I was blessed to spend 4 days in Paris last week at IMCAS (the International Master Course on Aging Science) which hosts dermatologists, aesthetic nurses, plastic surgeons, and cosmetic surgeons from all over the world. It is a lot! There were 22,000 delegates over 4 floors of lecture theatres, and 3 floors of exhibits of all things skincare, injectables, energy-based devices and plastic surgical instruments. I thought that I’d share my highlights with you!
Paris is totally my favourite city to mooch around in. I was lucky enough to live (and kinda work) at the American Hospital of Paris in my final year as a medical student. So, just wandering around and taking it all in is “the best” as far as I’m concerned. I had two half days to do this, and clocked 25,000 steps each time. So much to see! In particular, I loved finding a dog park close to my hotel, and was amazed how many people were running at lunch time in central Paris. When I lived in Paris (albeit 20+ years ago), people would call out to me and ask what I was doing when I went on my daily runs. They told me that I was crazy. Now, it’s de rigueur in Paris. I managed to find the flagship store of Sézane, which is one of my favourite stores. Eating my share of pain au chocolat and croissants, was, of course, mandatory! I studied French in high school, and in my first year of university, so having an opportunity to practise my French for a few days, is always fun – although I am so rusty, and a little self-conscious doing so. The amazing SkinCeuticals team hosted an absolutely fabulous cocktail party at “Le Bridge” under Pont Alexandre III, and, I was fortunate enough to be invited to sip clever cocktails such as “Ferulic Fizz” (in homage to their cult product) CE-Ferulic, and dance the night away to the coolest band ever!
The French loooove skincare. If you’ve been to Paris, you know that there is a pharmacy on nearly every block. What really stands out is how much real estate skincare takes up in a French pharmacy. Honestly, I’d say that it’s at least 75% of any given pharmacy! It’s heaven as far as I’m concerned. In particular, I loved seeing the full range of Bioderma (NAOS) products. It’s certainly my favourite French pharmacy brand with their focus and dedication to ecobiology of the skin. Let’s hope that we see more of their range here in Australia in the near future!
Learning-wise, my favourite sessions of the conference were on cosmeceutical skincare (surprise, surprise), melasma, exosomes, AI in dermatology and epigenetics. In the cosmeceutical lectures, I got a lot out of the “Neurocosmetics” session. This is the cutting edge intersection of neuroscience and skincare. When certain ingredients activate nerve receptors in the skin, they can modulate skin cell functions and modulate nerve signals, leading to effects such as muscle relaxation (yes please!), reduced inflammation, stimulation of collagen and elastin production, and improved barrier function. These new ingredients aim to promote skin health and emotional well-being. So, stay tuned for more on neurocosmetics from us at Bespoke!
In the melasma session, the main take home messages were how important heat is in driving inflammation that can contribute to melasma, and safety issues. So, not only do we need to take care to protect against UVA, UVB and visible light on a daily basis. But, if melasma is an issue, then minimising exposure to heat when it’s optional (saunas, hot yoga, skin procedures etc) is also really important. Intravenous glutathione is used in some countries of high melasma prevalence to treat this condition. However, it is banned in many countries due to its poor safety profile. The international speakers all concurred that the risks of intravenous glutathione outweigh the benefits in the treatment of melasma. Use of new skincare ingredients such as 2-mercaptonicotinoyl glycine (Melasyl) are also a useful addition to our armamentarium against this chronic, relapsing and remitting condition.
I was lucky enough to meet two inspirational dermatologists and fellow female skincare founders at IMCAS who shared their journeys in creating a skincare brand – Dr Kathy Fields (or Proactive and Rodan and Fields), and Dr Shereene Idriss of Instagram fame. It was fascinating to hear of their challenges, highs and lows, and their experience as business founders and entrepreneurs.
Exosomes are all the buzz in the aesthetic realm currently, and you hear about them at any aesthetic meeting. They are small packets, or “vesicles” that carry proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids between cells. They are important in communication between cells in our bodies, and can activate the immune response amongst other actions. In our bodies, they are present in bodily fluids such as blood, urine, saliva and breast milk. Exosomes have potential therapeutic and diagnostic applications. There are thousands of studies in the literature looking at exosomes, mostly in the field of cancer, regenerative medicine and immunology. Within dermatology, they are being studied to treat hair loss, wound healing, and hence rejuvenation. However, exosomes are still early in their development for skin indications. Many experts at this meeting felt that we need more evidence before they come into widespread use. This was due to potential complications such as unwanted nodules which are very difficult to treat, and may not resolve. At this stage, exosome injections are still “investigational” products, and their commercial medical use is unapproved in many countries. So, I’d say that there is huge potential here to treat skin disorders, and effect rejuvenation, but, a lot of finessing of the sourcing and manufacturing of exosomes, and more systematic scientific evidence needs to accrue before their use can be widely recommended in clinical dermatology practice.
C’est tout de moi par l’instante!
