MELVILLE, NY, May 17, 2018, -The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) Research & Development (R&D) team will present research focused on new findings in anti-aging skin and hair research at the 2018 International Investigative Dermatology Meeting (IID) in Orlando from May 16th- 19th.
The Estée Lauder Research Lab is a global leader in understanding how multiple environmental factors impact the way skin looks, sees and behaves. Skin cells following a day/night rhythm naturally have protection and repair activities specifically timed to optimize effectiveness. This rhythm can become disrupted due to environmental exposure (pollution, UV and blue light) and result in an accumulation of cellular damage, which ages them before their time:
- Conducting research on Nobel Prize winning topics of autophagy and circadian rhythm have reinforced the Estée Lauder R&D's dedication to taking cutting edge biological research and apply it towards innovative skincare R&D. In this anti-aging skincare research, Estée Lauder R&D addresses the impact of autophagy loss with age on skin cells and the importance of circadian rhythm in this process, as well as autophagic response to environmental stress induced by UVA.
- Estée Lauder R&D has discovered a new source of skin cell desynchronization, which is linked to light pollution and more specifically, exposure to blue light at nighttime that ultimately will result in an acceleration of skin aging. Moreover, results show that skin cells can "see" through opsins, and that these opsins, in the same way as in the eye, are controllers of circadian rhythm, through their sensitivity to blue light.
The following summarizes the Estée Lauder Lab research that will be presented at the 2018 IID meeting:
Autophagy is the body's physiological process for cellular degradation and recycling. It is a critical player in the cellular aging process as well; increases in age have been associated with decreased autophagic activity, especially in the skin. Changes in the autophagic activity over time result in a decrease of energy supply and an increase of intracellular damages and oxidative stress, all of which would accelerate skin aging This research addresses the impact of autophagy loss with age on skin cells as well as autophagic response to environmental stress induced by UVA.
Ozone (O3) pollution at ground level is a growing environmental problem. It is the result of increased air pollution, UV exposure and elevated temperatures. Ozone is known to create oxidative damage on lipids in the skin and is hypothesized to affect the main repair mechanisms of skin, such as circadian rhythm and autophagy. Using a custom-designed ozone chamber, environmentally relevant levels of ozone were shown to impact the core cellular machinery, resulting in a loss of repair and accumulation of damage in skin cells. Overtime, this will accelerate visible skin aging.
The Estée Lauder Research Laboratory announces new findings linking blue light exposure at night to a reduction in per-1 nighttime clock gene level in skin cells. Blue light exposure leads to an increase of free radical production, an increase of DNA damage, as well as an increased production of inflammatory mediators, indicating cellular damage due to skin cell desynchronization with their night rhythm. Results indicate that skin cells can "see" by sensing light directly through light-sensitive proteins called opsins, showing for the first time that skin cells control their own circadian rhythm, responding directly through a decrease of per-1 night clock gene.
The Estée Lauder Companies' R&D team presents findings in active ingredients and new biological targets to push the boundries of basic skin science and the scalp's impact on the hair follicle as a way to address hair aging:
- Key ingredients like caffeine and all-trans retinoic acid have a profound impact on aging skin and highlight the importance skin science has on anti-aging formulation. By identifying promising concept ingredients, the Estée Lauder Companies R&D utilize basic skin science understanding to products that deliver meaningful benefits.
- The majority of hair care concerns in women are age-related, yet very little is known about the age-related changes in the surrounding scalp and how they impact the hair follicle. Aveda's hair biology team partnered with hair biology expert, Dr. M. Julie Thornton from the University of Bradford, for a multi-year study to gain an in-depth understanding of dermal scalp aging and how these changes can influence hair.
"When it comes to skin science, The Estée Lauder Companies' R&D team knows that you can't just scratch the surface. Understanding the complexities of the skin and hair are at the core of what we do," said Kurt Schilling, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Basic Science Research and Advanced Technology, Research & Development, The Estée Lauder Companies. "As our research pushes the boundaries of beauty science, we can use this emerging understanding to bring exciting new solutions to our global consumers."
The following summarizes The Estée Lauder Companies R&D research that will be presented at the 2018 IID meeting:
- Anti-Aging Effects of Retinoid Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate on Skin Models
Retinol is well-known for its anti-aging effects on skin; however, issues such as skin irritation and photochemical instability are drawbacks of its use in cosmetic products. Therefore, it is of interest to identify new compounds that are retinol like, but are more stable, less irritating, and potentially more active. Typically, milder retinoid derivatives are used, which must first be metabolized to other forms by several enzymatic steps in the skin, which reduces their efficacy. Hydroxypinacolone retinoate (HPR), a cosmetic grade ester of ATRA, is unique in that it processes innate retinoic acid activity, and thus does not need to undergo metabolic breakdown to achieve skin benefits. It has been demonstrated to be more stable and cause less skin irritation than ATRA.The results suggest that HPR is an effective cosmetic alternative to ATRA and other less effective retinoids in improving the appearance of aging skin without the irritation.
The hair follicle environment is central to an aged hair phenotype; therefore, we examined the age-related changes in the scalp skin of women volunteers. The scalp tissue showed dramatic age-related changes, such as a loss of follicular multiplicity, decrease in hair follicle tissue depth, and other changes similar to skin, such as less pronounced rete-ridges. A number of changes that could potentially drive these findings were uncovered in research on scalp dermal fibroblasts such a reduction of collagen, versican, and hyaluronic acid synthase 2, which has implications for ECM structure and organization. These results demonstrate that hair aging is complex and multi-faceted.
Naturally occurring electric fields on the surface of the skin have been demonstrated to influence skin regeneration and repair. The generation of the electric field is attributed to the transport of ions across high-resistance tight junctions of epithelia in a polarized fashion, leading to an electrical potential difference across the skin termed the 'skin battery'. This polarized ion flux creates a transepithelial electrical potential (TEEP). Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) has been shown to increase TEEP in secretory epithelia and regulate the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) that mediates sodium (Na+) influx. We sought to investigate whether caffeine, which is known to indirectly stabilize cAMP, increases TEEP of skin by altering Na+ flux, consequently enhancing electro-osmosis. Our results demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between TEEP and epidermal water content while caffeine increases TEEP leading to an increase in epidermal hydration via electro-osmosis.
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About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The Company's products are sold in over 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Prescriptives, Lab Series, Origins, Tommy Hilfiger, M·A·C, Kiton, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Donna Karan New York, DKNY, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Michael Kors, Darphin, Tom Ford, Smashbox, Ermenegildo Zegna, AERIN, Tory Burch, RODIN olio lusso, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, By Kilian, BECCA and Too Faced.