Estée Lauder Companies’ new longevity-based skin health research for industry adoptation
07 Jul 2023 --- The Estée Lauder Companies and several of its brands have presented a range of novel preclinical and clinical findings at the 25th World Congress of Dermatology, held in Singapore.
“As we live longer, research on health span and longevity will only accelerate. To meet these innovation challenges, we are thinking differently and in a manner enabled by novel science across all our global laboratories and clinics,” says Lisa Napolione, SVP of global R&D at Estée Lauder.
The presentations at the symposium showcased a portfolio of beauty and skin care brands, effectively translating biological learnings and progressive research efforts into innovation, including better methods to care and protect the skin. The company revealed five posters on their research in skin care and how the personal care industry can utilize the results in their products.
“With rapidly emerging knowledge and advancements from the dermatologic and scientific communities, skin care science has never been more important,” adds Napolione.
Anti-aging application
The first poster was titled “The benefits of regular use of moisturizer to skin aging prevention: a six-month evaluator blinded, randomized and controlled clinical study.”
Estée Lauder discusses how moisturizers are routinely used to treat dry skin conditions and are considered the basis of skin care. Still, the long-term standalone benefits of consistent application have not been fully demonstrated with randomized controlled trial clinical studies.
Its evaluator-blinded, randomized, six-month longitudinal study evaluated 160 women aged 35 to 65 with dry skin, mild to moderate crow’s feet wrinkles and a low frequency of skin care regimen. Participants were split into two groups: One using a moisturizer regularly and the other continuing treatment at a low frequency.
The results revealed that regular application of a potent moisturizer treats skin dryness and improves the dry skin stratum corneum (the outermost layer of the epidermis) cohesion to reduce the appearance of facial aging.
Reducing redness
The second poster was titled “The effect of a multi-ingredient facial cream on skin structure, function, and appearance: evidence from ex vivo and clinical studies.” In the study, scientists at skin care company La Mer evaluated a topical cream formulation containing algae Macrocystis pyrifera ferment and other ingredients on participants with a range of skin tones.
In the experiments, the cream improved skin barrier recovery and resilience, mitigated visible redness (erythema) and irritation, and demonstrated a reduction in signs of aged skin in US- and Asia-based populations.
Histological assessment of ex vivo human skin explants suggested that topical application enhanced critical extracellular matrix proteins and hyaluronic acid. The findings suggest that facial cream effectively treats barrier integrity and strength and signs of aging parameters while improving skin appearance with daily use.
Youthful skin appearance
The third study evaluated the importance of SIRT2 – or “longevity proteins” – in regulating the mechanobiology of the skin. SIRTs are a class of enzymes synchronized to circadian rhythms that regulate protein expression – in promoting youthful skin properties.
The findings built on the team’s previous results, which showed that SIRT activity in skin cells is linked to environmental stressors, including UV and ozone. Treatment with SIRT 1, 2, 3, and 6 activators helped to rebuild protein structure and increased collagen production in mature skin cells, while the combination of SIRT 1 and 3 activators increased elastin and fibrillin production. Activation of SIRT2 also increased skin cell area – a feature typical of younger skin cells.
The fourth research involved how anti-glycation and anti-sallowness affect certain materials in 3D skin equivalent models. One cause of skin aging and a sallow complexion is glycation – a chemical modification that occurs on sugar molecules and leads to advanced glycation end products (AGEs).
Using 3D skin models, researchers studied the anti-glycation properties of six compounds to determine their capacities to reduce auto-fluorescence in 3D skin models. The compounds were tested topically in a dose-response study over seven days, revealing that GlcNAc, DE, vitamin C and E were most effective in demonstrating a significant reduction of AGE auto-fluorescence compared to skin models treated with glycation agent methylglyoxal alone.
The results reveal that the anti-glycation capacity of compounds used in skin care formulations may be associated with the reduced appearance of skin sallowness.
Natural skin repair
The last poster demonstrated a topical cosmetic serum with a targeted, triple-action approach that provides anti-aging benefits equal to a single laser treatment. The Clinique-led clinical trial evaluated a combination of ingredients that supported natural skin repair versus a single laser treatment in a population of 42 women with moderate facial photodamage.
The efficacy and tolerability of the topical product versus a single ablative laser treatment were assessed over 16 weeks. While no statistically significant differences in tolerability were observed, treatment with the topical cosmetic product statistically improved all measured parameters compared to a single laser treatment, showing parity.
The topical product improved the appearance of global lines, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, skin tone evenness, texture, smoothness and firmness – suggesting efficacy in combating visible signs of skin aging.
In related news, the Estée Lauder Companies collaborated with scientists at Aveda and the Lab Series brands to produce new research on “priority areas” in skin and hair care.
Edited by Sabine Waldeck
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