Importance of Prevention
The first rule to counteract skin "relaxation" is prevention. The strategy to minimize the signs of aging is to take care of the skin daily, especially in the most exposed areas, such as the face and hands.
The cosmetics formulated with suitable active ingredients and emollients help to keep the skin compact and luminous, both because they increase the degree of skin hydration and because they can contribute to the formation of a complex and functional network, which intimately supports the delicate epidermal structure.
Targets
The main purpose of firming treatments is to reduce the loss of elastic fibers, promote the formation of new collagen and glucosaminoglycan fibers, and stimulate cell renewal at the level of the epidermis.
It is possible to hinder the loss of tone and cutaneous turgidity through different mechanisms:
Protection against free radicals
Ideally, the skin is equipped with an efficient and complete antioxidant defense system, but the continuous oxidative insults to which it is subjected cause deleterious impoverishment. A strategy to implement skin defenses - thus inhibiting membrane lipoperoxidation, protein denaturation and hyaluronic acid depolymerization - is the integration of this baggage, through the topical application of cosmetic formulations with antioxidant activity.
It is possible to distinguish two categories of antioxidants used in the cosmetic field.
The first group includes vitamins, which include substances such as ascorbic acid and vitamin E. Ascorbic acid is considered the most important antioxidant agent present in intra and extracellular fluids, and is widely used to counteract the effects of skin aging, both intrinsic and extrinsic.
The generic term vitamin E, indicates a family of liposoluble substances (tocopherols and tocotrienols), which constitute the primary line of defense of cell membranes against lipid peroxidation.
The second group includes non-vitaminic molecules, such as ubiquinone, flavonoids, lipoic acid and enzyme systems. Ubiquinone, known as coenzyme Q10, is a liposoluble molecule already present on the skin, able to protect biological membranes from oxidation and to enhance the antioxidant action of vitamin E. Polyphenolic compounds, in addition to their undisputed activity "radical scavanger ”, showed the ability to reduce erythema induced by ultraviolet radiation. The most widely used polyphenols in anti-aging cosmetics are catechins extracted from Camellia sinensis, quercetin and Ginkgo biloba canferola, silymarin from Silybum marianum and resveratrol from Vitis vinifera .
Lipoic acid effectively neutralizes the hydroxyl radical and can regenerate vitamin E from its oxidized form. Enzymes such as SOD (super-oxydismutase), exert their action by transforming the superoxide radical into oxygen and hydrogen peroxide.
The current trend involves the use of antioxidants mixed in the same cosmetic product, to exploit their synergistic activity.1, 2
Action on collagen and elastin
The loss of the elastic response can be prevented by intervening indirectly on the elastin. This can be done through the application of unsaponifiable substances that act as stimulators on the fibroblasts, favoring the synthesis of elastin and thus allowing a replacement of the elastic fibers. The most used are those of avocado, soy, shea, olive oil.3 Retinol or vitamin A has a primary action on the growth and trophism of epithelial tissue, and on cell differentiation and transformation. Vitamin C participates in the synthesis of collagen as a cofactor of hydroxylase which transforms the pro-collagen residues of proline and lysine into hydroxyproline and hydroxylisine. Plant extracts rich in triterpenes, such as those from Centella asiatica, Ginseng and Ginko bibloba, are able to stimulate the activity of fibroblasts with a consequent increase in native collagen type I and III, and of the fundamental amorphous substance. Soy isoflavones also show marked stimulating action on collagen synthesis. The extract of Kigelia africana is particularly rich in steroid flavonoids and saponosides, which is recognized as a tensor and firming effect. The peptide composition of the extract of this African plant generates an elastic network at the level of the skin tissue and acts giving compactness to the dermis. Its action helps prevent relaxation, toning and moisturizing the skin. The extract of Humulus lupulus, characterized by the presence of phytoestrogens, flavonoids, proteins, phenolic acids and tannins, is effective in improving skin tone and firmness.
Action on the amorphous substance
Alterations at the level of the amorphous substance can lead to a decrease in the turgor of the dermis, and of its resistance and elasticity. Triterpene saponins such as ginsenosides, extracted from Panax ginseng, once metabolised in the skin, form a glucopyranoside complex able to increase the expression of the gene responsible for the synthesis of hyaluronic acid. Some derivatives of caffeic acid, such as echinacoside, extracted from Echinacea angustifolia, are active in inhibiting the synthesis of the enzyme hyaluronidase, responsible for the depolymerization of hyaluronic acid .
Maintenance of the barrier function
Lipid substances prevent and improve skin hydration and elasticity, increasing resistance to chemical and physical insults. Useful for this purpose can be: ceramides, essential fatty acids of the omega 3 and omega 6 series, vegetable oils and butters such as evening primrose, macadamia, borage, shea, olive.
Cosmetic forms
The most commonly used cosmetic form is certainly the oil in water emulsion, a system that allows the incorporation of lipophilic and hydrophilic active ingredients. For particularly dry and mature skin, water-in-oil emulsions are also used. Of considerable interest is the use of serums and gels which, being of low or zero oily phase content, are quickly absorbed through the skin and are particularly suitable for oily and impure skin.
- Garnier Bodytonic
- Firming moisturizing milk
- Lierac Bust Lift Creme Modelage
- Extra-Firming Body Lotion
- pH 5 Firming Treatment
- Body Creator Aromatic Bust Firming Complex
- Vichy Homme Structure S
- Butter cream
- Thai-body cream and smoothing with Mango butter
- Firming Massage Mask
- Bio-active anti-wrinkle firming cream
- Elastic sea water body cream
1 Dreher F., Maibach H., Protective effects of topical antioxidants in humans, Curr Probl Dermatol; 29: 157-64, 2001 2 Axel jenntzsch, Harald Streicher, Karin Engelhart, The synergistic antioxidative effect of Ascorbyl 2-phosphate and alpha- Tocopheryl acetate, Cosmetic & Toiletries, Vol.116, N.6, 2001 3 Massera AM, Proserpio G. Unsaponifiables from plant lipids and their cosmetic applications. SICC conference proceedings. Turin 1978.
