Cosmeceutical treatment of the aging face

The increased consumer interest in skin health and appearance combined with a confusing and expansive cosmetic marketplace has led patients to seek educated product recommendations from their physicians. Clinically proven topical therapies can work to correct many of the visible signs of aging skin and support and enhance the outcomes of more invasive procedures. The author discusses common presentations of visible aging, matrix degradation, sagging and laxity, fine lines and deeper wrinkling, epidermal and dermal atrophy, enlarged pores, topical therapies for collagen and matrix protection, broad-spectrum UV protection, chemical sunscreen agents, physical sunscreen agents, antioxidants, matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors, collagen and matrix producers, neurotransmitter-affecting peptides, textural variances, cosmeceutical ingredients for texture improvement, dyschromias, and melanogenesis inhibitors. This overview is intended to provide the physician with the information necessary for selecting the best topical therapies for their patients working to prevent and reverse the visible signs of aging and to develop cosmeceutical strategies to support more invasive procedures for patients with advanced dermal degradation.