Aging—It's Not Just Face Value
When someone says a person looks old, they are usually reacting to facial skin appearance. The skin on the hands, chest and legs also reveals a person's age, yet 98% of female anti-aging product purchases are to treat facial skin only.
STUDY: PARAMETERS SHOW BODY SKIN’S INFLUENCE ON APPEARANCE OF AGING
Aging Factors Tested with Novel Anti-aging Body Moisturizer
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| PRIMOS images of young (left) vs. mature skin (right) illustrate increase in roughness due to age. |
Skin on the hands, chest and legs can reveal a person’s age, yet 98 percent of female anti-aging beauty care purchases are made to treat facial skin only. Using innovative measurements and technologies, P&G Beauty is developing products that better protect the skin all over the body and fight aging not only on the surface, but actually within the skin’s cells.
To study the effectiveness of anti-aging moisturizing compounds, P&G Beauty researchers established a set of parameters that contribute to aging. By comparing the skin of women ages 20- 30 against ages 50-60, the team quantified five major signals of body skin aging: dullness, dryness, roughness, loss of elasticity and uneven color.
Jonathan Crowther, Ph.D., leads the research, which shows significant differences between young and old skin in the “high stress” body areas, including above the knees, backs of the hands, outsides of the elbows and décolletage region of the chest. Furthermore, areas most exposed to incidental UV exposure, including the hands and décolletage, were shown to be most prone to aging. The team also took a unique approach to the research, retooling a non-invasive skin cancer detection technology — the SIAscope (Spectrophotometric Intracutaneous Analysis) SIAscope, or Spectrophotometric Intracutaneous analysis scope, is a form of Dermatoscope created by Astron Clinica. It uses light to generate an image of skin. Using proprietary software and an understanding of the physical interaction of light and skin chromaphore it is able to resolve an image showing level and distribution of melanin, collagen and haemoglobin. It creates in effect skin "maps" for each of these chromophores. — to measure collagen and melanin levels.
“Using this technology, we were able to measure in vivo the changes that contribute to skin aging, which helps explain how each is affected by moisturizing products,” Dr. Crowther said.
Dr. Crowther’s team then conducted an eight-week study of a new anti-aging body moisturizer, which contains both antioxidants and UV protection ingredients, designed specifically to address these “high-impact” areas. Results showed that the anti-aging body moisturizer improved the signs of aging when compared to an untreated control, noting a significant reduction in melanin production (the cause of uneven color), and significant improvements in elasticity, dullness, dryness and skin roughness.
According to Dr. Crowther, “these parameters offer valuable insights on how we can better protect against skin damage. Using novel technologies to study products in the lab setting, consumers will begin to see products that offer a noticeable and clinically evident improvement in their skin.”
Learn more in Newsletter XI »