EXOSOMES
Are exosomes and EVs just beauty buzzwords?
Spencer Marsh – Gourdie Lab, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, Virginia Tech
Tiny, powerful, and brimming with potential, exosomes and extracellular vesicles (EVs) are quickly becoming the beauty industry’s next big obsession. From promises of anti-ageing magic to enhanced skin hydration, faster wound repair, and even scar and pigmentation reduction, these microscopic messengers are making waves in skin care. These exceptional claims have positioned
exosomes as a breakthrough innovation in the field. Still, like any emerging field, it can be challenging to determine what claims are legitimate and what may be overstated or mischaracterized. So, are exosomes and EVs truly the future
of cosmetic science, or are they just beauty buzzwords? This article examines the science behind exosomes and EVs and evaluates whether they live up to the hype.
What are exosomes? While the general understanding and application of exosomes is advancing rapidly, it is helpful to define what this technology is and is not quickly. Exosomes and EVs are nano-sized bubbles
released by cells that carry proteins, lipids, and genetic material to other cells, triggering the response intended by the source of the exosomes/EVs. By way of analogy, you can think of exosomes as the body’s natural message delivery service, a FedEx service used by cells. The first topic to examine is the distinction between exosomes and EVs. Exosomes are,
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in fact, part of a broader family known as EVs.1 In healthy cells, both exosomes and EVs can initiate regeneration and repair. Exosomes specifically are small, nano-
scale lipid-bilayer vesicles secreted by cells as communication vesicles. Scientists initially identified exosomes in mammalian cells, where they are created through a highly specialized cellular process involving organelles such as the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus as part of a broader system known as
the Endoplasmic Sorting Complex Required for Transport, or ESCRT. This system produces what is known as the
multivesicular body, which then assembles the membrane components and cargo of the exosome, and generates exosomes within the multivesicular body (Figure 1). Meanwhile, EVs are produced at the cell
membrane and are made through a system known as ‘membrane blebbing’, in which the lipid bilayer of the cell membrane creates EVs directly from the extracellular membrane. So, exosomes and EVs are both lipid-based
vesicles that contain proteins, nucleotides, and other biological cargoes, including membrane proteins and peptide cargoes, which influence other cells through biomolecular signaling pathways, inducing a particular response based on their tissue or cell of origin (Figure 2). While terminology varies - the International
Society for Extracellular Vesicles prefers the broader term ‘small EVs’ - their function remains the same: to send signals that influence cellular behaviour, often promoting healing and regeneration.
www.personalcaremagazine.com Figure 1: The cells’ ESCRT apparatus for producing exosomes and ectosomes
The source matters Given the biogenesis mechanisms required for both exosomes and EVs described, there is a necessity for the source to contain specific organelles, meaning that the source of
September 2025 PERSONAL CARE
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