All kinds of health-related companies use silver in their products, but it’s important to know which forms are appropriate in skin care. There are many skin-care products that list silver on their packaging, but Cor was the original line developed on the principles of silver’s properties -- and the only line with a patented silver ingredient. With our long history in silver, the Cor team decided it was a good idea to explain a bit of the science behind silver as a healing and cleansing agent, and which forms are safe to use on your skin.
You probably already know that silver is a metal. And if you took any chemistry you may recall that all metals (silver, copper, gold, etc.) consist of only one element which makes them inorganic compounds. It’s always a red flag when someone says they use “Organic Silver” in their product because you can’t use the word “organic” to describe an inorganic compound the same way you would a tomato or quart of milk!
Humans have used silver as a health-care remedy as far as 400 B.C., when Hippocrates identified the antimicrobial properties of silver, which means its ability to block or kill other organisms. There is evidence that silver is a natural component of a healthy immune system, and doctors use it for burn victims and infectious wounds. These days we use silver in all kinds of health and cleaning products, from antibiotics to disinfectants to water purifiers. Take a look at this article that lists 100+ ways we use silver in our everyday lives. In skin-care products, silver’s ability to kill bacteria and speed cell-regeneration makes it a powerful panacea for skin damage and infection.
The silver used for skin care needs to be Colloidal Silver, which means complete particles that don’t contain any additional proteins or other elements. Colloidal Silver is compatible with the body, and has had amazing success in improving and healing damaged skin without any side effects.
To add Colloidal Silver to skin-care products, companies use tiny particles called Nano Silver, which are too small to see with the naked eye. At Cor, we use a patented technology to blend the Nano Silver particles (and other ingredients) with a mineral called Silica. Silica’s spongy texture makes it a great -- and natural -- bonding agent.
Another type of silver used in everyday products that is not always compatible with the body is Ionic Silver. Ionic Silver particles are not complete particles, and this makes them susceptible to combine with other elements. In the human body, silver ions combine with chloride ions to form Silver Chloride, which is an insoluble compound that can be harmful or even toxic for humans. When silver ions combine with citric acid, they produce a powerful preservative called Silver Citrate, thereby eliminating the need for harmful preservatives such as parabens or, god forbid, formaldehyde.
When you’re checking out products, be sure to read your labels and make sure you’re comfortable with the ingredients and process. We consider ourselves experts on the science of silver in skin care so if you see something you don’t understand, we’d love to hear from you! Just send us an email at info@ corsilver.com.
Finally -- and we hope this goes without saying -- you can rest assured that at Cor, you never have to worry about the quality and efficacy of our products. We stand behind the safety of all our ingredients as well as our processes, and are committed to bringing you safe and natural products that also work! For a complete list of our products, visit www.corsilver.com/collections
