The epidermis, or the skin’s outer layer, is smooth when the skin is healthy and typical. The stratified keratinized squamous epithelium’s healthy layer is a barrier against elements that can harm the body’s inner cells (McLafferty, Hendry, & Farley, 2012). Yet, the epidermis loses its firmness and elasticity with age, a sign of aging skin (Anonymous, 2016). The aging process makes it more challenging for the skin to fulfill its protective role. The aging process impacts several skin elements, including glycosaminoglycans, elastin, and collagen. These elements are abundant in young, healthy skin but become less abundant over time. Natural aging processes take place as one lives their entire life. Collagen formation decreases after age 20, making the skin drier and more brittle. The collagen fibers also crosslink, reducing elasticity (Mader & Windelspecht, 2015). Elastin and GAG production is also starting to decline. Throughout a person’s lifespan, the changes are what cause the skin to wrinkle.
Vitamin D’s role in the healthy functioning of the skin has been the subject of extensive research on decreasing skin aging. According to the results of recent studies, the vitamin D endocrine system (VDES) is crucial for controlling how quickly skin ages (Reichrath, 2012). The results call for developing skin solutions that promise to keep the skin looking young and healthy for an extended period. Pharmaceutical businesses have created creams and serums over time that claim to restore the skin’s youthfulness (Anonymous, 2016). The products are designed to restore the skin’s failing function and maintain its youthful functions by changing vitamin D status.
In addition to creating skin care products that slow skin aging, experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Living Proof, and Olive Labs have taken things a step further. The result is a crosslinked polymer layer that resembles a second layer of skin and has the same mechanical, optical, and physical properties as healthy skin. The new product’s function is to offer natural skin tightening, smoothening, and protection. In essence, it is anticipated that the product will function by replenishing the components of the skin that have been lost as we age. The visible layer establishes the essential barrier, enhancing the skin’s aesthetic value and focusing therapy on the intended area.
Extrinsic aging, which results from environmental damage, is a separate process from intrinsic aging, which happens naturally. Therefore, it is anticipated that the protective layer will protect from radiation, poisons, and other environmental harms. Despite the failure of other comparable products in the past, the scientists in charge of developing second skin believe that the research done so far can restore the skin’s health and cosmetic qualities (Anonymous, 2016). However, the new product’s true efficacy has yet to be demonstrated in practical application. The products frequently highlight the external aging of the skin and fail to demonstrate how well they can slow down or even stop the intrinsic aging of the skin. In order to find the fountain of youth, pharmaceutical corporations, and other professionals have yet to develop an anti-aging solution.