Closing the gap between what beauty consumers want and what is on offer, requires innovative products that overcome the biological complexity of skin and hair. The sector’s reluctance to acknowledge the scale of this technical challenge suggests that robust scientific benchmarks are needed to verify new product claims and ensure that genuine innovation is rewarded in the marketplace.

Skin and its environment

Skin constantly interacts with its environment, reacting to UV, pollution, diet, stress, and the chemicals contained in skincare products. Skin also communicates with other body tissue as part of a dynamically adjusting system that works to achieve or maintain homeostasis, meaning healthy balance. 

The complexity of human anatomy is shaped by an evolutionary need to develop multiple pathways to ensure vital functions in case a single pathway is compromised by a common adverse environmental interaction. The outer layer of the body is therefore highly tuned to interact with both external and internal factors, which include damage repair systems and mechanisms to fight off foreign invaders such as infections.  

Traditional approaches

Traditional innovation in beauty products has used chemistry to find or create substances that improve the appearance of hair and skin. These improvements may be seen through physical effects, such as trapping moisture in the skin to plump it and temporarily reduce the appearance of wrinkles, making the skin look more youthful. Alternatively it can involve running existing or novel compounds against standard assays to investigate whether they have any beneficial effects on skin. However, the scope of these assays is limited, and they tend to be designed to identify already established skincare capabilities.

AI and machine learning

By identifying and extrapolating patterns and relations within large datasets, artificial intelligence and machine learning can help find the ideal substance for a defined mechanism, or something similar to a defined compound. However they do not provide an analysis of the complex functional nature of biology. These tools cannot establish the mechanisms to improve skin homeostasis without being linked to the correct analysis approach.

Synthetic biology

In recent years synthetic biology has entered the realm of skincare and haircare innovation. It refers to in-silico techniques that amplify and accelerate existing genomic engineering methods of manufacturing defined substances such as proteins and peptides. However, it does not generate mechanisms by which the health and appearance of skin and hair can be improved – which is a common misconception. Nor is it adapted to interpreting the biological intricacies that deliver the benefits which skincare and haircare consumers desire.

How complex is skin and hair?

The biological complexity of skin is underappreciated. Skin consists of three main layers, the outer epidermis, the dermis, sub-dermis and the subcutaneous tissue (often referred to as the hypodermis). Each of these layers has various sub-layers. From the inside, the lower layers are connected by vascular and other circulatory systems, which provide fuel for energy generation, micronutrients, hormones, signaling molecules, and other essentials. These systems also transport some unwanted passengers, such as excess reactive oxygen species, known as free radicals.

Each layer of skin has different cell types surrounded and connected by the extracellular matrix, a biologically active medium. Cells dynamically influence one another through signalling which can also affect gene expression. Gene mutations arising from environmental damage can have knock-on effects on protein structure, protein interactions, transcription, and metabolism. This inter-related complexity is why novel chemistry has an extremely low probability of restoring homeostasis to deliver a profound positive breakthrough in skincare.

Restoring homeostasis

Restoring homeostasis and delivering the aesthetic improvements that consumers want depends on understanding the mechanisms that underpin healthy skin and how they typically go wrong. This then enables the identification of substances to support these mechanisms, whose effectiveness can be validated with appropriate assays. Only a synergistic approach that can analyse and interpret biological complexity, as pioneered by Phenodynamics proprietary technologies, can create ingredients that modern consumers are crying out for. These are ingredients that address the impact of ageing and environmental damage on skin and hair, while being safe and well tolerated in compliance with cosmetic regulatory requirements.

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