J Drugs Dermatol. 2007 Jul;6(7):725-9.
Novel eye cream containing a mixture of human growth factors and cytokines for periorbital skin rejuvenation.
Lupo ML, Cohen JL, Rendon MI.
The Lupo Center for Aesthetic and General Dermatology, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Evidence of the signs associated with skin aging often first appears in the periorbital area and includes wrinkles, eyelid bags, circles around the eye, or a "tired" look. This multicenter study aimed to investigate a novel eye cream containing a proprietary mixture of human growth factors and cytokines in combination with caffeine, bisabolol, glycyrrhetinic acid, and sodium hyaluronate for periorbital rejuvenation. The study, which was completed by 37 female subjects between 36 to 65 years of age, revealed that clinical signs for wrinkles, lower eyelid bags or sagging, dark circles, and skin texture show significant improvement (average 14%-28%) after 6 weeks of twice-daily application. These clinical improvements were confirmed by a subject questionnaire. The subjects further reported that their tired look significantly improved by 32% in average. All subjects tolerated the eye cream well and liked the way it felt. The cream's efficacy, excellent tolerability in the delicate periorbital skin area, and pleasant sensory properties explain why a large majority (78%) would continue regular use.
PMID: 17763597 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Important things to note from the above study:
Product used: Neocutis Lumiere Bio-restorative Eye Cream with PSP
Cost: US$80 0.5fl. oz (15mL)
Ingredients: water, caprylic/capric triglyceride, c12-20 acid peg-8 ester, butylene glycol, glycerin, sacchardie isomerate, peg-8, cetyl alcohol, caprylyl glycol, phenoxyethanol, potassium cetyl phosphate, carbomer, bisalbolol, ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate, caffeine, disodium edta, methylparaben, phospholipds, butylparaben, processed skin proteins, glycyrrhetinic acid, sodium hyaluronate, sodium polyacrylate, ethlyparaben, citric acid, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, tocopherol, beech tree bud extract, palm oil, tocotrienols, ascorbyl palmitate, squalene, ascorbic acid, phytosterols
J Drugs Dermatol. 2007 Feb;6(2):197-201.
Efficacy of novel skin cream containing mixture of human growth factors and cytokines for skin rejuvenation.
Gold MH, Goldman MP, Biron J.
Gold Skin Care Center, Nashville, TN, USA. goldskin@goldskincare.com
The crucial role of growth factors and cytokines in cutaneous wound healing is well described, but there has been little investigation into their use for skin rejuvenation. A novel skin cream containing a mixture of human growth factors and cytokines was recently marketed for skin rejuvenation. The mixture was obtained through a biotechnology process using cultured human fetal skin cells, which originate from a dedicated cell bank originally established for the development of products in wound healing. The cream significantly reduced periorbital and perioral wrinkles, as well as improved skin texture of the chin after one month of treatment, which confirms the beneficial use of growth factors and cytokines for skin rejuvenation reported in 2 earlier studies. After 60 days of twice-daily application, 83% of the subject showed an improved average wrinkle score in the eye area, while 50% showed an improved average wrinkle score in the mouth area. In order to exclude a placebo effect, the efficacy of this product should be confirmed with a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. Also, the difference between mixtures of growth factor and cytokines should be further elaborated.
PMID: 17373178 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
The above study also used a product from the Neocutis range (Neocutis Bio-restorative Skin Cream with PSP) which sells for approx. US$130 for 50mL.
Moral of this story boys and girls......products with human growth factor (or Epidermal growth factors) plus antioxidants and caffeine for firming appear to effective (moreso around the perioribital region). The products used in the above quoted studies are expensive. This is usually the case but these days it's not hard to make these creams yourself by purchasing the active ingredients yourself. The same product can be bought for a fraction (1/3rd) of the cost from a few companies on the net that custom make items.