The Lab – Aesthetics Science & Insights – Page 2 – Creative Touch

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The Lab

Where beauty meets biology

The Science Library

Chapped lips
MedicalCondition
Chapped lips — dryness, flaking, and fissuring of the vermilion — are the most common lip complaint and reflect the structural vulnerability of lip tissue.
Cholesterol
MolecularEntity
Barrier lipid comprising ~25% of the stratum corneum matrix. Essential for forming both lamellar phases and regulating desquamation through its sulfate cycle.
Circadian rhythm
BiologicalProcess
The endogenous 24-hour biological programme that coordinates physiological timing across virtually every organ, tissue, and cell type.
Circulatory system
AnatomicalSystem
The body's blood and lymph transport network, comprising the heart, blood vessels, blood, and lymphatic vessels.
Claudin-1
Protein
Claudin‑1 is a tight‑junction protein in the upper epidermis that forms the paracellular seal between keratinocytes, creating a second barrier layer whose loss causes water and solute leakage.
Coenzyme A
ChemicalSubstance
Coenzyme A is the acyl‑carrier cofactor required for lipid and energy metabolism, including ceramide, fatty‑acid, sterol, and sebum synthesis, linking vitamin B5 to barrier and sebaceous function.
Coenzyme Q10
ChemicalSubstance
CoQ10 is the skin’s primary lipid‑soluble antioxidant and a key mitochondrial cofactor; its levels fall with age and UV exposure but can be replenished topically.
Cold Atmospheric Plasma therapy
MedicalTherapy
Non-ablative treatment generating reactive species at safe temperatures to reduce inflammation, address bacteria, and stimulate regeneration.
Collagen
Protein
The dermis's primary structural protein. Collagen I and III provide tensile strength and elasticity, declining with age and hormonal changes.
Copper Peptide GHK-Cu
ChemicalSubstance
An endogenous human tripeptide that acts as a carrier for copper ions and a genomic regulator of tissue repair and matrix remodelling.
Corneocyte
AnatomicalStructure
Flattened, protein-rich cells forming the 'bricks' of the skin barrier, embedded in a lipid matrix that acts as 'mortar'.
Cornified Envelope
AnatomicalStructure
The insoluble, covalently crosslinked protein shell that forms the structural core of the corneocyte, assembled in four sequential stages from involucrin, envoplakin, periplakin, loricrin, and SPRRs.
Corticosterone
MolecularEntity
A secondary glucocorticoid in humans, produced by the adrenal cortex and elevated during rapid metabolic change, contributing to hair follicle stress and potential shedding.
Cortisol
MolecularEntity
Stress hormone that breaks down collagen, inhibits barrier lipid production, and measurably delays skin recovery when chronically elevated.
Cryolipolysis
MedicalTherapy
Cryolipolysis cools fat to trigger adipocyte death and slow clearance, reducing local fat thickness without surgery while preserving skin, vessels, and nerves.
Cutibacterium acnes
BioChemEntity
The dominant commensal on sebaceous skin — active manufacturer of barrier lipids via PPARα signalling, principal acidifier of the sebaceous skin surface, and endogenous antioxidant provider.
Cysteine
ChemicalSubstance
A sulphur-containing amino acid that provides the cross-linking chemistry holding keratin structures together in skin, hair, and nails.
Decorin
Protein
Decorin is a small leucine-rich proteoglycan of the dermal extracellular matrix. Primary regulator of collagen fibril diameter, interfibrillar spacing and the mechanical architecture of the dermis.
Deoxycholic acid
ChemicalSubstance
Deoxycholic acid is a bile acid that disrupts adipocyte membranes on injection, producing necrosis and permanent fat‑cell loss followed by inflammatory clearance.
Dermal Papilla
AnatomicalStructure
A compact cluster of specialised fibroblasts at the base of each hair follicle that directs the hair growth cycle through paracrine signalling.
Dermatitis
MedicalCondition
Dermatitis is a broad term for inflammatory skin conditions characterised by barrier dysfunction, immune activation, and varying degrees of erythema, pruritus, scaling, and vesiculation.
Dermis
AnatomicalStructure
The structural layer beneath the epidermis, containing fibroblasts, collagen, elastin, and the ground substance that together determine skin firmness, elasticity, and resilience.
Desquamation
BiologicalProcess
The pH-regulated enzymatic programme that sheds corneocytes from the stratum corneum surface at a rate matched exactly to keratinocyte production from below.
Dexpanthenol
ChemicalSubstance
Provitamin form of pantothenic acid (B5) that converts to pantothenic acid within skin cells, supporting keratinocyte proliferation, dermal fibroblast migration, and barrier function.
Diacylglycerol
ChemicalSubstance
A lipid intermediate that accumulates when fatty‑acid entry is blocked, activating PKC to drive IRS‑1 serine phosphorylation and impair insulin signalling.
Dietary fat
ChemicalSubstance
A macronutrient category encompassing saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and essential fatty acids, serve distinct and non-interchangeable functions in skin biology.
Dietary protein
ChemicalSubstance
The dietary macronutrient that provides the amino acid supply from which the body builds and maintains all structural and functional proteins, including collagen, keratin, elastin.
Dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid
MolecularEntity
An omega-6 fatty acid formed from GLA, and the immediate precursor to both anti-inflammatory prostaglandins and pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid.
Dihydrotestosterone
MolecularEntity
The locally amplified form of testosterone, produced in skin tissue by 5-alpha reductase enzymes. Drives sebaceous gland activity and sebum production.
Docosahexaenoic acid
ChemicalSubstance
Active omega-3 fatty acid form (DHA) used directly by the body, supporting anti-inflammatory processes and cell membrane health.