October Science Wrap 2022

October is menopause awareness month with World Menopause Day being on the 18th.

We missed it as we spent the entire day in the air coming home from London where we met a series of beauty and science journalists at a fab place called Sketch.

A kind of hybrid art meets restaurant vibe. I highly recommend a visit if you’re in London!

The day of work in London came at the end of a fab HOLIDAY in France that has left me basking in the glow of relaxation!

But I still had enough energy to log onto the National Library of Medicine and go through the latest published studies!

Fair skin? You’re more prone to skin ageing

We all know that those of us with very fair skin burn more easily than our tanned brothers and sisters.

But a new study shows that fair skin also ages more quickly than skin of colour.

The Japanese study published in the journal Experimental Dermatology intentionally exposed skin of different colours to UVA and UVB radiation and took a series of measurements 2 hours later.

They found that lighter skins had more measurable UVA-induced ultra weak photon emission or UPE, which is emitted during oxidative stress.

The higher the UPE levels, the higher the oxidative stress in the skin.

“Additionally, oxidative stress persisted significantly more in lighter skin compared with darker skin. Skin tissues exhibited pigment darkening after UVA irradiation.”

A reminder that to combat UVA for aging rays you need a broad-spectrum sun screen. 

Pigmentation guidelines get a refresh

Writing in the current issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, a group of researchers came together to discuss the latest data around pigmentation.

The authors found that melasma affects the forehead, cheeks, upper lip, nose, and chin in 55-75% of cases.

It is just over the cheeks and nose in 24-43% and around the jaw in 2%. 

Pigmentation is usually confined to the superficial skin layer- the epidermis, the authors explained. Epidermal pigmentation tends to be darker but is generally easier to treat.

The authors pointed to well demarcated areas of pigmentation with this type which should make it easy to spot.

Deeper or dermal pigmentation can be lighter but is harder to treat and has a nasty habit of coming back again and again. It has less well-defined borders. 

The authors went into all of the available treatments in detail- feel free to check the study out here. But one thing did catch my eye.

They pointed out that microneedling is effective in pigmentation.

It partly works because it enhances the delivery of key active deeper into the skin.

But also, because it helps improve the thickness of the epidermal layer of the skin, this enhances your skin’s protection against UVA radiation.

Best skincare for rosacea

An international panel convened to give us the latest recommendations for the management of rosacea and published their update in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.

This review of the literature and new set of guidelines focused on Latin American populations but can be extrapolated to everyone.

“An underappreciated factor in persistent rosacea pathophysiology is the presence of a disrupted skin barrier,” the authors said.

So, addressing the skin barrier should be a high priority for skin impacted by rosacea.

“Appropriate skincare is crucial for effective rosacea management,” the authors confirmed. “Cleansers and moisturizers with ingredients such as ceramides, hyaluronic acid, and niacinamide promote a healthy skin barrier, improving rosacea control.”

They did get a grant from Cera-Vie which helped pay for the cost of the new guidelines. 

References

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/exd.14690

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jocd.15242

https://jddonline.com/articles/treatment-and-maintenance-of-cutaneous-rosacea-in-latino-skin-types-with-prescription-medications-and-non-prescription-cleansers-and-moisturizers-as-adjuncts-a-review-S1545961622P1111X/?_page=7