FACIAL SAGGING 33
Adipogenesis: countering contemporary facial sagging
Paul Lawrence, Rebecca Held, Joseph Ceccoli - Biocogent
While dermal fillers with their biocompatible, hyaluronic acid-based gels have grown in popularity, there is a counter movement in the personal care industry seeking more natural mechanisms for restoring facial plumpness. Within the context of facial anatomy, adipose tissue is not just ‘passive padding’, rather it is an active tissue that impacts volume, mechanical support, and skin biology. Adipocytes are located under the skin, just below the dermis, in distinct fat compartments that function like soft cushions. The bulk of the volume in these cells is filled with lipid droplets that cause the compartment to expand, which resultingly pushes outward on the skin. Loss or shrinkage of adipocytes
contributes to the deflation of the fat compartments that will present as hollowing and sagging. Hence, having a method to augment adipogenesis will reinforce the cushioning and tension against gravity. The launch of oral and injectable GLP-1 medicine has made weight loss easier and more accessible than ever before. This is creating new trends in beauty and cosmetics. More innovation is being seen in consumer products targeting the loss of volume, deep wrinkles, sagging, reduce skin elasticity, and dehydration. These skin changes are all side-effects of the
rapid weight loss effects elicited by the GLP-1 agonists. Brands are now focusing on preventative
ABSTRACT
One of the most visible hallmarks of ageing is the loss of facial fullness, which originates not in dermal fibres but in the progressive decline of dermal adipose tissue. As this supportive fat layer diminishes, skin becomes thinner, less resilient, and more prone to wrinkling. Advances in skin biology are now revealing that adipogenesis may offer a new pathway for aesthetic rejuvenation. Botanical-derived active ingredients capable of promoting adipocyte formation are emerging as promising tools for restoring skin volume and improving the appearance of wrinkles.
The consistent atrophy of the skin’s adipose architecture with chronological
and restorative skin care solutions perfect for use while taking GLP-1 medications. More consumers will look to the shelves of beauty stores for solutions that allow them to forgo costly cosmetic procedures. A botanical source that facilitates the stimulation of fat cell development is a well- known plant called Echinacea purpurea with its signature purple coneflower (Figure 1). Using environmentally sustainable supercritical fluid CO2
extraction, a series of fatty acid alkylamides
have been harvested from the plant’s biomass in a waterless botanical extract, which has been referred to as Volpura® EPO.1 These natural, lipophilic compounds are
known to exhibit significant pharmacological properties, which includes boosting the activity of the transcriptional regulator of adipogenesis: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) that promotes the differentiation of precursor cells into functional adipocytes and lipid synthesis within the cells.
Adipocytes, or fat cells, are specialized cells constituting adipose tissue, acting as the body’s primary energy reservoir by storing fat as triglycerides
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Molecular and cellular biology point the way PPARγ is a transcriptional activator: an intracellular protein that stimulates the expression of specific sets of genes. This means that it is responsible for the synthesis of a particular group of proteins that
ageing is now being compounded with unexpected side-effects in the new era of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonist drug treatments. While this healthy strategy certainly diminishes instances of diabetes and other metabolism-associated conditions in large proportions of the population, the rapid weight loss has also been coupled with an increase in the development of facial sagging and loss of volume. This has presented the personal care industry with an opportunity to design, develop, and launch new active ingredients that will allow individuals to enjoy the improvements in metabolic health without worrying about the associated loss of youthful facial features. Here, a new botanically-derived active has been launched that helps to counter the contemporary issue of facial sagging from rapid weight loss. The solution embraces the normal biological pathway of fat cell development: adipogenesis. Indeed, fat cells (or adipocytes) play a significant structural and biological role in the maintenance of smooth contours, facial fullness, and an overall youthful appearance
play a role in important biological pathways. In the case of adipogenesis, PPARγ is a key regulator that contributes to the expression of several genes that promote fat cell formation and lipid synthesis by engaging with a regulatory sequence upstream of the genes called a “promoter”.1, 2 A laboratory test was conducted to examine
June 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE
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