Dermatoendocrinol. 2012 Jul 1; 4(3): 308–319. doi: 10.4161/derm.22804 PMCID: PMC3583892
Skin anti-aging strategies
Ruta Ganceviciene, 1 , † Aikaterini I. Liakou, 2 , † Athanasios Theodoridis, 2 , † Evgenia Makrantonaki, 2 and Christos C. Zouboulis 2 ,*
Abstract
Skin aging is a complex biological process influenced by a combination of endogenous or intrinsic and exogenous or extrinsic factors. Because of the fact that skin health and beauty is considered one of the principal factors representing overall “well-being” and the perception of “health” in humans, several anti-aging strategies have been developed during the last years. It is the intention of this article to review the most important anti-aging strategies that dermatologists have nowadays in hand, including including preventive measurements, cosmetological strategies, topical and systemic therapeutic agents and invasive procedures.
“…….Cell regulators, such as vitamin A derivatives, polypetides and botanicals, act directly on the collagen metabolism and stimulate the production of collagen and elastic fibers.
Vitamin A (retinol) and its derivates (retinaldehyde and tretinoin) are also a group of agents with antioxidant effects. They can induce the biosynthesis of collagen and reduce the expression of MMP 1 (collagenase 1). Retinol is, at the moment, the substance that is most often used as an anti-aging compound and, compared with tretinoin, causes less skin irritation.59,60 It has been shown that retinol has positive effects not only on extrinsic but also on intrinsic skin aging and has a strong positive effect on collagen metabolism.60,61 Tretinoin, a nonaromatic retinoid of the first generation, is approved for application as an anti-aging treatment in a concentration of 0.05% in the United States. It has been shown to be able to reduce the signs of UV-induced early skin aging, such as wrinkles, loss of skin elasticity and pigmentation.
Polypeptides or oligopeptides are composed of amino acids and can imitate a peptide sequence of molecules such as collagen or elastin. Through topical application, polypeptides have the ability to stimulate collagen synthesis and activate dermal metabolism.62
