Increased skin density the key to smoothing morning creases

The fine lines and deepening furrows emerging on a woman’s face as menopause approaches should be a tipoff. The skin is warning of physical changes that accompany falling hormone levels. It’s a good time to take stock of lifestyle choices and practices that influence post-menopausal well-being. And it’s an opportunity to begin a routine that will help maintain the skin’s integrity and comfort.

The skin’s appearance reflects declining estrogen production in the ovaries. Some women also experience hot flashes, sleep-disturbing night sweats and possibly mood swings or memory problems. In the developed world, menopause occurs at a median age of 51. With current rates of life expectancy, modern Canadian women can live roughly one-third of their lives beyond this milestone. In fact, more than four million are approaching or have been through menopause.

Hormonal aging contributes to a loss of skin density by slowing cell production in the deepest layer of the outer skin, or epidermis. The skin becomes thinner and drier. In the dermal layer below the epidermis, there’s a reduction in supportive collagen. Elastin fibres decrease and become disorganized. The resuing loss of support and resiliency allows skin to be more influenced by the constant tug of gravity, and it begins to sag. Medically speaking, drooping in areas of the face, such as eyelids and along the chin line, is described as ptosis.

Even the smiles and frowns that convey joy, anger and all the subtle feelings between the two extremes have etched souvenirs of a lifetime’s emotions on a woman’s face. These lines become more noticeable as the skin loses density and elasticity and the contours of the face hollow.

To combat these outward signs of hormonal aging, researchers at Vichy Laboratoires designed a simple daily skin-care routine aimed at redensifying the skin of both face and neck. They developed Phyto-Flavone¨, an exclusive combination of ingredients at work in Novadiol Redensifying Care for Face and Neck: cinnamic acid, which increases collagen production, and phloroglucinol, which stimulates skin cell production, are plant growth regulators; soybean isoflavones, which encourage skin cell proliferation and protect collagen from damaging enzymes, are phyto-estrogens. These plant-derived estrogens resemble but are not identical to hormones produced within the human body. When applied to the skin, plant-based phyto-estrogens are effective without attaching to the skin’s hormonal receptors or acting as a hormone.

Now, a new Vichy Laboratoires product addresses a problem aggravated by hormonal aging. During sleep, the face may be motionless, but the lymphatic circulation slows, draining facial tissue less effectively and allowing fluid to build up in some areas. In the morning, the result is a sleepy appearance, marked with deep creases that take three times longer to return to normal than in women under the age of 50. Novadiol Night Redensifying Crease-Smoothing Night Care for Face and Neck contains a stronger concentration of Phyto-Flavone¨, as well as a complex of phyto-active factors that reduce congestion in skin tissue and stimulate skin cell metabolism. That innovative complex, Biophenoneª, includes gatuline, a cell stimulant that strengthens the architectural structure of epidermis, and caffeine, which reduces tissue puffiness.

To enhance the decongesting effect of Novadiol Night, Vichy Laboratoires worked with a physician to develop a simple four-step method of application that involves gently yet strategically working Novadiol Night into the skin. The product is used at bedtime, while Novadiol Redensifying Care for Face and Neck is used once a day, in the morning.

Hormonal aging is more than skin deep
Skin and bones have a vital link. Both are hormone-stimulated tissues affected when hormone levels begin dropping off during menopause. Collagen constitutes 70 per cent of the skin’s composition and 30 per cent of the structure of bones. As hormones wane, collagen production decreases in both skin and bones. Some women experience an accelerated loss of bone mass because formation of new tissue can’t keep pace with the normal cycle of resorption and renewal. It’s a potentially hazardous condition known as osteoporosis.

Although loss of skin density may indicate hormonal decline, it can’t predict bone health. All too often, women with osteoporosis don’t know they are at risk until they sustain an unexpected fracture. There is an ongoing need to understand this disease through research and to help educate women to minimize bone loss. To encourage this, Vichy Laboratoires will donate $1 of every Novadiol Night product sold from January 15 to February 15, 2003, to the Osteoporosis Society of Canada*.

For more information on osteoporosis, visit the Society’s Web site at www.osteoporosis.ca. 

* To a maximum of $5,000.
The Osteoporosis Society of Canada does not endorse the use of this product, which is a topical treatment against loss of skin density and not an osteoporosis treatment.

Vichy’s Novadiol, a breakthrough formulation for daytime skin care and the newly introduced Novadiol Night, formulated for redensifying and smoothing the creases apparent on awakening, are available exclusively at drugstores.

The science of skin density
Scientific testing requires objective measurement, surely a challenge when comparing pre-menopausal and post-menopausal skin. Vichy Laboratoires scientists developed the Densi-Score¨, a non-invasive instrument that measures skin density using a constant horizontal compression of 40 per cent on the subject’s skin. Youthful skin develops many shallow, regular folds. These folds get progressively deeper, less numerous and more disorganized as individuals age. With this method, skin density is ranked on a scale from one (most dense) to six (least dense).

In clinical trials on 40 post-menopausal women, conducted under dermatological control, Densi-Score¨ measurements showed that after six weeks, bedtime applications of Novadiol Night increased the density of skin on face and neck by 9.4 per cent. Even better was the response from the test subjects: 73 per cent reported smoother lines and creases as well as less marking of the skin on waking; 78 per cent noticed their skin was denser.

Assessed by a dermatologist, the average score of each category for both face and neck improved significantly following six weeks of nightly application of Novadiol Night.

Average improvement on the face:

Average improvement on the neck: