最新最潮护肤品：蜂毒

The latest magic ingredient being added to skin creams, lip-plumping potions and sticky face masks has been creating buzz.

一种添加于护肤霜、丰唇药水和面贴膜的最新魔力成分引起了持续轰动──它就是蜂毒。

Bee venom, long used in ancient medicine, is being touted as a 'natural Botox' that stimulates the body's production of collagen and elastin to smooth, lift and tighten skin. The venom also contains a compound called melittin, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.

很久以前，蜂毒就被应用于古代医学当中，如今它被吹捧为一种“天然肉毒杆菌，可以促进人体产生胶原蛋白和弹性蛋白，由此达到提拉肌肤使皮肤变得顺滑紧致的目的。蜂毒还含有一种被称为“蜂毒口的复合物，据证明它具有抗炎功效。

Much of the clinical research into bee venom has focused on its effect on diseases like cancer and arthritis. Studies of its uses as a skin-care treatment have been limited.

大部分对蜂毒的临床研究主要集中于它对癌症和关节炎等疾病的疗效，而对于其作为皮肤护理疗法的研究一直都非常之少。

'I couldn't find any legitimate scientific studies of the benefit of bee venom either topical or injected,' says David Leffell, a professor of Dermatology and Surgery at Yale School of Medicine. 'Within the world of anti-aging…every six months there is a new agent that comes on, but one of the things that is important is whether or not it can get through the skin.'

耶鲁医学院(Yale School of Medicine)皮肤病学及皮肤外科教授戴维·勒费尔(David Leffell)称，“我找不到任何有关蜂毒无论是用于局部(涂抹)还是用于注射的益处的正规科学研究。在抗衰老这个领域中，每隔六个月就会出现一种新成分，但其中重要的一点是它是否能渗入皮肤。

Dr. Leffell says he remains skeptical of the extent that bee venom could smooth or tighten skin. There is evidence, however, that the honey also in many of the products could be beneficial as a moisturizer, he says.

勒费尔博士称，他对蜂毒使皮肤变得紧致和顺滑的效果会有多好依然持怀疑态度。不过，他说有证据显示蜂蜜也是保湿效果不错的多种产品中的其中一种。

Still, demand has been strong since British tabloids reported that Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, used bee-venom skin-care products before the royal wedding last year. More recently, actress Gwyneth Paltrow said on her blog Goop that she had 'been given bee venom therapy for an old injury' and as a result the injury had since disappeared.

尽管如此，自英国小报报道剑桥公爵夫人凯特·米德尔顿(Kate Middleton)在去年的王室婚礼之前使用了蜂毒护肤品之后，市场对蜂毒的需求就一直比较强劲。不久前，美国女演员格温妮丝·帕特罗(Gwyneth Paltrow)在其博客Goop上发表博文称，她接受了蜂毒疗法来治疗一处旧伤口，在那之后她的那处伤口就消失了。

One gram of venom from New Zealand, a major producer, is the equivalent of 10,000 bee stings and costs about $304─more than eight times the current value of gold, according to industry sources. Venom produced outside of New Zealand is sold at lower prices.

业内消息人士称，蜂毒主产国新西兰出产的一克蜂毒相当于10,000次的蜜蜂叮蛰量，售价在304美元左右，是当前黄金价格的八倍多。新西兰以外的地方出产的蜂毒价格要便宜一些。

Judith Salisbury, who owns cosmetics maker Abeeco Ltd., says prices for New Zealand venom are up 33% in the past 12 months. The Auckland-based company sells a full line of bee-venom products, including a lip plumper that costs $29.

总部位于奥克兰的化妆品生产商Abeeco Ltd.的老板朱迪丝·索利斯伯里(Judith Salisbury)称，新西兰产蜂毒的价格在过去12个月上涨了33%。这家公司销售一系列品种齐全的蜂毒护肤品，其中包括售价29美元一支的丰唇膏。

Heaven, a line of skin-care products based in Shropshire, England, includes the venom in its eye cream (about $85) and mask (about $100). Another company, Manuka Doctor, sells a line of bee-venom products that it says targets blemishes and reduces the appearance of scars and wrinkles. Prices range from $13 to $67.

Heaven为英格兰什罗普郡一家护肤品公司，该公司在其眼霜(85美元左右)和面膜(100美元左右)产品中添加了蜂毒。另一家名为Manuka Doctor的公司也销售一系列蜂毒护肤品，该公司称这些产品针对皮肤上的瑕疵并有助于淡化疤痕和皱纹，其产品售价从13美元至67美元不等。

Christchurch bee keeper Allister Maclean, who operates Sensational Bees, says his bees had been producing honey for around six years but he moved into venom a couple of years as a sideline business.

新西兰克赖斯特彻奇市(Christchurch)的养蜂人埃利斯特·麦克里恩(Allister Maclean)经营着蜂业公司Sensational Bees。他说他从事蜂蜜生产业务约有六年时间，在几年前开始涉足蜂毒业作为公司的副业。

'We supplied [Abeeco] with pollen and the bee-venom capsules and so when they wanted it for the cream we got a bit more venom for him,' says Mr. Maclean.

麦克里恩说，“我们为Abeeco供应花粉和蜂毒胶囊，所以他们需要蜂毒来生产护肤霜时，我们就会为他们多弄一些蜂毒。

Bee keepers have various methods to harvest the venom, but most use a 'collection frame,' a frame wired with electrodes and covered with a piece of glass. The frame is mounted in a bee hive. When the bees come in contact with it they receive a mild electrical shock and sting the glass. The bees return to the hive unharmed and the venom is collected to be used in creams.

养蜂人各有不同的方法来采集蜂毒，但大多数人会使用“采集框，一个安有电极、盖着一块玻璃的框架。这个框架放在蜂巢内的上方，蜜蜂碰到它时会受到一阵温和的电击，这会促使蜜蜂去叮那块玻璃。最后这些蜜蜂会安然无恙返回蜂巢中，分泌的蜂毒会被采集起来用于护肤霜中。

'It looks like salt on glass, and we scrape it off with a razor blade,' says Philip Cropp, an electrician by trade who owns Nelson Honey & Marketing Ltd. in Nelson, New Zealand. In some products the venom is purified before it is added to cosmetics. When applied to the skin, bee venom is said to occasionally tingle depending on the consumer's skin but has no lasting effect.

菲利普·克洛普(Philip Cropp)说，“它看起来就像玻璃上的盐一般，我们会用刀片把它刮下来。克洛普的职业是电工，也是新西兰尼尔森(Nelson)蜂业公司Nelson Honey & Marketing Ltd.的老板。

Bee-venom products are also finding their way into salons and spas.

在某些产品中，蜂毒在被加入化妆品之前会先经过净化。用于护肤时，依据消费者个人肤质的不同，据说蜂毒偶尔会使皮肤产生刺痛感，但是刺痛感的持续时间并不长。

Ina Bajaj, owner of Australasian day spa franchise East Day Spa, based in Auckland with spas around the region, offers a 30-minute and 60-minute bee-venom facial that costs between $65 and $95.

此外，蜂毒产品同样也被运用在了美容院和水疗场所中。

'We really started using bee venom when the whole Kate Middleton fad happened,' Ms. Bajaj says. 'Initially there were one or two players on the market and then there was a lot more.'

伊娜·巴贾吉(Ina Bajaj)是日间水疗品牌East Day Spa澳大利亚加盟店的老板，East Day Spa公司总部位于奥克兰，在该地区多处地方都建有水疗场所。她为顾客提供时长30分钟和60分钟的蜂毒面部美容服务，价格在65美元至95美元之间。

巴贾吉说，“在凯特·米德尔顿热潮爆发之前，我们实际上已经开始使用蜂毒了。最初市面上只有一两家这样的公司，后来的数量就多得多了。