Lighten Up

As the saying goes, “People always want what they cannot have.” And there is perhaps no more applicable industry for this saying than the beauty industry. Those with curly hair want straight hair, brunettes want to be blonde, skinny women want more curves, those with light skin are often after a deep tan, those with aged skin want to have young skin and so on.

Although Lady Gaga exclaims in a recent song, “Baby, you were born this way,” few women, regardless of geographical location and ethnicity, are happy with their natural beauty. Luckily, there are products available in the personal care industry to address nearly every concern for both men and women. Of course, none of these products provide permanent results, and those trying to reverse the hands of time know this fact all too well.

Anti-aging has become a super-category in the past few decades, and while the definition of this category varies based on an individual’s needs, oftentimes anti-aging denotes a change in the appearance of pigmentation or wrinkles. This issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine addresses both approaches to anti-aging with articles on the latest cosmetic technologies. Apone et al. discuss evening skin tone, moisturizing skin and reducing the appearance of wrinkles with a Coffea bengalensis stem cell extract. In related content, Bonda, Zhang and Pavlovic address utilizing ethylhexyl methoxycrylene to stabilize trans-resveratrol, a popular antiwrinkle ingredient.

Skin lightening is tackled by Dell’Acqua and Wagner, who found skin lightening and illuminating properties in acetylated hydroxystilbenes from Rheum rhaponticum. In addition, a review of skin lighteners is provided by Abrutyn. Finally, as skin lighteners are popular in ethnic care, formulations such as a Whitening, Soothing Mask for Men; Even Skin Complexion Serum; and Skin Lightening Formulation, among others, are detailed in this year’s “Ethnic Care Formulary.”

Because there is no real Fountain of Youth, defying age can only be accomplished through a combination of good genes, lifestyle choices and cutting-edge science. And those with expectations beyond those borders just need to lighten up.

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