Mechanical skin properties such as elasticity and firmness are safeguarded primarily by the basic structural proteins collagen and elastin. Reduction or loss of these proteins functioning over our lives results in visible signs of skin aging. These changes influence not only the appearance, but also physiological processes in the skin, which affect the quality of the skin itself.
Elaself, the new cosmetic peptide, targets the protein MFAP-4, whose biological role in the skin was recently discovered. MFAP-4 plays a crucial role in the formation of elastic fibres, protects the skin against detrimental effects of UV radiation and its quantity decreases with age. Elaself was shown to stimulate MFAP-4 production in vitro and to improve the elastic fibers assembly that was manifested in vivo by the increased elasticity of the skin. Moreover, the effects were accompanied by the enhanced production of collagen contributing to the observed significant reduction of wrinkles.