Board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon and Theraderm® Clinical Skin Care Founder/CEO, Dr. James (Jim) Beckman, began his medical career in 1977. With a medical degree from the University of Arkansas in hand and seven additional years of surgical training, Dr. Beckman set up his private plastic surgery practice in state, where he continued to work for the next twenty years.
At the time, Beckman had no plans of developing a skincare line, but little did he know that his research, ingenuity and desire to help his patients’ quality of life would soon mold his journey as a medical professional.
While treating motion-limiting scars in severely burned patients of his with a natural lanolin based cream, Dr. Beckman found a gap in the market for products that would truly improve their condition, which inspired him to create his own unique solution to address their skin health – Beckman’s Skin Care Cream.
After Dr. Beckman finalized the development of this product, he soon became aware of Soluble Keratin Peptides being developed by a very close friend, and also a plastic surgeon, for military use in burn centers. Derived from natural structural/matrix proteins, these peptides are the ultimate natural active ingredients, a breakthrough property that restored mobility to skin, fought against the harmful side-effects of burns, and also caused wrinkles and fine lines to disappear. This ingredient in a simple cream and its powerful abilities are what would become the core of the Theraderm Clinical Skin Care line for anti-aging and the creation of his visionary company, Therapon Skin Health.
FMM: You began your medical career in 1977. Share your background.
I grew up on a dairy farm with six sisters and my dad encouraged all of us to go to college. For me, that led to a degree in biochemistry, then medical school at the University of Arkansas, followed by a general surgery residency. There was no plastic surgery department at our medical school, so I elected to spend three-months at a private hospital with an experienced plastic surgeon. Seeing the beautiful results after restoration of birth defects, burn scars, and other deformities from his surgeries gave me a vision of what could be possible.
After completing an additional two-year residency in Plastic Surgery in Tennessee, I returned to Arkansas. to practice plastic and reconstructive Surgery. Years of treating motion-limiting scars in severely burned patients with prescriptions for a lanolin-based cream, instilled a passion for developing a superior cream to restore mobility, suppleness, and softness to skin grafted hands – hands that could bend and grasp objects necessary for someone to have better quality of life.
My college degree in chemistry and knowing the details of skin anatomy, physiology, and function, led me to develop laboratory formulations and clinical testing to find the “ultimate skin restoration cream”.
Over time, former patients that had all experienced excellent results in eliminating sagging skin from facelifts began asking a familiar question: “What can erase fine lines, wrinkles, and make skin pigment even after a facelift removes sagging?” In the quest for a product that would correct these issues, I discovered a unique secret ingredient that not only enhanced moisturizer penetration, but also had a side effect of erasing fine wrinkles and restoring youthful properties to aging facial skin!
I can remember the spring day in 1988 when the clear vision came. The vision was to create a simplified daily skin care system of products that would restore and rejuvenate aging facial skin to a beautiful, younger look, as well as make skin soft and pliable again. The result was the Theraderm Skin Health System that restores sun-damaged or aged skin and produces youthful, natural beauty.
FMM: Tell us about Theraderm® Clinical Skin Care and the advances it has made in skin care.
While developing my skin restoration products, I became aware of Soluble Keratin Peptides which were being used by the military in burn centers. Derived from natural structural/matrix proteins, these peptides are the ultimate natural active ingredients. A breakthrough discovery uncovered properties that restored mobility to skin, fought against the harmful side-effects of burns, and also caused wrinkles and fine lines to disappear. This ingredient in a simple cream and its powerful abilities are what would become the core of the Theraderm Clinical Skin Care line.
Therapon products are made to enhance quality of life through beautiful skin and restored youthful appearance. We do this by controlling the factors that contribute to aging, such as damaged collagen structure, irregular pigment, and loss of elasticity. Prevention of daily, cumulative permanent damage to skin from UV exposure combined with restoration of damage already present are key elements in getting the exceptional results consistently seen.
Photo Credit: Andrew Werner
FMM: How important are Soluble Keratin Peptides to flawless skin?
Soluble Keratin Peptides are active molecules that cause rapid rebuilding of collagen. They are naturally sourced by hydrolyzing wool fibers into very short amino acid chains that can be absorbed deep into skin. They dependably rebuild the collagen fiber/matrix, structural proteins that restore sun-damaged skin to its natural thickness and strength that prevents laxity and wrinkles. Protected by 31 patents, the peptides actively decrease lax neck skin, forehead wrinkles and facial lines while delivering lightweight moisture to skin, and it is exclusively available for Therapon to use in a topically applied skincare product.
Growth factors are simply on/off switches that start a chemical process in the body. Human skin growth factors are naturally and powerfully stimulated by the Lactic Acid exfoliant product as one of the steps in Theraderm Skin Renewal System. The soluble Keratin peptides, being natural and so closely similar to the component segments of collagen, act as templates to replicate new collagen at a rate ten times faster than with other “growth factor” ingredients in other products.
Photo Credit: Andrew Werner
Tell us about The Anti-Aging System.
Our Anti-Aging System is a daily skin care regimen that exfoliates, moisturizes and traps harmful free radicals. Three patented peptides act in concert to minimize moderate wrinkles and tighten lax facial and neck skin. Pharmaceutical grade ingredients in the Eternox Peptide Crème provide the anti-aging support skin needs to stay smooth, supple, and healthy by supporting gene expression, transcription factors and cell signaling molecules.
FMM: What plays a key role in creating and maintaining confident, healthy skin?
My life/work goal, as a plastic surgeon, has always been to restore full function and appearance to patients after injury or damage from disease or trauma. Time teaches that the skin is not simply the “painted surface” of the body – it is perhaps the most functional part of one’s life and self-esteem. Whether you’re dealing with acne, scars, rosacea, or aging skin, I have made it my mission to formulate products that help customers and patients see improvements in the appearance and functionality of their skin.
We think of our product use as a process for uncovering natural beauty. Our desire is to enable access for every person to a systematic method of having optimum skin health with superior, medical strength effectiveness of products that drive the body’s natural restorative mechanisms at the cellular level.
At the end of the day it’s truly your health that matters most, so I think that the most confident skin is healthy skin, not ‘perfect’ skin. Products like our lactic acid toner which can help reduce the risk of skin cancer embody my mission of helping foster long term skin health, way beyond skin deep.
FMM: What trends are you seeing?
Over the past few years we’ve seen an upswing in professional skin rejuvenation treatments like chemical peels, lasers and microneedling. At-home skincare products and treatments can be effective when used correctly, however, there are certain results you just can’t achieve without the help of a professional since they have access to professional-grade active ingredients that can penetrate more deeply into your skin than any retail product.
At Theraderm, we offer several products that do a great job of helping the skin heal properly, and can even help enhance/prolong your amazing results. First and foremost we recommend using our Cleansing Wash, which is soap-free and helps keep the skin from drying out. Post-procedure, we want to keep the skin from drying out. I recommend the Theraderm Enriched Facial Moisturizer for the face and Body Restoration Creme for the body.
FMM: April is Rosacea Awareness Month. How can Theraderm® Clinical Skin Care help?
Rosacea can be red flushing of the skin caused by dilated capillaries, and may be accompanied by pustular acne breakouts. Rosacea breakout lesions are essentially the same as those seen with traditional acne. Rosacea is very troubling to patients because the red coloration can be difficult to treat and conceal.
Theraderm’s OPC Reparative Serum has a unique ability to reduce the small capillary vessels size/diameter, minimizing the red “dots per inch” degree of redness. OPC’s key ingredient, Oligomeric Proantho-Cyanidins, significantly decreases skin capillary diameters to minimize any redness in skin in most cases within five days. The OPC Reparative Serum also minimizes any clear fluid (serum) leakage from the vessels diminishing swelling.
FMM: How can people defend against skin discoloration?
I advocate everyone use a skin care product with an elevated concentration of lactic acid as part of daily facial care. This gives the benefit of having a more youthful appearance to skin, but an important bonus is that the increased exfoliation rate lowers the risk of having the buildup of pre-cancerous epidermal cells on the skin.
FMM: Can you share the proudest moment of your career?
I have been lucky enough to be able to go to numerous countries including Iran, India, and Russia on many medical mission trips to repair cleft lips, burn scars and numerous other reconstructions. It is heart-warming to see a child’s excitement when first seeing their face after removal of scars or other defects. It is a genuine pleasure of mine to be able to give back to others through service.
FMM: Will we see any new products in 2022?
Yes, we have been busy developing several new products which will launch in 2022!
We will soon be launching a new Anti-Acne Charcoal Clay Mask that attacks clogged pores, blackheads, and pimples by combining the best anti-acne ingredients on the market: Lactic Acid, Salicylic acid, kaolin clay and charcoal which work together to destroy bacteria and draw out impurities.
We plan to bring our “Cool Skin” commercial burn reversal product into the Theraderm brand of products for home use as well. This formulation reverses the injury changes in skin when applied within six hours after skin burns from, hot oven touches, curling irons, radiation therapy, chemical skin burn or any other “energy-caused” skin burn.
Our Theraderm Fruit Acid Exfoliant toner utilizes an alpha hydroxy acid ingredient that’s naturally produced by every cell in the human body. This higher concentration lactic acid toner aids in producing a smooth skin surface and promotes better results from moisturizers and anti-aging products. Studies show that if you apply the fruit acid product to skin within the first 6 hours after being exposed to UV (sunburn) radiation, you can actually PREVENT burn symptoms of pain, redness and blistering – thereby avoiding permanent skin damage.
The Lactic Acid intervenes in the natural gene response in skin cells and the immune system to stop the progression of redness, pain, swelling and blisters. All of these observations would be classed as “Medical Claims” and require an OTC drug classification so we simply list situations where the product is seen to be effective.
An additional topical skin treatment product is in the planning stages for treating the red, itching skin associated with Atopic Dermatitis and other sensitive skin problem/conditions. We have not decided on a name for this product yet.
Jim Beckman, MD
Therapon Skin Health
@theradermclinical
