun exposure.

Sunscreens, which contain antioxidants, may have minimal value in decreasing sun damage, but his creams, he believes are a game changer.

“Antioxidants might have been the best elements or ingredients in years past, but we’ve moved beyond that,” said Dr. Moy. “Sunscreen alone is not enough. You need a double layer of sunscreen with an SPF level plus the DNA enzyme to help protect skin.”

Will his cosmetic disrupt the billion dollar sun care market?

DNAEGF Renewal DNA Intensive Renewal contain natural marine and botanical enzyme sources that come from plankton and bacteria in plants.

Dr. Moy’s wife, Lisa Moy and daughter Erin Moy, provide a nonmedical perspective when describing the product.

“The most recent analogy I used is like knitting. The product stitches it back together, so your skin is not just being moisturized, but the missing stitches, or the dropped cells that really need extra TLC, are getting that from the DNA enzyme so that they’re not being dropped,” said Lisa Moy. “They’re not having holes like a bad sweater. The skin is being enhanced so that the cell is being nourished with the DNA enzyme, rather than just a coating of moisturizer.”

The DNAEFG renewal/DNA Repair Enzyme creams go beyond moisturizing by igniting a healing process that repairs damaged DNA that begins within the first hour of application.

“We didn’t set out to start a skin care line. We started because we treat a lot of patients with skin cancer, and this is a new, molecular and effective way of preventing that,” said Dr. Moy. “We’ve been using antioxidants over the years, and they’re ineffective, while the theory of free radicals and antioxidants doesn’t work. That’s how we ended up with a cream.”

The product is marketed and labeled as a cosmetic product despite what many customers see as benefits going above and beyond the traditional skin care path.

“I’m so grateful to have met Dr. Ron and Lisa. The Elle Magazine coverage is no accident,” said Hollywood producer, Steve Brown. “Their products have positively impacted my life and the lives of so many. I have seen countless cast members use their product and all have been delighted with its results.”

Brown adds that part of what has made the Moy’s so successful is their family-rooted values in reaching people through traditional word-of-mouth, rather than a mega marketing blitz.

“This is really a family business in the most traditional sense and has helped our generation and our daughters bridge the gap. Our daughters have stressed that this generation sees things everywhere including social media, and that we have the best-educated consumers than ever before that want the best products,” said Lisa Moy. “We have a meaningful product that all skin types can use, especially if they’re experiencing sun damage.”

Dr. Moy says clinical testing on his product continues and he believes that the creams will have additional applications. The scientific data goes beyond DNA repair and is evolving in newer research.

“The stem cells of the skin can be stimulated. The effectiveness of this growth factor in stimulating the skin is greater than any other cream, and we’ve published to show that it actually works on eye bags and that loose skin around the eye,” said Dr. Moy. “We have other studies published that show it works on acne scars and the bruising of elderly people’s skin and can even measure the increase of the thickness of the skin by ultrasound.”