Keywords
Abstract
Background/Aims: Maintaining skin elasticity and hardness is one way of keeping younger skin. This study investigates the topical effects of Aloe Vera (AV) alone and accompanied with Omega-3 (O-3) on skin hardness and thickness.
Method: Healthy females were randomly selected and divided into two groups (15 in each group) for a double-blind controlled study. All volunteers, between 18-25 years of age, were not pregnant or suffering from any medical illness. Both groups were asked to put formulations having similar appearance on the skin of forearm for 30 days. A prepared skin formulation containing AV oil only was considered baseline. The other group was treated with AV oil and O-3 mixture. Skin elasticity and hardness were measured using Digital Durometer and Diagnostic Ultrasound System.
Results: Compared to baseline, skin elasticity & hardness significantly improved at the end of the study in both AV and the combination groups. There was a slight synergistic effect of combining O-3 and AV on both elasticity and hardness.
Conclusion: The study is the first of its kind exploring the possible use of AV and O-3 topically to reverse the signs of aging on skin thickness. At the end of trial period improvements in skin thickness were noticed.