Dr. Chanda Siddoo-Atwal (aka Dr. Moondust) is an accomplished scientist, artist and author who has taken her knowledge, skills and abilities and used them to develop a unique line of cosmetics, known as Moondust Cosmetics.
Dr. Siddoo-Atwal completed her B.Sc. in Biochemistry form the University of London, her Ph.D. in Applied Sciences at Simon Fraser University and her Post-doctoral fellowship in the Biochemistry Department at the Medical College of Wisconsin. “I’ve always been interested in cancer, my mother was a medical doctor, a pediatrician, and my dad was an eminent entomologist,” Dr. Siddoo-Atwal advises, “so I have been interested in science, in particular health science, from the beginning.”
As an academic, the Doctor has often presented her research at various symposiums, conferences and expos around the world. Her latest book is A New Approach to Cancer Risk Assessment: An Overview (Lambert Academic Publishing). “The book ties together all the research and presentations I have done all around the world,” Dr. Siddoo-Atwal explains.
As well as being an author and speaker Dr. Siddoo-Atwal is the President and primary biochemist of Moondust Cosmetics Ltd in Vancouver. Moondust Cosmetics is geared towards people that go out into the sun or are exposed to Ultraviolet radiation and their skin peels no matter how hard they try to protect it. It is also for patients that have survived skin cancer siince Moondust Cosmetics’ formula will not irritate or cause any inflammation to the skin. Moondust Cosmetics’ products – which currently include a facial base and a skin protector – are ideal for post procedures (like ablative lasers, peels, surgery).
Dr. Siddoo-Atwal has identified and developed the sunburn cycle – which is not really spoken of by companies that produce and sell cosmetics and sunscreen, as the Doctor believes it would expose the SPF (Sun Protection Factor) myth that most sun products are based upon; for example, the higher the SPF the greater the protection. “I started investigating SPF,” Dr. Siddoo-Atwal explains, “and I found out that SPF does not prevent sunburn, it just prevents redness, inflammation and tanning … it is not blocking the whole process.” The Doctor argues that what is required to prevent the skin from burning is APF (Apoptotic Protection Factors) which minimizes peeling and ultimately cell death – and that this can prevent many form of skin diseases including skin cancer. “I started working on a new sunscreen formulation with my colleague that blocks all elements of the sunburn cycle,” she elucidates. Dr. Siddoo-Atwal is working on developing other items in the range and she hopes to have them available for the public once her research and testing has been completed.
In describing Moondust Cosmetics, Dr. Moondust advises “this has been in the making for quite some time, as it connected to my own research, so that is where it started. It’s mainly about raising awareness. I want people to know that many sunscreen are not protecting and preventing skin cancer. So I wanted to raise awareness and offer options that address this concern.”
Dr. Siddoo-Atwal believes strongly in her products and makes efforts to get the product to as many people as possible. Moondust Cosmetics sponsors events and participates in many charities around the city; last year at the World Partnership Golf event they gave out more than a hundred tubes of Moondust to golfers. And a portion of each sale from their online store goes towards a fund for victims of skin cancer.
In addition to her work in the academic and cosmetics field, the Doctor also finds time to participate in artistic endeavours. She plays the piano and writes operas; she then coordinates an orchestra to play her pieces, sometimes in public venues.
To learn more about Dr. Siddoo-Atwal (Dr. Moondust) and Moondust Cosmetics visit the website at moondustcosmetics.com and visit the Facebook page at facebook.com/DrMoondust/
