Hormesis and Cosmetic Dermatology

By: Haw-Yueh Thong, MD, MS, Department of Dermatology of National Taiwan University Hospital; and Howard I. Maibach, MD, University of California School of Medicine

Posted: February 26, 2009, from the March 2009 issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries.

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Conclusions
The skin is an excellent candidate to gain entrance into the biology of hormesis due to its accessibility; its complex nature, with highly differentiated cell types and various subsystems—i.e., keratinocytes, melanocytes, Langerhans’ cells, fibroblasts, epidermis, dermis, hair follicle, eccrine, apocrine and sebaceous units; and the availability of specialized noninvasive technologies for in vivo studies.^{13, 14} In addition, skin is among the first organs that has been analyzed using DNA microarrays for skin cancers, melanomas, basal cell carcinomas, squamous cell carcinomas, psoriasis and other inflammatory disorders, as well as for stem cell biology, the biology of epidermal keratinocytes, and so forth.¹⁵ DNA microarray studies could be an excellent tool to elucidate the mechanisms of hormesis in skin biology. In short, a better understanding of hormesis could lead to different strategies for risk assessment processes employed in the fields of cosmetic dermatology, toxicology and pharmacology.

The chemistry of many personal care products is based on formulations and formulators’ convenience; when dose response data for more individual ingredients becomes available, more effective personal care products can be formulated.

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