Beautiful skin – an age-old problem
The future of skincare is set to be high-tech. In the meantime, the simplest way to prevent damage to skin is the same as ever - stay out of the sun, eat a balanced diet and avoid stress.
Stay out of the sun
While genetic factors influence skin health to a certain degree, some damaging influences are actually within our control and can be avoided. Exposure to UV light is extremely corrosive as it amplifies the production of free radicals that damage the collagen responsible for skin's elasticity. Stress and toxins add to the problem and lead to a situation where the integrity of the collagen network is challenged – and that can cause skin to sag and become wrinkled.
Beauty is skin deep
The process of skin ageing starts early in life. With increasing age, the epidermis (the topmost layer of skin) starts to thin and lose its elasticity. Below the epidermis is the dermis, a thick skin layer made up of a network of collagen and elastin fibres, keeping the skin firm and youthful in appearance.
New anti-ageing technology
There are many types of nuclear hormone receptors in the skin. They regulate processes such as skin repair and collagen production. One such regulatory gene is PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor). Our recent research has focused on the selection of compounds that may bind to PPAR and thus activate the nuclear receptor that regulates collagen synthesis. In other words, that means that a successful compound in a skincare product would offer a new route towards skin repair, leading to firmer skin and fewer wrinkles.
Is the future in the leaves?
There are many similarities between plant leaves and human skin. Both are thin, delicate and complex tissues; they have a large surface area in relation to volume; are metabolically very active and exposed to UV light for a good part of the day. But in contrast to human skin, plant leaves possess strong antioxidant defence systems that can quench the large amounts of free radicals produced by metabolism and promoted by UV exposure. This has triggered us to research ways to mimick plant strategies to protect skin from ageing.
Beauty from within
Current personal care products mostly act on the skin's surface – but many potentially effective compounds cannot penetrate the top layer of the skin and therefore do not reach the fibroblasts in the dermis. Fibroblasts are cells distributed in the dermis and responsible for production of the protein network essential for skin structure. As the skin has a good blood supply, active ingredients ingested through the diet and taken up into the bloodstream are likely to reach the skin from the inside.
