Ashland has tested the efficacy of anti-pollution skin care as concerns about the effect of pollutants on the skin rise.
Pollutants are said to penetrate the skin, increasing sensitivity and are thought to accelerate visible signs of ageing by promoting the breakdown of collagen and compromising the skin’s barrier.
Ashland conducted a double-blind clinical study in Shanghai, China to test the ability of Elixiance in a polluted environment. The company was aiming to show the benefits of the ingredient in an urban environment known to have high levels of pollution.
Shanghai is known to have levels of fine particulate matter at less than 2.5 µm, or PM2.5 at times of the year.
The company tested the skin of 59 volunteers, aged 18-65 for several signs of skin health after 70 days of using either a cream containing 1% Elixiance or a placebo.
The researchers found that those given the Elixiance solution saw a 74% increase in luminosity after 28 days and also saw a reduction in levels of sensitivity.
Anne-Francoise Clay, Marketing Manager, Skin Care Biofunctionals at Ashland, explained: “A lower level of a* value and Interleukin-1 alpha (L-1 a) is associated with less sensitivity of the skin. Elixiance at 1% was associated with an observed decrease in both the a* value in 40 volunteers and IL-1 a in the stratum corneum of a subgroup of eight volunteers, compared to the placebo side.”
Clay added: “In Asia, where the anti-pollution skin care market is well established, formulators can utilise the results of these studies regarding Elixiance to help support anti-PM2.5 claims.”
Clay also said that the data could be used to support the formulation of products across the rest of the world to help reduce the damage caused by pollution.
