Many of us lose interest in the idea of living a long life when we realize the toll that time can have on our appearance. Fortunately, scientists are fusing romance with science to develop products that extend the appearance of youth in a sort of modern alchemy. Part cosmetic, part pharmaceutical, “cosmeceuticals” promise, for example, to slow the accumulation of wrinkles on a woman’s face or to cement the bond between a man and his hair.
A cosmetic, in the strictest sense, is a product that purifies or enhances the appearance of the skin, hair, and nails. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act’s technical definition states that it only has superficial effects. An over-the-counter or prescription medication with the demonstrated ability to treat, prevent, or have an impact on a specific bodily structure or function is referred to as a pharmaceutical. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls products that combine the two definitions “drug and cosmetics,” and insists that they meet the legal requirements for both categories. The word cosmeceutical is a mixture of things both old and new, full of possibility.
MEDICINE FROM THE MAKEUP COUNTER
The University of Pennsylvania dermatologist Dr. Albert Montgomery Kligman, who is renowned for discovering that retinoic acid (Retin-A) helps both acne and wrinkles, is generally credited with coining the phrase. He defines it as “an agent that has both cosmetic and drug effects, or a topical preparation that is neither pure drug nor pure cosmetic.” Other researchers use the term to describe a wide range of products, including skin creams with added ingredients and shampoos for dandruff.
The products that will offer positive results right away and gradually intensify their effects over time are cosmetics. To put it another way, they won’t completely disappear after using makeup remover, but they will still have an impact, much like some medications do. Your skin will look better as you use them more frequently. But hasn’t that always been the claim made by cosmetics manufacturers?
Yes, but there is also some substance hidden beneath the style. “Traditional cosmetics couldn’t do more than try to keep moisture in the stratum corneum [the outermost layer of the skin, consisting of dead cells],” says Dermatologist Dr. Peter Elias practices in San Francisco. However, a fresh batch of over-the-counter products has started to affect how skin works in the last few years. In addition to altering the stratum corneum’s physical characteristics, new treatments can also affect the epidermis’s living layers’ metabolism and function, improving the skin’s capacity to hold onto water and preventing cell membrane damage, for example.
Who cares what they’re called when it comes down to it, even though you’ll probably hear the term “cosmeceuticals” used more and more and its definition argued? The point is what they can do for you: alter appearance in ways that earlier potions and creams could only dream of. This could be accomplished with makeup, medicine, or both.
