Looking into the skin with a light microscope

Despite recent progress in biomedical research to identify the genes and the mechanisms that regulate longevity, aging remains a mysterious process. Nevertheless, there are a number of factors that are important to aging. The potential for cell division and replacement is a key factor. Most cells cannot divide indefinitely due to a process called cellular or replicative senescence, which is a fundamental feature of somatic cells such as skin cells.

These skin cells have the ability to regenerate to replace the dead cells. The total number of cell regeneration is programmed according to the organism’s lifespan. How do skin cells sense the number of divisions they have completed? The telomere-shortening hypothesis could explain a cell division 'counting' mechanism. Telomeres are the tandem repeats of 6 nucleic acids that form the ends of human chromosomes. Telomeres shorten with each round of cell division. This mechanism limits proliferation of human cells to a finite number of cell divisions by inducing replicative senescence, differentiation, or apoptosis. 

Telomere shortening also limits stem cell function, regeneration, and organ maintenance during aging.

Increasing apoptosis (a natural programmed cell death) or premature replicative senescence can lead to premature aging. Changes in the number of times that cells, and particularly stem cells, divide during an organism's lifespan influence longevity and aging. In the skin, intrinsic or extrinsic factors that overload the cell’s functional capacity will shorten its lifespan and speed up the cell division frequency to compensate for cell lost, that over years will use up the total number of potential cell regeneration resulting in skin premature aging.

Intrinsic factors such as an enduring stressful life or unhealthy habits such as excessive smoking can alter various cytokine/growth factors, hormones, cell signaling pathways and cells’ normal development, activities and communication. Extrinsic or environmental factors including principally ultraviolet (UV) exposure and toxic chemicals can directly damage skin proteins and DNA, cell membrane and other structures. Extrinsic factors could also include some routines such as excessive skin exfoliating that weakening the outermost protective layer of the skin. Once skin fails to compensate for the damages and declines its homeostasis and ability to adaptively response to stress, skin premature aging occurs. 

Solution

Dr Vu Cosmeceuticals aims to help to improve the problems of premature aging at several steps:

1) Base on solid science concepts to recommend a better and logical beauty skincare method and habit

2) Produce better skincare product that:

i) block the attack of UV radiation, ii) enhances skin barrier, iii) supply the cells with natural antioxidants, humectants, and other important natural active ingredients formulated in exclusive and unique compositions to help skin cells to combat effects of UV radiation and environmental toxins, and balance their activities and communication, enhance the skin cells’ regenerative capacity, increase healthy production of collagen and elastic fibers, and rehydrate the skin, thus rejuvenate and create youthful, firm, smooth, translucent, and illuminating skin.