Topical Fullerenes and large facial pores
What are buckminster fullerenes?
Topical Fullerenes may have the potential as being a strong treatment for acne. The study described below shows the potential of topical fullerenes in the fight against free radicals which have a role in acne.
They appear to be the enemy of these free radicals, also known as oxidative stress or Radical Oxygen Species (ROS) which are believed to play a major role in acne formation.
Impact on facial pores
Large facial pores are therapeutic targets for cosmeceuticals. This examined the effect of topical fullerene on conspicuous facial pores using a new image analyzer called the VISIA® system. The study design included ten healthy Japanese females who participated in this study, and they received applications of 1% fullerene lotion to the face twice a day for 8 weeks.
Fullerene lotion significantly decreased conspicuous pores by >17.6% (p < 0.05, Wilcoxon signed-rank test) after an 8-week treatment. A self-administered questionnaire indicated that this reduction achieved cosmetically appreciable effects. Fullerene lotion significantly decreased conspicuous facial pores after an 8-week treatment possibly through the suppression of PGE2 production (a hormone-like substance that modulates inflammation, controls blood pressure and other bodily functions) in the epidermis.
To compare results we used the Wilcoxon test. A nonparametric statistical test that compares two paired groups and comes in two versions the Rank Sum test or the Signed Rank test. The goal of the test is to determine if two or more sets of pairs are different from one another in a statistically significant manner.study
Improves Acne
This study assessed the effectiveness of Fullerene gel in treating acne vulgaris. They performed an open trial using a fullerene gel twice a day; at 4 and 8 weeks, the mean number of inflammatory lesions significantly, 23.2% and 10.0 ± 5.62 (reduction rate 37.8%), respectively.
After treatments for 8 weeks, the water content of the skin significantly (P < 0.05) increased from 51.7 ± 7.9 to 60.4 ± 10.3 instrumental units. Therefore, the fullerene gel may help in controlling acne vulgaris with skin care benefit.
