Editor's Note: Totality of Solutions

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Read the full article in the April 2022 digital edition. . .

The exposome, or totality of an individual’s exposures in life, certainly wraps up a mind-boggling idea into one neat package. Specific to skin aging, in 2016, Krutmann identified the seven key exposome attributes as: sun radiation, air pollution, tobacco smoke, nutrition, lack of sleep, stress and temperature. Interactions among them, as well as with cosmetics and genetic and/or internal factors, e.g., hormones, are others.1 A year later, Krutmann projected the exposome concept would revolutionize anti-aging cosmetics.2 He wasn’t wrong.

Lauren Baer, an expert in nutrition and beauty, named the skin exposome the new buzzword in beauty in a May 2021 blog post.3 Moves by major manufacturers back this statement. In 2017, Shiseido developed the IoT system Optune to assess skin needs in real-time by connecting data downloaded to smartphones with that from the environment to create products for skin in its present condition.4

In 2021, L’Oréal partnered with BreezoMeter, a leader in data on air quality, pollen and fires, to improve public health and safety as well as develop a beauty-driven exposome platform.5 This was not L’Oréal’s first fore into the exposome; Vichy Laboratories has studied the exposome for more than 40 years and annually awards three €15,000 grants to promote skin exposome research.6

This month’s edition of C&T features solutions and ideas to protect the skin against key facets of the exposome. For UV protection, Steinberg (Page 22), Ludwikowska (Page 38) and Johnson (Page 60), outline regulations (or a lack thereof), test methods and formulating challenges, respectively.

To reverse oxidative damage and inflammation, Chauhan and Kumar (Page 30) and Silva (Page 52) describe dendrimer delivery of and the formulation of resveratrol; Nafisi, et al., review fullerene nanoparticles in a similar capacity. Ubersax and Bryant (Page 34) demonstrate the anti-inflammatory effects and safety of CBG, while Cruickshank, et al. (Page 58) test the effects of sheep’s wool powder in an anti-pollution pigment proposal.

Finally, this month’s Expert Opinions (Page 16) provides ideas and trends in exposome protection, while Steventon (Page 18) looks to ingredient/application interactions, changes in sensitivity with age and holistic approaches for skin health. We hope this issue adds to the totality of your cosmetic R&D solutions.

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27720464/
  2. https://cosmeticobs.com/en/articles/congresses-48/think-exposome-from-its-effects-on-the-skin-to-the-new-actives-to-fight-them-4082
  3. https://foodforskin.org/exposome/
  4. https://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com/research/consumers-market/news/21840922 shiseido-tech-takes-personalization-to-the-exposome
  5. https://bwnews.pr/3q2Kx5b
  6. https://www.vichyusa.com/vichy-exposome.html

Rachel L. Grabenhofer Managing Scientific Editor

[email protected]

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