<i>In Vivo</i> Evaluations of Emulsion O/W for a New Topical Anti-Aging Formulation: Short-Term and Long-Term Efficacy

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the in vivo efficacy in terms of elasticity, hydration and anti-wrinkle enhancement of a new cosmetic cream formulation: Apollinea anti-ageing facial cream. The latter is O/W (oil/water) emulsion with high volume percentages of snail secretion filtrate and donkey milk serum in its composition. The investigation has been performed on (twelve) healthy subjects: 8 (eight) females, and 4 (four) males, all presenting evident skin wrinkles in typical facial areas (e.g. forehead and eye contour). The subjects had to apply about 2 grams of Apollinea anti-ageing facial cream every day. The efficacy of the new cosmetic formulation was assessed before and after the cosmetic treatment, precisely 2 hours, to assess the short-term efficacy, and 40 days after, this to evaluate the product long-term efficacy. Elasticity enhancements have been tested through measurements of the viscoelastic properties of the skin, whereas the hydration parameter through measurements of the skin and subcutaneous tissues dielectric constant. All the latter measurements have been performed with specific instrumentation, as discussed more in detail in the following. To evaluate the anti-wrinkles efficacy instead, we proceeded with digital camera imaging and image analysis processed through ImageJ software. The new Apollinea facial cream cosmetic formulation, based on donkey milk whey and snail secretion filtrate from Helix Aspersa Müller, showed significant enhancement effects on skin elasticity and hydration as well as an important skin-wrinkles-reduction.