Just when it seemed that the skincare industry had exhausted itself with absurd products and cyborgian procedures, Kim Kardashian brought a new one into the cultural consciousness. In the summer of 2024, Kim Kardashian announced on “The Kardashians” that she had salmon sperm injected into her face, spurring reactions of glee and intrigue that echoed from Rodeo Drive to TikTok.

Salmon sperm facials — which are sometimes called salmon DNA facials for civility’s sake — have become the latest addition to med spa menus across Los Angeles. Formula Fig in Culver City and West Hollywood recently added what is called “the longevity treatment,” which is its take on the popular facial, for $550. Done by Dorfman, a Beverly Hills-based med spa that boasts a celebrity client list, offers the procedure for $750. Kanodia Med Spa, also Beverly Hills-based, offers the facials starting at $1,000.

The procedure is performed through microneedling, which forms channels in the skin before the product is applied topically to the face. Using salmon DNA as an injectable is not yet FDA-approved, so doctors and med spas apply it in conjunction with microneedling and laser treatments. (The substance itself carries an orange-ish tint.) The procedure promises youthful, smooth skin and has been rapidly gaining popularity, thanks partly to endorsements on social media and by celebrities like Jennifer Aniston and Charli XCX.

The idea to use salmon sperm for regeneration is older than you might think. The study of salmon DNA for wound healing was originally pioneered in Italy in the 1980s, said Dr. Zakia Rahman, a clinical professor at Stanford’s School of Dermatology. In the last few years, there has been a resurgence of scientific interest in the substance as a beauty treatment in Korea.

In fact, many doctors source salmon DNA from there. Dr. Donald Yoo, a facial plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, uses a substance called Rejuran, which is procured from one ocean-side factory in a beachfront town in Gangneung, Korea. In October of last year, he visited the factory during the salmon spawning season to witness the extraction process, which kills the salmon as the DNA is removed.

“During the tour, they showed us the streams where the salmon were captured, the factory where they process the salmon DNA, and actually had us handle some of the live salmon prior to processing,” he says.

Dr. Yoo argues that the uncanniness of salmon sperm is what has made the procedure so popular. His office in Beverly Hills offers the treatment for a starting price of $850.

“There’s a little bit of that shock factor involved,” says Dr. Yoo. “The reason that it’s growing is the fact that science has given it a good, strong basis.”

What basis is that? It begins with polynucleotides, which are fragments of DNA derived from salmon sperm. They were previously used in wound healing after clinical studies showed that they accelerated the tissue repair process. Salmon DNA, as it turns out, shares striking similarities with human DNA, causing it to stimulate collagen production, according to a 2022 peer-reviewed study in the journal Marine Drugs.

“It decreases inflammation,” says Dr. Yoo. “It promotes cell proliferation and blood vessel proliferation.”

When applied to the face, it can result in a soft, radiant, even-toned complexion. For years, scientists in Europe and South Korea have performed clinical studies of salmon DNA on skin to investigate its effect on collagen reproduction. One study conducted on wound healing in mice showed that administering polynucleotides expedited healing and collagen density.

However, despite the growing interest in this treatment, Dr. Rahman is not convinced of its efficacy.

“You have to be careful before jumping on a trend to see if it’s scientifically valid,” said Dr. Rahman.

After reviewing the scientific research, she explains that because of how the nucleotides function on the cell level, they can potentially be harmful to patients with rosacea and can actually cause some inflammation within the cells.

She notes that, when it comes to absorption, polynucleotides are also relatively large, as opposed to more commonly used skin treatment ingredients like retinoids and vitamin C.

“The reason why retinoids and vitamin C work so well is that they’re very small and they can penetrate the skin,” says Dr. Rahman. “So this, if you were just to apply it topically, probably wouldn’t get absorbed.”

From a scientific perspective, it’s not clear that salmon DNA has the potential benefits that are advertised, she said, adding that established methods still yield the best results.

“If you’re using a topical retinoid or topical vitamin C, they’re much less expensive,” she says. “A lot of the laser treatments that we do, which are FDA-cleared for things like collagen stimulation and resurfacing of the skin, are actually much more cost-effective.”

She also has sustainability concerns. After all, salmon sperm is finite.

“Do we really want to kill more salmon for their gonads?” she asks.

Nevertheless, the trend has become widespread in Europe and South Korea, and in the last year, it has developed a loyal fan base in the U.S. On Instagram, the hashtag #salmonspermfacial has over 5,000 posts featuring before-and-after photos. On TikTok, viral testimonials about salmon DNA facials rack up hundreds of thousands of likes.

Jorian Palos discovered salmon DNA facials after searching for a way to lessen her eye bags and discoloration. She tried the treatment at a med spa chain called Skin Station in Orange County. She said the process was slightly disquieting.

“It was painful, just because it’s salmon semen essentially going under your eye.”

Though she was happy with her results, the recovery was also intense.

“My face was bruised under my eyes for about a week,” she said. “It turned purple, and then it turned yellow.”

Shirel Swissa did not have as an intense recovery. She routinely microneedles and vouches for the treatment.

“Right now, my skin is the smoothest and clearest it’s been in forever,” she says. “There’s no texture. It also helps with my active acne.”

As for the sperm element, Swissa is unbothered: “It smells a tiny bit fishy. It’s not overpowering, but it’s tolerable.”

Dr. Yoo says it’s good to be skeptical of the latest health trend, but predicts that, based on the results he’s seen, salmon sperm facials will stick around.

“It’s an exploding field,” he said.

No pun intended.

Scientists have released some of the first independent test results confirming that drinking water in fire-affected areas around Altadena and the Pacific Palisades is largely free of harmful contaminants, as an Altadena utility lifted the last “do not drink” notice left in the burn zones.

Researchers with the LA Fire HEALTH Study released results on Friday from 53 homes spread across the burn areas and the more than three miles surrounding them. They found only one with a toxic substance at dangerous levels: at one home, the water contained benzene, a known carcinogen, at concentrations slightly above the state’s allowable level of 1 part per billion.

The findings add to mounting evidence that the affected area’s drinking water is safe. In March, Caltech professor Francois Tissot’s team found no lead levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s limit in the tap water of the 43 homes they tested in Altadena and surrounding communities. Separately, UCLA professor Sanjay Mohanty’s group found no concerning levels of heavy metals or potentially harmful “forever” chemicals in 45 homes tested in the Palisades.

Experts noted that LA Fire HEALTH Study’s elevated benzene level — at 1.6 ppb — remains below the federal limit of 5 ppb and would likely drop below 1 ppb once the homeowner follows the utilities’ recommendation to run all faucets in the entire house for at least five minutes to flush contaminants out of the lines before using the tap water.

The state’s limit of 1 ppb equates to no more than a two-in-one-million chance of a resident developing cancer from a lifetime exposure to the contaminant at that level, according to the State Water Resources Control Board. For higher, short-term exposures to benzene, the U.S. EPA says exposure to over 200 ppb for more than a day could have negative, non-cancer health consequences for children.

“I’m optimistic from these results,” said Chris Olivares, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Irvine, who has led the tap water-testing part of the LA Fire HEALTH Study. “The major takeaway, I think, is the importance of flushing.”

Andrew Whelton — a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Purdue University and a pioneer in the field of post-fire water contamination and remediation — attributes the quick and successful restoration of safe drinking water to the hard work of local utilities and state regulators, which followed a post-fire playbook Whelton and others developed in the wake of the 2017 Tubbs fire in Santa Rosa, 2018 Camp fire in Paradise, and subsequent fires throughout Colorado in 2021 and Hawaii in 2023.

The way dangerous volatile organic compounds, like benzene, could contaminate water supplies after a wildfire wasn’t well known or studied until a Santa Rosa resident reported a strong smell of gasoline — a signature indicator of benzene — when turning on their kitchen faucet for the first time after the 2017 fire.

Scientists and public health officials raced to understand and solve the problem. They found benzene levels as high as 40,000 ppb, and it took a year to restore safe water.

After the Camp fire, scientists found levels over 900 ppb, which took eight months to remediate.

After the L.A. County fires, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power found one instance of benzene at 71.3 ppb. The utility worked around the clock to restore safe water, first by closing roughly 4,800 open connections at fire hydrants and destroyed homes to restore water pressure, then continuously flushing water out of the system to push out contaminants. As they went, they tested and retested until benzene levels dropped to near-zero.

LADWP — with the approval of the State Water Resources Control Board — lifted its “do not drink” notice on March 7, exactly two months after the Palisades fire broke out. Two of the three smaller customer-owned utilities in Altadena, Lincoln Avenue Water Co. and Rubio Cañon Land and Water Assn. — which also detected benzene in their systems after the fires — quickly followed. The third, Las Flores Water Co., lifted the last “do not drink” notice on May 9.

Las Flores had registered the highest benzene levels of all the utilities: 440 ppb from a sample collected on April 10.

The LA Fire HEALTH Study team tested roughly eight homes within each burn area and over a dozen in adjacent communities between February and April while the testing and flushing process was ongoing.

The results are some of the first from the LA Fire HEALTH Study’s broad-ranging, privately funded effort between nearly a dozen academic and medical institutions, to understand the health consequences of the L.A. County fires over the course of 10 years.

Outside the burn areas, no homes the team sampled exceeded the state’s allowable limit for benzene or any of the other two dozen volatile organic compounds for which the group tested. And inside the burn areas, benzene was the only contaminant that exceeded the state’s allowable limits.

Although the utilities have worked for months to flush contaminants out of the labyrinth of pipes shuttling water from reservoirs to private properties, it’s homeowners who are responsible for finishing out the job and flushing the pipes on their own properties.

The researchers stressed that the one benzene exceedance — found in Lincoln Avenue’s service area one week after the utility’s “do not drink” notice was lifted — is a reminder that residents should follow the utilities’ guidance for safe water use once returning home.

“Lincoln Avenue Water Company’s top priority is to provide safe and reliable drinking water to the community. Through extensive testing, we have established that our system is in compliance with all state and federal water quality standards,” said Lincoln Avenue general manager Jennifer Betancourt Torres, in a statement to The Times.

“It’s important to emphasize that samples taken from inside the home are considered a representation of the residential plumbing and not the water being delivered,” she said.

The utilities and water safety experts say residents should first flush all of their lines — every faucet and spigot, both hot and cold, for at least five minutes. They should also run all appliances and fixtures, like dishwashers and washing machines, once with hot water before using. Two batches of ice from a fridge icemaker should be discarded.

Each utility is providing detailed, up-to-date guidance for their customers on their respective websites, including LADWP, Rubio Cañon, Lincoln Avenue and Las Flores.

Staff writer Ian James contributed to this report.