What Enzymes?

The astute reader will have noticed the absence of reference to pumpkin juice in the preceding post. Try as I might, I cannot find a single source identifying the presumed "enzyme" or "enzymes" that supposedly digest the stratum corneum apart, a process called "keratolysis." It doesn't seem like the cosmeceutical entrepreneurs have done much more than I to isolate a compound, using whole extracts and ferments of pumpkin in their VERY expensive preparations.

So, I'm officially calling "bullshit" on them. It's fruit acid. Lactic or glycolic, retinoic, I can't tell you. But that's my story, and I think it's as good as theirs. I'd really like to hear from the professionals (who may have been laughing at the last post) in the comments. I don't know if I posted this link before...
http://www.rhondaallison.com/blogdetail.html?id=219&blog=104%20Unknown%20Ingredients%20of%20Pumpkin
but #82 doesn't seem like the right place to note that "pumpkin has the highest natural concentration of salicylic acid of any plant." The campaign for vitamin S that I read about in Wikipedia doesn't seem to be going very well.

I'm starting to wonder if there is a cosmetic problem to which this substance doesn't apply. I have a lot of cracks in my teeth (another problem shared by icthyosis patients), and have been trying alternatives to glycerin-based toothpaste, parallel to the exclusion of glycerin from my shaving routine. I sense that the "abfractures" come from within, not from grinding my teeth, as my ex-dentist insisted. So last night, I tried "toning" them with pumpkin juice, raising my face toward the ceiling and slurping the pumpkincicle for some seconds before brushing.

When I spit, I was trying to remember what I ate that was BROWN. Nothing -- but I had been drinking black tea! And my teeth looked whiter, and this morning the cracks looked smaller. I know, acid on teeth -- got to be careful here, and I won't advise anyone else trying it yet. But it's pretty darned interesting, to say the least.

This morning, I put some in my hair, before applying a conditioning gel, and compacted my coif considerably. No hair falling out yet.

I  plan to launch a coordiated attack on persistent skin flaws with the pumpkin juice toner, alcohol to force penetration, and the Dr. Miracles moisturizer. Whatever vitamin D couldn't fix, basically, will get this harsher approach, while the skin I'm happy with will get the "soap and water" treatment.