Today’s consumer is constantly seeking products and therapies to help restore a more youthful appearance to their aged and photodamaged facial skin, and the technology development cycle has provided numerous options that span a range of efficacy, costs, and balance of side effects. As a starting point in the decision process on which products or services to choose from, there is generally a direct correlation between efficacy, potency, cost, and negative side effects. The more potent the technology or treatment, the higher the cost and, usually, the higher the risk for negative side effects. While the decision lies with the consumer in terms of how important it is to attain a younger appearance, it is clear that societal pressure to maintain a more youthful appearance has a strong influence. Likewise, there is greater acceptance to be proactive in this pursuit of vanity.
Of the claimed antiaging ingredients that are used cosmetically, some, but not all, can provide measurable degrees of improvement in the appearance of photodamaged facial skin. This is particularly true with continued usage, including in combination with an effective sunscreen. It is difficult to quantitatively compare the magnitude of the effects among the various technologies, but in general they are viewed as being lower than trans-retinoic acid, the current benchmark for topically antiaging ingredients. This gap highlights the technical and business opportunity to identify safe and effective technologies that can be used in the cosmetic market. Considering the enormous diversity of compounds to be found in natural extracts, variations of peptide sequences and combinations, the future possibilities seem limitless for identifying new materials and cosmetic mechanisms to improve the appearance of aging skin.
In contrast, the current methods and procedures used by professionals to treat photodam – aged and aged skin can obviously provide nearly an order of magnitude or greater improvement in the aged appearance of facial skin. Significantly, the effects can also appear much more rapidly than that attained with topical cosmetic products. The balance to this higher order efficacy is higher costs, greater chance for negative side effects, and varying amounts of downtime. However, the development cycle will most certainly continue to identify technologies that will improve upon current methods. In addition, the intersection of cosmetic products with professional treatments will theoretically provide the best of both worlds to the consumer as a true cosmetic platform.