CIDP to unveil new anti-pollution testing protocol
The company describes the protocol as innovative and is set to unveil it at the ongoing in-cosmetics Global show in London. We caught up with Jessen Curpen, Biophysics Manager & Head of Clinical Study Design, CIDP, to discover more.
Why have you developed this new protocol?
Today, anti-pollution cosmetic products are creating a real buzz worldwide. Consumers are increasingly aware of the negative impact that pollutants have on their skin, and they really want to protect themselves. Scientists in the field of cosmetology and dermatology generally concur that pollution is the second precursor of extrinsic skin ageing, right after UV.
Many laboratories are developing cosmetic products with the “anti-pollution” claim. However, till date, there is no standard protocol to evaluate the efficacy of anti-pollution products. This is why CIDP embarked on developing novel protocols to substantiate the anti-pollution claim.
What are the challenges of testing anti-pollution claims?
The real challenge to substantiating the anti-pollution claim is to identify the exact cutaneous stressors (in our case the exact pollutants), and to demonstrate that a specific cosmetic product protects the skin against the irritations due to this or these stressors.
Furthermore, as with all cosmetic claim substantiations, it is very important for the consumers to visually observe the efficacy of the product. Hence, we must be able to demonstrate this efficacy visually and objectively during clinical trials.
How does your new protocol respond to these challenges?
We have designed a system for in vivo exposure to ozone and PM2.5. There are specific pollution biomarkers at the level of the skin that we have identified. By monitoring these biomarkers, we can show their evolution in treated vs non-treated skin when exposed to pollutants.
Moreover, our protocol is also extended to Use Tests on human volunteers in real polluted cities, where we assess efficacy with biophysical evaluation – such as skin hydration, Trans-Epidermal Water Loss, skin elasticity, wrinkles, and skin pigmentation.
Our protocol takes on a more holistic approach, comprising biochemical and biophysical evaluations.
Has there been a lot of demand from companies who want to test anti-pollution claims? Is this demand growing?
Since setting up our standard protocols for anti-pollution claim substantiation, many laboratories have contacted us to conduct studies for them. I believe they are very interested in such robust study designs.
Any further thoughts on the anti-pollution trend?
We, at CIDP, sincerely believe that more and more laboratories will be developing anti-pollution products. As Prof Jean Krutmann from the Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine rightly mentioned, “UV Damage from the sun was really the topic in skin protection for the last 20-30 years.
Now I think that air pollution has the potential to keep us busy for the next few decades.” Hence, the whole industry will need to be up to the challenge in terms of proposing novel molecules but also by setting up robust methodologies to substantiate the anti-pollution claim.
Véronique Newton, R&D Laboratory Manager at CIDP, and Jessen Curpen, Biophysics Manager & Head of Clinical Study Design at CIDP, will give a presentation on the protocol at the in-cosmetics Global show. The session will be held in Theatre 3, 4 April (Tue), 5:15pm.