A clinical evaluation of a glycolic acid hand treatment with retinyl palmitate and an SPF 15 on photoaged hand skin

BACKGROUND: The backs of the hands are typically unprotected from sunlight, and therefore prone to photodamage. Corrective invasive procedures such as chemical peeling and laser resurfacing are not recommended for the hand ow ing to the thinness of dorsal hand skin, and constant hand movement, and th erefore, a therapeutic lotion has been developed as a treatment alternative . AIM: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a therapeutic hand lotion compa red with a usual hand and body lotion over a 12-week period to improve the appearance of photoaged hand skin, METHODS: A hand treatment containing glycolic acid and retinyl palmitate wi th a sunscreen (SPF 15) was developed, and compared with a usual hand and b ody lotion (control) in a double-blind, 12-week, paired-comparison study (r ight hand versus left hand). Evaluations included clinical grading for effi cacy and irritation, instrumental measurements, and subject self-assessment s of product benefit. Changes in appearance during the test period were doc umented by clinical scientific digital imaging. in all, 75% of the panel ra ted the overall product performance as 'excellent' or 'very good', indicati ng high self-perceived benefit and user acceptance. RESULTS: The hand treatment was significantly more effective (p less than o r equal to0.05) ill improving skin clarity, crepy texture, and overall phot oaged appearance compared with control at all time points in the study. Add itionally, the test product was superior to control in pinch recoil (skin r esiliency) measurements by 8 weeks of usage. This effect was confirmed by s ignificant improvement in Cutometer(R) measurements of resiliency by week 1 2. The test product was found to significantly increase skin moisture conte nt over baseline. This effect was corroborated by significant reductions in self-perceived skin tightness (subjective irritation) and stratum corneum flaking parameters (Squame(R) disk analysis). CONCLUSION: The therapeutic hand lotion developed was shown to be safe and possess superior effectiveness to a usual hand and body lotion for ameliora ting many of the symptoms of photodamage.