Keywords: anti-inflammatory, bacteriostatic, transdermal carier, skin cell
regeneration, highly penetrating, emulsifier,
bacteriostatic, low irritation potential, and non-comedogenic, human skin oil, mono-unsaturated oleic acid, unsaturated fatty acids, skin
permeability and moisturizing properties, transdermal transporter
The amazing therapeutic benefits of Emu oil was
first covered in HairSite more than a year ago. Since then, we have come across many more
clinical studies and literatures that substantiate the potential benefits that can be
derived from this all natural substance. Emu oil is derived from a kind of bird commonly
found in Australia. Research has shown that emu oil can have positive effects on various
kinds of skin disorders, including hair loss. According to
clinical studies in Australia and the U.S, emu oil is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent
that can rejuvenate skin cells and produce up to 80%
in healthy hair growth. Specifically, emu oil can penetrate tissue
cells faster and more effectively than most other mechanisms. The potential benefits of
emu oil are numerous, it can be used to treat various kinds of hair conditions, arthritis,
wrinkles, and other skin disorders such as Psoriasis and Eczema etc.
Emu oil is not commonly known in the U.S. While it
has been used by many for combating hair loss in various parts of the world, FDA
regulations in the U.S discourage anyone from marketing Emu oil for hair loss and as a
result, it is not getting the attention that it derseves.
Emu oil has been used by Australians and Asians
there for centuries as a traditional
remedy for a variety of skin disorders and physical trauma brought on by the rough terrain
and harsh climate in the region. There are countless clinical studies confirming what
Australians have know for centuries.
At Auburn University, clinical studies showed
that Emu Oil can be used as a transdermal carier and is 20
times more effective at penetrating the stratum corneum, or "skin barrier," than
mineral oil.
At the Boston University Medical Center , Michael
Holick and his research team confirmed numerous beneficial properties of Emu Oil,
including the promotion and acceleration of skin cell regeneration
and even the stimulation of hair growth.
In 1994, Dr. Alexander Zemstov conducted a
"double blind" study on the properties of Emu Oil and he concluded the following
properties of Emu oil: highly penetrating, emulsifier,
bacteriostatic, low irritation
potential, and non-comedogenic.
Composition of Emu Oil: The Micro View (1997)
By: Dr. Leigh Hopkins, AEA Oil Standards Team (Research Leader). (Reprinted from AEA News,
Spring 1997 issue).
SUMMARY: When compared with human skin oil, the fatty acid
composition of emu oil is found to be quite similar. In both types of oil, mono-unsaturated oleic acid is the most prevalent fatty acid,
followed by palmitic acid, then linoleic acid, which is an EFA (essential fatty acid).
This similarity may be one of the factors enabling emu oil to have such a positive action
on human skin.
More and more companies are now conducting
research using Emu oil, eg: Delta West Pharmaceuticals, Orion Laboratories, and even the
American Cancer Institute where Emu Oil is being studied for its effects on the immune
system and tumor biology at the cellular level.
Fatty Acid Analysis of Emu Oil. (AEA funded study, 1994)
By: Dr. Paul Smith, Dr. Margaret Craig-Schmidt, Amanda Brown at Auburn University.
(Reprinted from AEA News, September 1994 Issue).
SUMMARY: Analysis of fatty acids in emu oil reveals that it contains approximately 70 % unsaturated fatty acids. The major fatty acid found in emu oil is
oleic acid, which is mono- unsaturated and which comprises over 40 % of the total fatty
acid content. Emu oil also contains both of the two essential fatty acids (EFA's) which
are important to human health: 20 % linoleic, and 1 - 2 % alpha-linolenic acid.
Emu Oil: Comedogenicity Testing. (Study done for E.R.I., 1993)
By: Department of Dermatology, at University of Texas Medical School, Houston.
SUMMARY: Testing using the rabbit ear histological assay, with emu oil in concentrations
of 25 %, 75 % and 100 % shows that emu oil in concentrations of up to 100 % is
non-comedogenic, i.e. it does not clog the pores of the skin.
Moisturizing and Cosmetic Properties of Emu Oil: A Double Blind
Study (1994).
By: Dr. Alexander Zemtsov, Indiana University School of Medicine: Dr. Monica Gaddis, Ball
Memorial Hospital; and Dr. Victor Montalvo-Lugo, Ball Memorial Hospital. (Reprinted from
AEA News, October/November 1994 issue)
SUMMARY: Eleven human subjects took part in a double-blind clinical study which compared
emu oil with mineral oil in texture, skin permeability and
moisturizing properties, as well as comedogenicity and irritability to the skin. No
irritation to the skin was observed with either oil. However, comedogenicity of emu oil
was significantly lower than that of mineral oil, and all subjects stated a unanimous
preference for emu oil.
Experimental Study to Determine the Anti-Arthritic Activity of a
New Emu Oil Formulation (EMMP) (1993)
By: Dr. Peter Ghosh at Royal North Shore Hospital of Sydney, Australia and Dr. Michael
Whitehouse at University of Adelaide, Australia.
SUMMARY: A combination of emu oil with a suitable transdermal
transporter is found to show anti-inflammatory (anti-rheumatic) activity in various
rat models.
Research conducted at the Occupational Dermatology Laboratory of
the University of Texas Medical School at Houston concluded that emu oil consists mostly
of oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fatty acid. The oil is highly penetrating and
won't clog pores. It can help people whose skin is parched, cracked and has lost its
smooth, healthy look. Beauty professionals across the country are touting the benefits of
emu oil. Found in numerous cosmetics, soaps and shampoos, it has been reported that the
oil also thickens aged, mature skin, making it appear younger. One study reported that 100
percent emu oil rubbed into the skin twice daily would thicken the skin by 14 percent.
With its all natural healing properties, emu oil would make an
essential adjunct to any topical hair loss regimen. Some of our readers are already
experimenting emu oil in combination with topical minoxidil (eg: Rogaine 5%). First, emu
oil's anti-inflammatory properties will eliminate many side effects related to long term
use of topical minoxidil. As we all know, topical minoxidil is 90% alcohol based. While
alcohol is one of the most effective solvent in the world, it is known to be a very
dehydrating agent and can cause tissue damage in some cases. Many people have
complained about severe itch, flakes, dryness, and other scalp irritaions due to long term
use of topical minoxidil. Some people called these minoxidil induced irritations
"minoxidil burn". Using emu oil in combination with topical minoxidil
would seem to be an excellent idea in combating minoxidil's side effects. Second, as
mentioned in the clinical study conducted at Auburn University, emu oil is 20 times more
effective as a transdermal carrier than mineral oil. If used in conjunction with topical
minoxidil, emu oil is very likely to enhance the penetration of minoxidil into the
follicles. This will probably be better than using Minoxidil-Retin-A treatment since
emu oil will probably increase minoxidil absorption without producing the same side
effects as Retin-A.
Emu oil's excellent transdermal capability would also make it an
essential adjunct to Crinagen. While Crinagen is an excellent topical lotion in its own
right, it is a water based topical lotion and the active ingredients are not likely
to penetrate as fast and as effective than if alcohol is used as the solvent. Including
emu oil in your Crinagen regimen may solve the problem.
The following article is provided by Uniquely Emu
Products in the U.S:
"Emu Oil Is This Physician's Choice"
"Hundreds of patients who have visited Dr. Dan Dean of Dan C. Dean D.O. &
Associates in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan are receiving relief from various ailments, thanks in
part to treatments with emu oil. A commodity acknowledged for centuries for its medicinal
purposes, emu oil is just beginning to be touted and recognized by some in the medical
field in this country.
Typical of the medical practitioner, Dean was at first some what skeptical about the
reputed
medicinal and cosmetic benefits of emu oil. The doctor remarks that his initial research
in earnest on the oil happened on a trip to Australia several years ago. But the
physician, also an avid Thoroughbred enthusiast, was won over only after emu oil was used
to save one of his top racers, The Rebalizer. Dean explains that the horse picked up the
Salmonella infection, was treated at the Michigan State University, but developed an
allergic reaction to all the IV steroids, antibiotics, etc., it received and subsequently
lost all it's hair and much of its stamina.
Knowing that emu oil had a reputation to stimulate skin and hair growth, the doctor decided to give it a try on his
favored horse. Ultra sensitive to touch, The Rebalizer had to be stilled for the first few
applications of pure emu oil to his bare hide. But Dean says that after twice-a-day
applications for three days, the animal welcomed the employment of the oil. Shortly after
the treatments began, his horse's health and hair
returned! Dean says that after researching the oil further, he began
using it on himself, his family and then patients, with incredible results.
Now, two years later, hundreds of the doctors patients (as well as some patients of other
physicians sent to Dean) are realizing benefit from emu oil. On a typical day, the doctor
uses the oil on individuals suffering from burns, abrasions, sore joints, eczema,
arthritis, colitis, psoriasis, and as a wound application immediately following surgery.
"It's all voluntary," says Dean. "I explain to the patients what the oil is
and what I'll be doing. I've had exceptional results with the oil and we haven't had one
patient complain. Actually, many people come in and ask for it. When surgery patients
leave they are given a small container of the pure oil to be applied to their wound three
times a day to speed up the healing process. In the office we use the pure emu oil
directly on open burns, abrasions and ulcerations. We only use pure emu oil with no added
ingredients. It's an amazing substance."
The doctor utilizes the oil's moisturizing properties by compounding an emu oil nasal
spray and
cough syrup formula for some of his patients. "When cold and flue season starts,
we'll use the oil on a minimum of 15 patients a day," he says.
When asked what impresses him most about the oil's properties as a practicing physician,
Dean
replies, "the thing that's most impressive about the oil is I can actually see the
way it affects open wound healing, which I'm very interested in."
The doctor is also presently researching wound healing utilizing emu oil to learn more
about the oil's properties with Dr. Leigh Hopkins, a comrade who is a clinical professor
of pharmacy with a degree inbiochemistry.
"We've got the cart before the horse," says Dean. " We know the oil works,
but we want to look deeper into the microphysiology and biology of just why it does
work."
Actually, emu oil is being utilized and researched quietly by a growing number of
individuals in the medical field including cancer centers interested in the oil's effects
on burns sustained by patients during radiation treatments. Dean himself has a growing
number of patients being referred to him by other medical professionals. Of this he says,
"Slowly we're getting other physicians interested in the oil. It's a little hard to
convince doctors, but I don't push the emu oil on them, I let them come to me.
Now some are asking, What are you using? and Why did so-and-so heal so fast?"
An 80-year-old diabetic patient with gangrene of the toes and a serious heel ulceration
was recently referred to Dean. "The surgeon who sent the patient down said it looked
like they were going to have to amputate the foot," relates the doctor. " But I
suggested that we first try the emu oil. And by using the emu oil we were able to
completely heal the ulceration on the heel and there's no gangrene in the toes - they're
just as pink as can be. The surgeon's comment was, 'It looks like emu oil turned this
thing around. We're not going to amputate.' We used only pure oil in the treatment and it
saved this gentlemen's foot!"
Patients of open heart surgery also receive emu oil on their freshly stitched incision.
Dean says that when they return to their thoracic surgeon for a follow up with a well
healed sternum incision, the surgeons always comment on how fast the incision healed.
Convalescents of a nearby extended care facility also benefit from the medicinal advantage
of emu oil. Dean says that he is currently using the oil on individuals with pressure
sores. "We're using the oil when the sore is actually a grade 1 - when we just see
the inflammation of the skin. And I think because of the oil's penetrability, we're able
to prevent the sores rather than having to cure them," he remarks.
Dean is helping to spread the interest in emu oil. He delivered the slide presentation
"Wound
Management With Emu Oil" at the 1998 Annual American Emu Association Convention this
July in San Antonio and relates that he was recently approached by a drug company (that
usually features a discourse on one of their own products) to deliver a presentation on
emu oil to an all-doctor audience. He mentions that he has also been petitioned by an
Alternative Medicine group out of Chicago to speak on emu oil.
To better serve individuals requesting the oil, Dean recently began offering a line of
several specially formulated and pretested emu oil products for medicinal and cosmetic
applications called "The Dean's List." And this May the doctor received a
Humanitarian award for his continuing work in the field of family practice, as well as a
New Product Award for his product line from the Award Committee for the International Hall
of Fame, sponsored by the Inventors Clubs of America Inc.
Through Rishada Emu Inc., Dean currently has available six products which he says contain
a high percentage of emu oil and include a hand lotion, skin moisturizer, skin tightener,
body cleanser, shampoo, and 100 percent pure emu oil. "I'm real excited about all our
products and people's response to them is amazing," says the doctor, who has
additional emu oil product on line.
Dean says that he will continue to research the oil and use it in his practice. "I
wouldn't quit!" he says.
Dan C. Dean attended Northern Oklahoma College, Central State University and
received his
Doctorate of Osteopathy at Missouri's Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery. De.
Dean has been practicing medicine for the past 28 years and currently conducts his
practice in two clinics in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. "
If you have trouble locating Emu oil products, email HairSite@aol.com
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