One of the seminar speakers at the recent Beauty Expo 94 at Darling Harbour, Sydney was the

eminent Dr Danné Montague King. I was unable to attend his lecture due to an appointment I

had with another speaker so I made a point of catching up with him after his lecture. While chatting

with Dr King we were confronted by a Brisbane therapist who had just attended his lecture just

30 minutes before. With tears in her eyes she lamented why more scientists who educate rather

then commercialise their audience could not be made available at educational seminars. She

maintained she could have listened to Dr King gladly for a week without stop, so elevating and

scientifically informative was his presentation.

Linda Murdough from the AABTH who was passing by overheard these comments. Having invited

Dr King to speak at the Expo , Linda thanked Dr King for his lecture. We assured the therapists

that every effort would be made for scientific workshops to be planned in Australia in 1995.

Having missed Dr King's lecture due to my interview schedule I ask him if he could briefly editorialise

his lecture so that other therapists who were unable to attend may gain from his lecture. He

graciously accepted and I am pleased to present this information below after a brief synopsis of

his activities.

Dr Danne Montague King is a Botanical scientist who is in the forefront of Cosmetic Chemistry having

formulated not only Botanical cosmetic products but also scientifically proven concepts and treatments

which have been proven to deliver phenomenal results.

His concepts and treatments have been performed on royalty in many countries as well as celebrities and

film stars. As one of the major scientific journalists of Les Nouvelle's Esthetiques, Britain, he has enjoyed

controversial guest spots on talk shows in every developing country including the USA's "Jeraldo" Last

March, he took an apartment at Grousner House in London's Mayfare to be interviewed by Harpers & Queen,

Tattler, Marie Claire, Essentials and Cosmopolitan magazines. All the beauty editors had complimentary

treatments performed by his London clinicians during the interviews.

Dr King does not embark in expensive advertising campaigns to promote the Danne Method of Natural

Pharmacology and he never speaks of "product" or "ranges" during his lectures. Having introduced him,

here is his lecture for ou to judge for yourself. 

Australia was the only country outside of Russia I had not yet lectured or taught in. In America, we hear

about kangaroos and Crocodile Dundee and …prawns on the Barbie but I was totally taken by the awesome

beauty of Sydney and its layed back sophistication. Why any Australian would want to immigrate to America is

beyond me! 

When I was confronted by the audience at the Beauty Expo I found a group of therapists who were attentive,

soaking every bit of information I had to give, almost like sponges. My lethargy from jet lag flew out the window

instantly. Here was a group of no-nonsense professionals who wanted the very best one had to offer, which of

course, at the basic scientific level is the best the human body has to offer.

Visual ageing is simply the inability of the body to produce as many skin c'ells as one does during youth or the

formative years. This varies according to genetic blue print including ethnic biochemical differences. 

Environmental conditions and stress levels can alter these blue prints but the human cell structure cannot be

fooled. It will not accept chemistry it does not recognize. Indeed, the very chemistry the cells manufacture on

their own is the only chemistry a living cell will respond to. 

If improper chemistry is applied to the skin or body, either nothing will happen, or the skin will try to defend

itself by throwing up its three major defence systems:

1. A redundant layer of keratinized cuticle, or dead cells (often mistaken as dry or dehydrated skin)
2. Irregular variation in the distribution of melanin granules (hyper pigmentation)
3. A sudden leaching out or emptying of the lower epidermal reservoir (fluid under blister when skin is burnt) 

The bottom line is "imitate nature and get natural results."

The Proper Chemistry
True regeneration of skin is a dual process of 'remove and rebuild'. One has to take out all the weeds and rubbish

before a garden will bloom and flourish. This brings up the over worked word 'peeling'. As a scientist I feel the word

peel is a misnomer. I wish we could peel the skin off in layers like an onion , it would make things much easier on the

therapists and the physician, but alas, viewed under a microscope, the skin is not in definite layers but rather a

series of hills and valleys , old and new cells constantly shifting their configurations. If one keeps peeling layers off an

onion what does one have left? I also used to use the simile of snakes rolling off their own skins in my lectures years

ago, but had my hand spanked hardly by a professor of Zoology at the Scripps Institute at San Diego, California who

informed me that snakes regenerate their new skin first before the old layer voluntarily exfoliates , not so in the case

of peeling off old human skins? I must differ humbly with the experts in their fields? Hence the better word

hydrolysation.

Hydrolysation as applied to skin therapy means to turn dead and dying cells into a weak acid and flush them away.

There are at least 60 ways to do this. All the way from an old time German Peel process that has a name that

sounds like a poodle barking to the much talked fruit sugar acids. According to our research at our three International

research centres and biopsies/microspectigraphs from my overworked colleague Doctor Dermatological Research

Centre, here are the most effective ways of removal of dead cells.

Enzymes
Enzymes are natures biological catalysts. They are capable of digesting billions of times their own weight in dead protein

(cells). They are remarkably effective in hydrolyzing all gases and impurities. Sophisticated enzymes and co-enzyme

groups (about 340 in number) must not be confused with common papaya or Bromalein which act in the same fashion

as meat tenderizers on a piece of beef. Pure enzyme compounds denature in about 45-60 seconds and cannot be

suspended in solutions. 

Acids

Low levels of phenol acids (1-3%) properly blended in a natural methacellulose base take the Ph of the skin down to 1 so

rapidly that all surface dead cells harden and literally pop off. This is a very food preparatory treatment for the more in

depth, macrophage action of enzymes.

Alkalines
While alkaline substances, such as soap bars harden the skin's natural acid sebum into pre-deposited fat and wax plugs

in the pores leading to milia and comedones, fire can be fought with fire! An alkaline wash treatment will take the skin

rapidly up to the Ph scale softening the cuticle so rapidly all the dead cells including facial or body hairs and folliculitis

dissolve in four or five minutes flat. The therapists can then remove the Alkaline Compound and quickly restore the skin's

natural acid mantle by imitating the sebaceous and suforiferous gland secretions with the right formulas.

Alkaline treatments are incredible for acne sufferers who often have excess facial hair along with acne due to excess

testosterone levels. 

Alpha Hydroxy Acids
When I first wrote an editorial about AHA's in Leas Nouvelle's Esthetiques, Paris in 1988 everybody yawned in my face, but

now it has become the title name! To me AHA's were and still are just another tool in the practitioner's kit , a faster way to

hydrolyse dead cuticle. After running thousands of tests since then for both physicians and therapists (according to

by-laws of various countries) we have enjoyed some spectacular results and some wild cards as well! However the success

of AHA treatments depends more upon prepping the skin (enzymes), the proper application of AHA's and the progressive

home maintenance programmes. Alpha Hydroxy Acids are hydrolytic acids. They work off the available moisture , pulling it

towards the surface dead cells which in turn swell up like miniature balloons that eventually burst the fragments then

detaching from the skin. I suppose this is why early AHA products were thought to have 'moisturising powers', but to

hydrate or moisturize the skin , water and fractioned oils must be kept in the skin, not pulled out. These products were

mistakenly mixing apples and oranges. AHA's belong in the hands of professionals and should never be included in over

the counter home products. Time will bear me out on this opinion.

At the deeper level, proper application of AHA's dissolve the desmosomal bonds (links between cells) allowing a slightly

more rapid proliferation without the trauma of forced cell production. Forcing rapid cell production beyond its normal

rate produces scars or waxy unnatural looking skin with melanocyte loss.

I have never used much glycolic acid AHA formulations, finding it somewhat unpredictable. As to smaller or larger

molecular sizes of AHA's affecting their ability to penetrate the skin, penetration has little to do with any success in

view of the hydrolytic action of AHA,s. In actual fact any botanical secretion, extract or oils can be fractionised to blend

with the water molecule , thus transdermally entering the skin's voids with water as the wetting vehicle. Ethanol and

DMSO are also fantastic wetting agents but have allergic potential. Water is safe for everyone. Out of 15 possible AHA's

(15 different sources) a blend of four, with citric acid being the most important for rebuilding the skin has proven the

most successful for me. I use no more than 5% glycolic to break any alkaline build up on the skin, but not enough to

cause trauma or hyper spotty pigmentation , especially ethnic skins.

Re building 
Now that the debris is gone it it up to the therapist and client to re build. Cleansing with a low Ph cleanser containing

natural surfactants (sudsing agents) such as soap barks is vital in cleaning out pre-deposited fats from the skin on a

daily basis. Replicating the acid mantle with a fractionated vitamin E oil and herb/mineral water spray is the next step.

Finally applying a transdermal protein crème with *vitamin C chemistry will enable living skin cells to keep alive a little l

onger thus retarding the aging process. All of these formulas should be in the epidermis, not hydroplaning on the

surface, therefore no emulsifying agents or humectants such as glycerin, waxes, mineral oils, lanolin or any ingredient

heavier than our own sweat and oil from our glands must be present in any crème, including a transdermal sunblock

which would be applied daily in a country such as Australia.

Other treatments such as total removal of hyper pigmentation without bleach and scar revision are available , but

advanced education is absolutely necessary to perform any and all of these concepts. To focus on products alone is not

sufficient and does not elevate the professional status of therapists.

I am a self admitted terrible marketing pers. I honestly do not know how much managed to be invited to teach in every

country of the world as I am not adept at constructing beautiful adverts and prize winning packaging. To me these things

are not as important as raising the awareness of the professional therapists " making them think " and research.

As I teach, I learn and the circle grows. I have had a first class educator in Perth for over a year, Elizabeth Hogerdyke who

gives her people a highly advanced training syllabus, yet I received a phone call from a local therapist in Sydney who had

attended our school in Hong Kong. She was complaining, she didn't know how to get our formulas in Australia. But a 51

years of age I will not change my way of presenting science to a commercial level. After nearly 30 years of research and

development, teaching and practicing, I can sit at ARI Hall, our big old Tudor mountain top retreat in California, look out

over the San Gabrial Valley to the mountains beyond and feel satisfied that my personal CREDO has been at least partially

observed.

Which is:
Sitting at the set of the sun contemplating on a days work done, counting just one , whose pain or burden was eased by

something I've said or done, I will know my day was well spent.

*Note on Vitamin C
Consult. Greys Anatomy 35th British Edition under Cytoplasm – synthesis of collagen via the fibroblasts cell and vitamin C