Exposome and skin health :
How environmental data can be used to better understand the influence of environmental exposures on the skin?
Nowadays, the air we breathe every day is polluted and our skin is at the forefront of the various environmental pollutants. Particulate matter, carbon monoxide or nitrogen oxides, alter the quality of the air and can have an impact on our health, including our skin.
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Summary
Impact of the exposome on the skin
How can environmental data help protect the skin from air pollution?
The benefits of using environmental data for the cosmetics industry
Impact of the exposome on the skin
The exposome corresponds to the totality of exposures to external and environmental (i.e. non-genetic) factors that a human organism undergoes throughout its life.
The exposome is responsible for over 80% of skin aging
Dr Delphine KEROB
%
The skin is the largest organ of the human body located at the interface with the external environment, it is then the part most exposed to the pollution of our body. It acts as a 1st protective barrier against external aggressions and responds to environmental variations by homeostatic processes, allowing to maintain a state of internal equilibrium.
To maintain homeostasis, the skin must constantly readapt to changing and sometimes harmful environmental stressors, such as:
Pollution
Pollens
UVs
Temperature
Humidity
WaterThus, a highly polluted environment and certain lifestyles can alter the homeostasis of the skin but also the cutaneous microbiota (micro-organisms living on the surface of the skin in symbiosis with their host).
The risk is to cause inflammation, premature skin aging and skin disorders (atopic dermatitis, acne, redness, allergic reactions, pigmentation problems …).
🌍 Environmental stressors
By knowing and monitoring these environmental stressors, proper gestures and habits and using the right cosmetic compounds can prevent and mitigate their effects on the skin.
How can environmental data help protect the skin from air pollution?
Meersens environmental data provides a better understanding of how exposure to certain environmental factors can affect skin health through several tools:
💻 Modeling and heatmap
Environmental data can be modeled (statistical or physical models) in order to obtain accurate and resolved concentrations of various pollutants in real time but also in predictive and historical.
⚙️ API Data
All environmental model data is available as an API based on a chosen geography and an hourly or aggregated time step (daily, monthly…). The APIs are designed to allow for the seamless retrieval and integration of this environmental data as well as recommendations and preventive advice into other services and products.
📊 Monitoring and management platform
In order to better manage and control the use of environmental data, the use of an administration platform is sometimes useful. It allows to cross environmental data with sensor data (indoor vs. outdoor air quality for example), to generate automated reports on environmental situations on specific periods or geographies, to consult pollutant concentrations & associated recommendations and to set alerts, thresholds or standards.
The benefits of using environmental data for the cosmetics industry
R&D: clinical research
Environmental data are useful to develop cosmetic products adapted to a changing and aggressive environment for the skin. During product tests with volunteers, the cross-referencing of environmental data coupled with questionnaire responses allows for a better understanding and analysis of the impact of products on the skin in the sometimes changing environment in which the volunteers evolve.
Sales: adapting sales
Be aware of environmental health everywhere and at all times. Understand the situation in order to adapt the product offering to the market.
Combining environmental data with product sales data can help understand the impact of specific environments on the success or failure of certain products. For example, a product that works well in a certain type of environment may be pushed into locations with similar environmental conditions.
In addition, an analysis of the environment where the consumers who rated the products poorly are located may highlight environmental conditions that are not conducive to their effectiveness. On the other hand, products that are well rated in certain environments may be able to claim their effectiveness in countering environmental stressors.
Marketing: an enhanced customer experience
Environmental data can also enable an enhanced customer experience. By determining the impact of the exposome on the skin or hair, you can recommend to your customers skincare routines based on their immediate environment, but also inform them of the most suitable beauty routines. Communicate as an expert on the exposome!
This experience can be materialized via a web app, a mobile application, a widget on the website…
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