The Cosmetic Efficacy: Myth or Reality?
Keywords:
Skin, UV, ECMAbstract
The skin 's structure and its overall appearance changes are influenced by the ageing process and by the environment. Natural ageing of the skin is a genetically programmed process which is, in fact, further enhanced by environmental factors, such as ultraviolet irradiation (UV) ind ucing the so called photoageing. UV rays increase the production of free radicals and the inflammation process, resulting in macroscopic changes, such as the fo rmation of fine lines, skin wrinkling, rough skin texture, and irregular pigmentation, as well as in degradation of extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules, and accumulation of DNA damages.