Hey Skin Care Formulators - Here is your competition

Articles about anti-aging treatments always catch my eye because let’s face it, that is one of the main functions of cosmetics.

This article about new anti-agining treatments focuses on things that dermatologists are doing to fight aging. And as these treatments come down in price, they represent real competition for cosmetic formulations. As a formulator, you should know about these. You should also use them as your benchmark for how well your formulations should work.

Skin care anti-aging treatments

Fillers
The newest anti aging skin treatments include fillers and lasers. According to the article, fillers are designed to give the face a more plump, youthful look. The most common filler is botulinum toxin (botox), hyaluronic acid, and collagen. But the FDA has recently approved Calcium Hydroxylapatite which is supposed to restore facial volume and promote collagen production for up to a year. This will remain a hot area of research with scientists trying to find materials that last longer and are less toxic.

Lasers
The other skin rejuvenation technique is laser technologies. These are getting better and have been used for removing age spots, spider veins and circles under eyes.

Stem Cells
While stem cell technology is not ready for prime time, it could have big implications in the future. The idea is to get stem cells in skin to somehow turn on and create more skin structure under the surface. This seems a long way off.

Cosmetic chemists

For the moment cosmetics continue to provide the most cost effective anti-aging solutions available to consumers. However, we will certainly have our work cut out for us in the future. I’m not sure topically applied treatments will last to the end of the century.