United States scientists have developed a new, transparent polymer material that temporarily tightens saggy skin and eliminates eye bags, according to research.
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The material is a silicone-based polymer that could be applied on the skin like a thin, invisible coating that copies the mechanical and elastic characteristics of a healthy and youthful skin.
Researchers tested the material that’s being called a “second skin” on people and found it could reshape bags under the eyes as well as hydrate skin.
Writing in the Nature Materials, senior author Robert Langer, a professor at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, and his colleagues report that they had developed a new cream that temporarily smooth wrinkles and tighten skin.
“The new material can function as a barrier, providing an aesthetic improvement, and can also be used to deliver drugs locally in the area being treated”, says Daniel Anderson, a researcher at MIT and one of the authors.
No study participant experienced irritation from the material, which was developed in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, biomaterial firm Olivo Laboratories and haircare company Living Proof.
The skin was created using chemicals that connect silicon and oxygen in a cross-linked polymer layer, or XPL.
Researchers have also conducted several studies to record the XPL’s capabilities when it comes to skin care. “Another could be for therapeutics, where you’d use it as a whole new kind of plastic ointment that could be used to deliver drugs to the skin to treat different skin diseases”. In future, it is expected to be worn as a second skin to protect our original skin from UV rays and direct sun exposure.
The XPL is now delivered in a two-step process, as described by MIT News .
While the “second skin” is on, Langer noted that it is able to effectively reduce the appearance of unwanted eye bags and wrinkles.
The film is applied and when dried forms an elastic transparent layer that clings to the skin and seamlessly tightens wrinkles, the scientists claim. The process behind XPL is similar to how rubber, a rather fragile material, is treated to become tires. When applied to the face, the XPL was noted to decrease the visibility of age marks by reshaping the area around the eyelids while maintaining its form for 24 hours.
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“I think it has great potential for both cosmetic and noncosmetic applications, especially if you could incorporate antimicrobial agents or medications”, Thahn Nga Tran, a dermatologist and instructor at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the research, said in the release. The initial concentration is said to be for medical application, such as treating dermatitis.
