Articles

Chasing the Fountain of Youth - Topical Face Creams

By Janna Gordon, R.Ph.

One of the most difficult changes that women and men experience as they age is the transformation of their skin. While strongly influenced by the loss of hormones including estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, DHEA, and growth hormone, aging skin is also the result of genetics, prior sun damage as well as environmental pollutants. While most causes of skin damage either cannot be changed or are difficult and expensive to address, replacement of specific hormones topically have been shown to produce positive results.

Decreased estrogen levels experienced during perimenopause and menopause in women have been shown to lead to reduced collagen, moisture, and capillary blood flow in the skin. The result is wrinkles, decreased skin tone, increased pore size, and rough, dry skin. Finding a way to slow this process has been the objective of clinical research. One such study found that in 59 perimenopausal women treated with either a low-dose topical estradiol (0.01%) or estriol (0.3%) cream, after 6 months of treatment, skin elasticity, firmness, wrinkle depth, pore size and moisture had improved.(1) Another study of 40 peri and postmenopausal women found that using 2% progesterone cream over 4 months showed a reduction in wrinkle count and their depth, and an increase in skin elasticity and firmness.(2) While both of these studies have shown that topical hormone supplementation provides improvement in undesirable skin changes, they both require a prescription written by a licensed physician.

For an over-the-counter alternative, Bellevue Pharmacy Solutions is offering a new product on special this month called SeaTox®. SeaTox works by relaxing facial muscles, stimulating skin fibroblasts to rebuild the dermal matrix, and stimulating the contraction of collagen fibers. Active ingredients include: Argireline® and Matrixyl® peptides that help improve the appearance of wrinkles; vitamin C esters that stimulate collagen production; Sepilift® that helps improve the firmness of skin by contracting collagen fibers; Idebenone, a powerful antioxidant; Retinol vitamin A that reduces wrinkles, pigment spots, and helps reverse UV damage; Red Algea, a powerful antioxidant; Tocotrienol that repairs skin damage; and Sepivital®, a vitamin C ester that provides anti-inflammatory benefits. All components combined produce a face treatment that provides a natural face lift without the paralyzing effects of chemical injections.

In this age of baby boomers, there is heightened interest in anti-aging remedies. Knowing which topical treatments produce significant results is half the battle in chasing the Fountain of Youth. Bellevue Pharmacy Solutions has a staff of consultant pharmacists available to answer questions on compounded bioidentical hormone replacement as well as anti-aging treatments.
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1 Schmidt JB, Binder M, Demschik G, Bieglmayer C, Reiner A. Treatment of skin aging with topical estrogens. Int J Dermatol. 1996 Sep;35(9):669-74.

2 Holzer G, Riegler E, Honigsmann H, Farokhnia S, Schmidt JB. Effects and side-effects of 2% progesterone cream on the skin of peri- and postmenopausal women: results from a double-blind, vehicle-controlled, randomized study. Br J Dermatol. 2005 Sep;153(3):626-34.