Effect of Diet and Topical products in Ameliorating Facial Aging

Abstract

Free radicals and oxidative stress are implicated in skin aging. While a diet rich in antioxidants, omega 3 fatty acids, polyphenols may improve skin health, topical delivery of antioxidants holds potential for it specifically targets skin and bypasses associated problems of absorption, solubility, transport and amount delivered. Our objective was to demonstrate the efficacy of both diet as well as topical products in improving appearance of aging facial skin. Two clinical trials (a diet study and a topical study) were conducted with healthy female subjects (35–60y) who gave informed consent and met the study inclusion criteria for the trials. Qualified subjects had a moderate degree of facial photodamage. The Diet study included 31 healthy, normal weight, non-smoker females. Subjects were asked to consume only the diet provided to them, rich in anti-oxidants and omega 3 fatty acids. Evaluations included weight measurements, clinical evaluations by expert grader, silicon replicas, digital photos and self-assessment questionnaires. In the Topical study, 25 women applied the test article to one side of the face once daily for two weeks. The test product consisted of a facial cream containing high levels of antioxidants. Evaluations included clinical grading, silicon replicas, digital photos, and subjective assessment. Our data shows overall, significant improvement in sagging, puffiness, crow's feet wrinkles along with better rating with self-assessments. Our data indicates that healthy diet as well as topical delivery may improve skin health.