Hot Topics in Skincare

Climate Change Impacts on Skin Barrier

While the value of daily facial cleansing is well-understood, researchers are starting to explore the role of cleansing in removing climate change related particles that weaken the skin barrier.

Research shows that the change in environmental conditions may play a role in contributing to inflammatory dermatoses by exposing the skin to different kind of particles: air particles released via fossil fuel burning, or being a result of expanded pollen seasons, wildfire activity, and urban air stagnation events that trap pollutants in the lower atmosphere. These particles can bind to and weaken the skin barrier, making it more susceptible to UV damage, dryness, wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation.

The practice of daily cleansing can go beyond the existing basis of recommendation, addressing these new researched climate change related particles

Skincare Routine & Stress

Despite being an external organ, the skin is also exposed to endogenous stimuli, such as hormones, microbiome, and psychological stress.¹ Long term psychological stress may lead to skin integrity disruption through disturbance of the epidermal barrier function.²

It is well known that there is a significant association between stress and individuals’ health, including a negative effect on many dermatological diseases.² In skin aging, chronic psychological stress may stimulate different pathways that may result in chronic immune dysfunction, increased ROS production, and DNA damage, known contributors to skin aging.³

There is also evidence that stress, emotions, sleep deprivation and modern lifestyle impact inflammatory skin diseases such as acne⁵. Patients with acne often report that their lesions get worse during the stress periods.⁴ Stress may induce secretion of different neurotransmitters, cytokines and hormones which have skin receptors and can aggravate acne.⁴

Besides nourishing and protecting overall skin health, a good skincare routine can also simultaneously improve one’s appearance, resulting in a more positive self-perception, increase in confidence, and well-being.

Pollution Exacerbates Acne

There is growing evidence that exposure to airborne pollutants such as ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) generates oxidative stress by means of reactive oxygen species ROS and inflammation and induces severe alterations of the normal functions of lipids, deoxyribonucleic acid and/or proteins in the human skin. This can contribute to a background inflammatory environment and disrupt the skin barrier.^1,2

This phenomenon is more pronounced in acne patients¹. Indeed, pollution induced oxidative stress is thought to be the trigger that sets off the acne cascade causing keratinocyte hyperproliferation and inflammatory cytokine release.^2,3

Additionally, some recent research suggests that exposure to high levels of outdoor pollution would overwhelm acne skin’s natural defenses, depleting its antioxidants capacity (such as Vitamin E).³

As pollution can exacerbate acne, a good acne daily skincare regimen should include applying a daily protective barrier enriched in topical antioxidants and thorough day and night cleansing to remove pollution particles that accumulate on the skin during the day.

Diversity in Photoprotection

Did you know patients of different ethnicities experience sunburn differently?

According to a recent survey, while sunburns occur less often in darker skin tones, they were reported to be more severe and painful for those with Fitzpatrick Type V-VI¹.

The link between sun exposure and skin cancer is a concern for all skin types. But for patients with darker skin tones, UVA, UVB and visible light can also induce hyperpigmentation and exacerbate pigmentary disorders².

Research has shown tinted sunscreens, which contain iron oxide pigments, protect against visible light and helps pigmentary conditions due to UV exposure in darker skin tones.^2-3 Antioxidants like Vitamin E and feverfew can also help boost the skin’s natural defenses.

Learn more about the diverse portfolio of Neutrogena® sunscreens.

The Dynamic Skin Barrier

Our skin barrier is more than brick and mortar.

The skin is a dynamic, continually self-renewing organ that is also capable of self-repair. The epidermis performs many closely interconnected and co-regulated barrier functions mainly localized to the stratum corneum.

External and internal factors can create imbalance and damage to the skin barrier, including climate, sun damage, age, ethnicity … and choice of skincare.

For optimum skin health, advise patients to choose high quality products for cleansing, hydration, treatment and protection – with ingredients and technologies that are gentle to the skin barrier.

Learn more about the full portfolio of Neutrogena® skincare, formulated to respect the skin barrier.

Potential Skin Impacts of Visible Light & Long UVA1

The synergistic effects of Visible Light and long wavelength UVA1 ( VL + UVA1) on inducing pigmentation and erythema in skin have been demonstrated and linked to exacerbation of dermatologic condition including melasma and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. This is an observation that is more common in individuals with dark skin phenotypes.¹

Recent studies have demonstrated that the combination VL+UVA1 was able to cause intense and long lasting pigmentation in dark-skinned individuals (skin phototypes IV-VI) and erythema in light-skinned individuals (skin phototypes I-III). This is a novel finding given the erythemogenic spectrum of sunlight has primarily been attributed to ultraviolet B (290-320 nm) and short wavelength UVA2 (320-340 nm) only.²

With VL+UVA1 induced effects primarily being mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS)1, new data suggest a potential role for topical antioxidants to be incorporated in photoprotection to help inhibit erythema in SPT I-III and to reduce pigmentation in SPT IV-V caused by VL+UVA1.³

Photoprotection solutions with antioxidants can help prevent the worsening of pigmentary disorders and boost skin natural defenses against the oxidation caused by Visible Light and Long UVA.

Cleansing To Minimize Impact of Pollution

Pollution has been shown to increasingly play a role in some of the most common skin diseases including acne, hyperpigmentation, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis¹.

Air pollution particles may enter the skin through different paths, generate free radicals and oxidative stress, inducing an inflammatory cascade causing a subsequent impairment of the skin barrier (2). These effects can be amplified by the deleterious synergy between pollution and sunlight. Repeated and frequent exposure to high levels of these pollutants may lead to premature aging, photodamage and increased incidences of atopic dermatitis, acne and other skin conditions¹.

Twice-daily cleansing can combat the effects of pollution on the skin – potentially mitigating pollution-related skin disorders¹. The morning cleanse prepares the face for the anticipated environmental impacts of the day. The evening cleanse should be longer as it’s designed to remove airborne particles, soot, and other possible skin contaminants that may lie on the skin surface.

Minimizing the impact of pollutants starts with cleansing!

Advances in Cleansing Chemistry

HMP (hydrophobically modified polymers): A breakthrough technology in advancing the science of cleansing.

Humans have been cleansing their skin with surfactants for millennia and generally the progress in cleansing technology has been marked by the creation of cleansing systems that better respect the skin barrier. While the industrial revolution brought purer soap, the high pH and aggressiveness that came with this new product motivated the development of new, gentler technologies. The addition of glycerin to cleansers, to make for milder cleansing systems, marked the first significant advance in skin cleansing.

After World War, the development of new synthetic chemistries enabled many advances in milder cleansing. Developed in the 1950s, the lower pH syndet bar was introduced as an alternative cleanser to soap. The syndet bar has been shown to better respect the skin barrier than soap bars. In the 1960s, polymers were added to cleansers for the first time for multiple benefits.¹

The more recent introduction of HMP (hydrophobically modified polymers) into surfactant systems allows for a new approach to creating cleansers with reduced impact to the skin barrier. New cleansing formulations containing HMP respect the skin integrity by facilitating the assembly of surfactants into larger, more stable structures that are less likely to penetrate the skin, thereby resulting in less aggressive but effective cleansers.¹

An Evolution in Cleansing Technology

Gentle cleansing is particularly important for patients with acne, atopic dermatitis eczema, rosacea, and other dermatologic conditions that may cause compromised skin barrier integrity.⁴ Surfactant selection often represents a trade-off between functionality, esthetics, and mildness.

Typical cleanser surfactants capture dirt and oil to create droplets known as micelles. Although designed to rinse away, surfactants can also break through the skin barrier, causing inflammation. Adding hydrophobically modified polymers (HMPs) to cleansers that contain surfactants can help to create polymer-surfactant complexes that are less irritating to the SC lipid barrier.^1-3

Hydrophobically Modified Polymers (HMPs) bind to the surfactant to organize micelles into larger molecules, minimizing penetration into the stratum corneum. Natrasurf® technology uses naturally-derived, starch-based polymeric surfactants to surround the micelles, generating the foaming aesthetics patients love. When paired together, these polymeric systems deliver lather-rich cleansers that minimize surfactant penetration and barrier disruption.³

In a recent clinical study, a cleanser formulated with HMP resulted in a 43% reduction in skin irritation potential versus a control cleanser without HMP.¹

Learn more about the new polymeric cleansers from Neutrogena®.