Insights on well-being and beauty, the theme of the 8th World Meeting of the International Society of Cosmetic Dermatology (ISCD)
Beijing hosted the latest edition of the World Meeting of the ISCD from 20-23 October 2007, the first time the event has been held in China. Appropriately enough the meeting focused on the practical application of traditional eastern philosophies in conjunction with the wider global scientific culture to maintain the human body.
Several scientists, led by Shengqing Ma in the keynote lecture, reported what the eastern scientific world has to offer, with particular reference to China's development. In order to further the development of a new culture on well-being that draws on western and eastern influences it was said to be essential to promote the integration of the two different ways of thinking and living. The point was made that those cosmetic scientists, and by extension the companies they work for, that successfully combine east and west traditions with modern methods can expect success in the marketplace.
Xiran Lin, from the department of dermatology at Dalian Medical University, reported on the herbal medicines involved in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that are deemed to possess the actions of invigorating qi (lifeforce) and can therefore nourish the blood, removing dampness and relieving itching. These actions are said to balance the yin and yang (the concept of two opposing yet complementary forces), coordinate the qi and promote other holistic physiological effects. Lin made the point that given the range and efficacy of these claimed effects, traditional Chinese botanicals are among the most promising groups of materials that can be used for worldwide in cosmeceutical and cosmetic products.
West meets East
Recent Chinese studies have suggested different approaches to the use of traditional Chinese drugs. It has been shown, for example, that the extract of radix ginseng promotes type I collagen production in human dermal fibroblast cells, and one of the major metabolites of ginsenosides, compound K, induces expression of hyaluronan synthase 2 gene in transformed human keratinocytes and increases hyaluronan in hairless mouse skin.
The ageing population is a global trend but, even by levels typical of advanced economies, Hong Kong has a long life expectancy – 79.5 years for men and 85 years for women, coupled with a low birth rate. This trend has far reaching implications for its economy, health care, welfare, pension plans, education and finance. The economic impact of an ageing population is a problem in both the west and east.
Because people want to fight the ageing process they are very interested in taking care of themselves and require a sense of well-being from beauty products. They want to feel beauty through their body and mind to ameliorate the quality of life. The concept of well-being is based on the idea of a full restoration of physical and spiritual energy using various practices. Increasingly the latest and most efficient procedures for relaxing are based on ancient recipes from China and India.
Conversely there is constant scientific progress in the west, epitomised by nanoscience. Can this ameliorate and improve our way of living?
According to the US National Science Foundation, the global nano-products market will register a turnover in excess of $1,000bn a year in the next 10-15 years. However, the ability to market nano-structured products will depend on the ability of companies to produce and control this new class of products, meeting not only the needs of both consumer and the environment, but depending also on the ability of governments to regulate their production and use. Indeed the ability of the products themselves to meet the needs and expectations of consumers will be put to the test. Consideration must be given to the possible interactions that nanoscale materials may have with biological systems, also addressing the actual adequacy of cosmetic industry testing to assess safety, effectiveness and quality of products containing nanoscale materials.
However, the risks associated with nanoscale cosmetic products are not dissimilar to the risks of using other innovative technologies. The safety and efficacy of chitin nanofibrils, used as an innovative raw material, was reported and discussed in Beijing. Significantly, these can influence the proline-hydroxyproline ratio, faster proliferation of fibroblasts and keratinocytes, modulate the immunologic response and maintain moisture at stratum corneum level. For all these reasons, nanofibrils of chitin represent a carrier able to favour the transcutaneous penetration of many active principles because of the chemical bonds that can be established with many molecules, such as coenzyme Q10 and lutein. On this topic plastic surgeon Paolo Mezzana presented the first studies of a new hydrating/anti-ageing cream based on a suspension of chitin nanofibrils in hyaluronic acid. Given this advance there is potential to produce anti-ageing cosmeceuticals and special foods with a high content of well-being and service.
A clear skin complexion with minimal lines and wrinkles forms the foundation for what most consider to be an attractive, youthful appearance. Striving for beautiful facial skin is a common aspiration for all people of the world with standards of attractiveness that are surprisingly universal. How the average Chinese woman's skin ages in comparison to that of other ethnic populations around the world was the topic of Greg Hillebrand from Procter & Gamble in the US. A comprehensive survey of 452 women, aged 10-70 and living in Beijing, has facilitated computer simulation of an individual's future facial skin wrinkling and hyperpigmentation. This enables a personalised cosmetic programme to be developed to suit the skin's needs.
The importance of maintaining a healthy and beautiful body has been recognised in China for at least 1700 years. In Zhou Hou Fang, a classic medical text from ancient China written by Ge Hong (AD 283-363), formulae composed of traditional Chinese drugs were used to improve people's appearance. Over the past 21 years, aesthetic medicine has again been recognised and regarded as a scientific discipline in China.
UV and blue light activity
Ultraviolet irradiation is well known to be associated with photoageing and skin cancer. In an attempt to block some of the damage incurred by sun exposure, antioxidants have been explored as a means to deal with UVR induced oxidative stress and UVA radiation in particular. A sunscreen is the first line of defence to prevent the generation of dangerous free radicals. An endogenous protection forms a second defence. Thus the protection from UV damage includes antioxidant ingredients for topical use and oral supplements claimed to provide protection against sun exposure. Some foods have provided benefits, such as prevention of photo carcinogenesis, prevention of UVR induced immune suppression and a decrease in UVR induced DNA damage. These foods have included grape seed proanthocyanidins, green tea catechins and more recently oxycarotenoids as lutein.
On one side green tea extract showed photoprotective and regulating effects, for example to cell mutation frequency and oxygen free radicals as well as expression of some regulatory genes and proteins related to DNA repair and cell cycles, according to speaker Dan Luo from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. On the other side luteins play an important role in maintaining healthy, younger skin and eyes by reducing UV induced damage, according to the author’s presentation based on the damaging activity of blue light. This comes from recent studies of a group demonstrating the moisturising and anti-ageing activity of the simultaneous application of lutein topically and orally.
Well-being is often associated with the natural trend and Karl Lintner, md of Sederma, discussed some of the contradictions in the increasingly widespread perception of chemistry being unnatural. His presentation looked at natural and man-made subjects/compounds to demonstrate the absurd nature of the division between chemistry and natural. The presentation was designed as a wake-up call to the misuse of words and terminology. Lintner said an eco-chic rather than eco-science oriented way of thinking is "a danger for innovation and science in general. Cosmetics should not foremost be natural, but first of all be safe and then effective, whatever the source of the material, even if environmental considerations are of importance".
However, given the attraction of natural products to consumers, presentations were made on developments in this area. Diverse classes of secondary metabolites recently discovered from marine invertebrates and plants (mangroves, algae etc) and from tropical waters (South China Sea), show significant biological activities, including UV protection, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and antibacterial. Biotic stress factors due to fish predation are usually severe in the tropics, which in turn has shaped the secondary metabolism of potential prey organisms such as sponges. The accumulation of structurally diverse bioactive metabolities offers interesting challenges for chemists, biologists and pharmacologists to study innovative products of natural origin. This unusual topic was presented by Yue-Wei Guo from the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, organised in collaboration with Guido Cimino of CNR, Naples, Italy.
Another interesting natural source of active compounds came from red grapes particularly rich in flavonoids, catechins, proanthocyanidins and resveratrol known for their important biological effect either applied topically or taken orally. Moreover, following extraction, grape seeds also provide a precious oil rich in linoleic acid, tocopherols, tocotrienols and phytosterols, where emollient and soothing effects are well known. All these active compounds are used in Tuscany, Italy from Biosline to produce cosmetic products, according to a presentation from Dr G Calderini.
skin sweating
A major problem with footwear concerns the skin's transpiration and how it can occur when footwear does not allow correct transpiration of water and volatile substances. Skin on skin was presented by the Genuine Italian Leather Consortium Ponte a Egola, Pisa, Italy. Vegetable-tanned leather, a natural process based on the combination of ancient traditions and modern technologies, in a particular area of Tuscany, gives the shoe the ability to reduce the phenomenon of skin maceration, reducing and often avoiding the development of irritant and/or allergic contact dermatitis. Skin is not only the boundary, excluding the world and defining our limits. It is also the surface of contact between other people, the environment and ourselves. The development of the sense of other human beings is achieved through our body and our general appearance. So the leather and footwear can be considered a second skin, capable of improving health and well-being.
Many topics presented during the meeting focused on the meaning of our covering of skin through a holistic approach. The next ISCD Meeting will be held in Rome (22-24 October 2009) when the general theme of Beauty outside in: East & West will continue.
