On 12th April, Shiseido gave an insight into the dedicated efforts its technology and R&D teams have made in bringing internal skin elasticity visualisation technology to market.
The technology aims to decrease of type III collagen, which is involved in age-dependent degradation in skin elasticity.
In the beauty and skin care arena, researchers and scientists have raised awareness surrounding how type III collagen, often called “baby collagen”, considerably reduces with age. Despite this finding, its association with resilience has not been confirmed.
Through applying ultrasonic technology, Shiseido can use an internal skin elasticity visualisation system to envision the internal skin elasticity distribution by analysing the level of acoustic impedance.
A global first
For the first time ever, through this joint research with Honda Electronics and Toyohashi University of Technology, it is possible to visualise ageing alteration in internal skin elasticity and in skin morphological structure.
The research found that resilience in the papillary dermis, where type III collagen exists in significant numbers, starts to reduce in the thirties.
Through its collaboration, the research team observed participants to visualise and ascertain age-dependent changes in internal skin elasticity. It saw that while females in their twenties typically had even skin elasticity, this began to reduce in their thirties in the papillary dermis, and the ageing impact continued into their forties.
By understanding variations in skin elasticity in the papillary dermis, researchers could see how this altered the look of the skin. This focus identified how the skin surface of females without clear variations in elasticity was likely to be smooth compared to those with decreased elasticity, which appeared rough.
Reduction in skin elasticity and type III collagen
The team found that type III collagen is abundant in the areas with healthy skin elasticity in the uppermost layer of the dermis. However, this decreases in the parts where the skin elasticity has deteriorated. Ultimately, this suggests that a reduction in type III collagen indicates lowered skin elasticity.
Watercress, or Nasturtium officinale as it is known when referring to its botanical name, has been identified as a highly nutritious vegetable rich in vitamins, particularly β carotene. It is also claimed to have anticancer and arteriosclerosis prevention effects, Shiseido stated in a recent press release.
Through its recent research into skin elasticity and type III collagen, the personal care leader discovered that watercress extract makes an impact on the dermal cells and enhances the production of type III collagen.