Efficacy of an Antiaging Treatment Against Environmental Factors: Deschampsia antarctica Extract and High-tolerance Retinoids Combination.

Background. Effects of environmental contaminents, such as air pollution and cigarette smoking on skin include increased oxidation, subclinical inflammation, and degradation of the dermal matrix, which can accelerate the skin aging process. Objective. An open-label, prospective study was conducted to assess the efficacy and tolerability of a topical anti-aging regimen comprising high-concentration retinoids, Deschampsia antarctica extract, and niacinamide in participants living in a heavily polluted (Level III, World Health Organization) city. Methods. Twenty-two female Caucasian volunteers with Fitzpatrick Skin Types III and IV were treated for 90 days with the topical anti-aging regimen. Subjective clinical assessments using the Rao-Goldman Scoring for Facial Aging, Patient's Global Assessment (PGA), and Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA). Additionally, objective instrumental assessments for wrinkles using Visia® (Canfield Scientific, Parsippany, New Jersey) and Visioline® (Courage+Khazaka Electronic GmbH, Cologne, Germany) and viscoelasticity and firmness using Cutometer® (Courage+Khazaka Electronic GmbH ) were completed at baseline, Day 30, and Day 90. Results. At Day 30, wrinkles in the periocular area significantly improved by 35.7 percent (p=0.003) compared to baseline. At the end of the study (Day 90), a significant improvement in firmness (41.7%) and viscoelasticity (12.8%) were observed. Tolerance for treatment was assessed as "good" or "very good" in 86.5 percent of the volunteers. Conclusion. This novel antiaging treatment regimen could potentially serve as an effective and long-term topical treatment option for improving signs of facial aging and protecting the skin from external factors associated with acceleration of the skin aging process, such exposure to UV radiation, air pollution, and cigarette smoke. Larger and longer-term, randomized, controlled clinical trials in more diverse population samples are needed to confirm our results.