Addressing inflammation – a primary skin care goal for all ethnicities

Treating inflammation is the first step to even skin tone. Harald van der Hoeven, director product design and development of CLR Berlin, reveals how a potent anti-inflammatory active ingredient – AnnonaSense CLR – provides skin with a means to establish a sustainable homeostatic balance, improving skin health and wellbeing.

Interestingly, 20 th century Caucasians in Europe have desired to have darker skin. Their perception was that brown or tanned skin looks healthier and is more appealing. Many of these European consumers have gone to great lengths to achieve a desired tan. As a result, tanning studios have always enjoyed a large clientele. Among other ethnicities the trend has been to lighten skin, largely due to cultural reasons. In Europe, Africa and the Americas, this trend is still evident. Yet society is finally changing.

Regardless of the colour – everyone’s skin is unique. Skin can be dark or fair, dry or oily and acne-prone. It can also be sensitive, blotchy and hyperreactive.

There is not one person in the world who is 100% satisfied with his or her skin, creating a great challenge for the cosmetic industry to provide all consumers with satisfactory products that help them look and feel better.

LOOKING AS ATTRACTIVE AS POSSIBLE

The appearance of the skin plays a big role in how people feel about themselves and how they are perceived by others. Attractive people are perceived to have favourable characteristics and might, by some people, even be seen as ‘superior’. With the current changing paradigms, it’s important to go into depth on what ‘attractive skin’ really represents. Contemporary science has shown that skin colour and ethnicity are clearly not determining factors. Caucasian people are not more attractive than Asian or black people, or vice versa.

What makes skin attractive is its ‘evenness’. If skin has an even tone and topography, it is perceived as beautiful. Skin that is uneven in colour, blotchy or has areas of hyperpigmentation is perceived to be less attractive. The same goes for skin that shows wrinkles. The scientific research behind these findings considered all ethnicities. The results of this research show how similar we all are.

A daily skin care regime with a focus on skin inflammation would be extremely beneficial for skin of all ethnicities

SEARCHING FOR COMMON GROUND

People with dark skin have relatively active and reactive melanocytes. In dark skin, inflammatory processes lead to an increase in melanin production. These processes take place locally and will lead to localised hyperpigmentation, compromising the evenness of skin colour. Inflammatory processes also lead to uneven colour in people with light skin. Melanocytes only play a minor role in this case. The skin does not get darker, instead it reddens and becomes blotchy.

Loss of skin firmness and the development of wrinkles are clearly more pronounced in ethnicities with lighter skin. Melanin is an essential part of our body’s selfprotection system against sunlight. Here, too, inflammatory processes stand at the basis of the problem. Sunlight can damage skin cells, their molecules and organelles. This will initiate strong and pronounced inflammatory processes, including the activation of transcription factors that cause the production of enzymes, which break down collagen.

A daily skin care regime with a focus on skin inflammation would be extremely beneficial for skin of all ethnicities. Evenness of skin colour is a given. It either stays even, or hyperpigmented areas, where constant inflammatory processes are the driver behind the problem, are evened out. However, a potent anti-inflammatory active ingredient is required. CLR Berlin has developed AnnonaSense CLR (INCI: Annona Cherimola Fruit Extract) in order to provide the skin with important support to keep inflammatory processes under control.

AnnonaSense CLR is available in South Africa from IMCD.

Did you know?

AnnonaSense CLR is derived from cherimoya fruit, which is processed and dried before extracting. Cherimoya (Annona cherimola) is one of the most esteemed fruits from the many edible species of the Annonaceae family.

ESSENTIAL SYSTEMS IN SKIN CARE

AnnonaSense CLR potently acts on the skin’s endocannabinoid (ECS) and endovanilloid (EVS) systems. These biological systems are essential in regulating inflammatory processes in the skin. Where the activation of the EVS is largely detrimental, inducing inflammatory processes, the ECS can be considered to be its counterpart.

The ECS is needed to compensate for the processes induced by the EVS. Their intimate interplay allows for the interpretation of the two systems as one, being the ECS/EVS.

In a wide array of in vitro studies, AnnonaSense CLR proved to act as an endocannabinoid, an agonist for CB2 (Cannabinoid Receptor Type 2), the main receptor of the ECS in skin. Inflammatory processes were potently diminished, which was further proven in different in vivo studies. Below we have highlighted two studies, assessing the effect of AnnonaSense CLR on skin sensitivity and appearance, two important factors for ethnic skin care.

EFFICACY STUDIES – IN VIVO ASSAYS

ASSESSMENT OF SKIN SENSITIVITY

The study involved one application of test product on 17 (for 250Hz) and 18 (for 5Hz) volunteers. Of the group, five had atopic dermatitis, three had type IV allergy, six had sensitive skin and one had diabetes type II.

Skin sensitivity was determined by measuring current perception threshold (CPT) with Neurometer CPT/C (Neurotron Inc., Baltimore, USA) at 250Hz and 5Hz before and 30 minutes after application of the test product. Baseline at t=0 was set at 0%. The values are based on averages of the individual results of all the volunteers.

RESULTS

The 250Hz experiment showed that the formulation with AnnonaSense CLR outperformed the corresponding placebo formulation by more than 35%.

The 5Hz experiment showed even stronger results – the formulation with AnnonaSense CLR performed more than 60% better than the placebo formulation (see Figure 1). These results show that AnnonaSense CLR clearly makes skin less sensitive.

SKIN APPEARANCE

In a double-blind test, 22 volunteers tested a formulation with AnnonaSense CLR and 20 tested a placebo formulation. Evenness of skin colour was scored at t=0 and after 17 days of applying the test products twice a day. Baseline at t=0 was set at 0%.

RESULTS

In this study, 17 days of application of the test product showed that the formulation with AnnonaSense CLR improved skin appearance by reducing redness caused by scratching skin when itching.

Where the placebo formulation reduced skin redness by 25%, the corresponding formulation containing AnnonaSense CLR clearly outperformed the placebo formulation by reducing unevenness of skin colour by more than 36% (see Figure 2).

CONCLUSION

More than seven billion people inhabit the Earth, and we all feel the need to look attractive. Historically people have always wanted to change the colour of their skin. Depending on ethnicity, people desire either darker or lighter skin. The skin lightening and tanning skin care segments have profited from the demand.

The modern consumer wants even skin colour and an overall even skin appearance. This goes for all ethnicities. For the skin care industry, it is of great importance to understand the science behind these skin qualities. In this context, inflammation is a very important topic on which to focus. Inflammatory processes are the driver behind the loss of evenness of skin colour and appearance. A daily skin care regime addressing this topic will be of great benefit to the consumer.

AnnonaSense CLR is a natural and potent active ingredient for skin care products formulated to address inflammatory concerns. It addresses the skin’s own endocannabinoid system, potently eliminating inflammation and supporting skin health. It also makes skin less reactive and has been proven to improve skin’s appearance. •