Anti-aging skin care compositions and regimens

Abstract

Multi-step cosmetic regimens are provided to improve the appearance of aging skin. A target portion of skin that exhibits a sign of skin aging is identified. A first formulation is topically applied, comprising at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a genetic co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin cleansing and/or skin detoxification, and/or skin hydration to the target portion of skin. A second formulation is also topically applied, comprising at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin repair and/or rebuilding to the target portion of skin.

What is claimed: 
     
         1 . A multi-step regimen effective for improving the appearance of aging human skin, the regimen comprising:
 (a) identifying a target portion of skin that exhibits a sign of skin aging;   (b) topically applying a first formulation comprising at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a genetic co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin cleansing and/or skin detoxification, and/or skin hydration to the target portion of skin, and   (c) topically applying a second formulation comprising at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin repair and/or rebuilding to the target portion of skin,   wherein application of (c) follows application of (b).   
     
     
         2 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , performed on a dosing schedule selected from at least daily and at least twice daily, dosed across a time frame selected from at least one week, at least one month, and at least one year. 
     
     
         3 . The regimen according to  claim 2 , wherein a dosing schedule is at least one day dosed across a time frame of at least one week. 
     
     
         4 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , wherein the application of (c) follows the application of (b) substantially immediately. 
     
     
         5 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , wherein improving the appearance of aging skin comprises decreasing magnitude of a negative discordance between chronological age and apparent age, and preserving or increasing magnitude of a positive discordance between chronological age and apparent age. 
     
     
         6 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more biological themes associated with skin cleansing and/or skin detoxification and/or skin hydration are selected from Table 1. 
     
     
         7 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more biological themes associated with skin repair and/or rebuilding are selected from Table 2. 
     
     
         8 . The regimen according to  claim 7 , wherein the biological theme comprises cell adhesion. 
     
     
         9 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , wherein a genetic co-expression module comprises an intersecting set of (i) a set of genes transcriptionally up-regulated in a population exhibiting a positive discordance between biological age and apparent age and (ii) a set of genes associated with one or more biological themes, wherein the one or more biological themes are selected from themes substantially represented in (i). 
     
     
         10 . The regimen according to  claim 1 , wherein an eigengene is obtained for a co-expression module by a process of singular value decomposition. 
     
     
         11 . The regimen according to  claim 6 , wherein the at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a genetic co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin cleansing and/or skin detoxification is selected from one or more of a palmitoyl peptide derivative and a carob fruit derivative. 
     
     
         12 . The regimen according to  claim 11 , wherein the at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin repair and/or rebuilding is selected from one or more of a palmitoyl peptide derivative, a vitamin B3 compound, a dill extract derivative, and an olive oil derivative. 
     
     
         13 . The regimen according to  claim 12 , wherein the Pal-KTTKS is present in the formulation in an amount of from 0.01% to about 10%, the niacinamide is present in the formulation in an amount of from 0.1% to about 10%, the dill extract is present in the formulation in amount of from about 0.001% to about 7.0% and the olive oil extract is present in the formulation in an amount of from 0.0005 to 0.01%. 
     
     
         14 . A cosmetic skin treatment kit comprising a first skin care composition and a second skin care composition separately contained, the first composition formulated to comprise at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a genetic co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin cleansing and/or skin detoxification to the target portion of skin, the second composition formulated to comprise at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin repair and/or rebuilding, instructions to apply the first composition to a target area of skin prior to applying the second composition to the target area of skin, and, optionally, at least one applicator to effectuate topical application of the first and/or the second skin care composition to the target area of skin. 
     
     
         15 . The kit according to  claim 14 , wherein the at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a genetic co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin cleansing and/or skin detoxification is selected from one or more of a palmitoyl peptide derivative and a carob seed derivative. 
     
     
         16 . The kit according to  claim 15 , wherein the at least one active possessing an ability to transcriptionally up-regulate an eigengene derived from a co-expression module for one or more biological themes associated with skin repair and/or rebuilding is selected from one or more of a palmitoyl peptide derivative, a vitamin B3 compound, a dill extract derivative and an olive oil derivative. 
     
     
         17 . A method for identifying an agent effective for transcriptionally up-regulating an eigengene associated with a desirable cosmetic phenotype of human skin, the method comprising:
 deriving an eigengene for a co-expression module determined from a set of genes transcriptionally up-regulated in human skin exhibiting the desirable cosmetic phenotypic and a set of genes associated with one or more biological themes; treating skin with a putative agent; conducting a transcriptional assessment of the eigengene in the treated skin;   and identifying the putative agent as an effective agent if the eigengene is up-regulated in the treated skin.