David H. McDaniel The Institute of Anti-Aging Research, Virginia Beach, Virginia, U. S.A. Joseph DiNardo and Joseph Lewis Pharma Cosmetix Research, LLC, Richmond, Virginia, U. S.A. WHAT ARE “COSMECEUTICALS”—COSMETICS VS. RX DRUGS History and Background The term “cosmeceuticals” was first popularized about twenty-five years ago by Albert Kligman, MD, PhD, to bridge the gap between […]

In addition to flavonoids, plant extracts are a rich source of diverse compounds that are being explored to identify skin care bioactives. DISCUSSION It is clear that many anti-aging ingredients that are used cosmetically do provide appearance improvement benefits to the skin, but for others data supporting their claimed effects are not readily available for […]

Topical materials such as glycerol and hyaluronic acid will readily hydrate the skin surface and will diminish the appearance of fine lines simply by plumping the skin. Moisturizers are the subject of another chapter in this volume. Flavonoids This family of plant-derived and synthetically prepared chemicals encompasses a huge variety of compounds. They are beginning […]

Ubiquinone is yellow-orange in color. Thus, only low doses (< 1%) can be used in topical cosmetic skin care products to avoid aesthetic color concerns. This low dose likely limits the benefit potential of this ingredient. OTHER TECHNOLOGIES Hydroxy and Keto Acids There are many compounds within this group: alpha-hydroxy acids such as glycolic acid […]

Mechanism Ubiquinone is an endogenous antioxidant present throughout the body, including the skin. The levels decrease with age. Topical ubiquinone replenishes the skin (68). Efficacy While much has been discussed regarding the skin care benefits of topical ubiquinone, the available data address only the antioxidant properties of this ingredient (69).

The key issue with triterpenoids is poor solubility which also results in limited skin delivery. Formulation in liposomes has been employed to improve both delivery and formula solubility, although the resulting increase in oil content of the formulations may negatively impact the aesthetics.

There is little published information to illustrate the clinical effects of triterpenoids. Topical ursolic acid in liposomes (final concentration of ursolic acid < 0.002%) resulted in increased skin ceramides in small-base forearm testing (n= 3; 11 days of treatment). The increased ceramides were suggested to indicate improved skin barrier (66). In a double­blind, placebo-controlled, left-right […]

Forms There are numerous plant-derived triterpenoid compounds and derivatives of them, with a few receiving attention in the cosmetic area, e. g., asiatic acid, ursolic acid, medacassic acid, oleanolic acid, betulinic acid, and boswellic acid. There are also naturally occurring saccharide esters of these, such as asiaticoside, which is the ester of asiatic acid. Mechanisms […]

The limitation with kinetin is its fairly low solubility in formulation. This restricts the upper dose to approximately 0.1% for an aesthetically elegant formulation. This also impacts delivery into skin, although even from this relatively low dose sufficient material does enter skin to provide clinical effects.