Beauty biology map
Photoaging & collagen degradation
Ultraviolet exposure drives formation, AP-1 and NF-kB signalling, and increases expression while reducing synthesis. The net result described in the literature is fragmented dermal and . UV filters remain the intervention with the strongest supporting evidence.
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Text alternative for this network
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with COL1A1 — high confidence
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with MMP1 — high confidence
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with MMP9 — medium confidence
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with P4HA1 — high confidence
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with LOX — medium confidence
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with RARA — high confidence
- Photoaging & collagen degradation associated with TP53 — medium confidence
- COL1A1 participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — high confidence
- MMP1 participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — high confidence
- MMP9 participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — medium confidence
- P4HA1 participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — high confidence
- LOX participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — medium confidence
- RARA participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — high confidence
- TP53 participates in Extracellular matrix organisation — medium confidence
- COL1A1 participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — high confidence
- MMP1 participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — high confidence
- MMP9 participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — medium confidence
- P4HA1 participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — high confidence
- LOX participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — medium confidence
- RARA participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — high confidence
- TP53 participates in Degradation of the extracellular matrix — medium confidence
- COL1A1 participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — high confidence
- MMP1 participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — high confidence
- MMP9 participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — medium confidence
- P4HA1 participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — high confidence
- LOX participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — medium confidence
- RARA participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — high confidence
- TP53 participates in Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes — medium confidence
- COL1A1 participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- MMP1 participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- MMP9 participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- P4HA1 participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- LOX participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- RARA participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- TP53 participates in DNA damage response (UV-induced) — medium confidence
- Extracellular matrix organisation associated with Collagen biosynthesis — high confidence
- Degradation of the extracellular matrix associated with Collagen biosynthesis — high confidence
- Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes associated with Collagen biosynthesis — high confidence
- DNA damage response (UV-induced) associated with Collagen biosynthesis — medium confidence
- Extracellular matrix organisation associated with Extracellular matrix remodelling — high confidence
- Degradation of the extracellular matrix associated with Extracellular matrix remodelling — high confidence
- Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes associated with Extracellular matrix remodelling — high confidence
- DNA damage response (UV-induced) associated with Extracellular matrix remodelling — medium confidence
- Extracellular matrix organisation associated with UV photoprotection — high confidence
- Degradation of the extracellular matrix associated with UV photoprotection — high confidence
- Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes associated with UV photoprotection — high confidence
- DNA damage response (UV-induced) associated with UV photoprotection — medium confidence
Genes & proteins
- COL1A1high confidence
Collagen type I alpha 1 chain
- MMP1high confidence
Matrix metallopeptidase 1
- MMP9medium confidence
Matrix metallopeptidase 9
- P4HA1high confidence
Prolyl 4-hydroxylase subunit alpha 1
- LOXmedium confidence
Lysyl oxidase
- RARAhigh confidence
Retinoic acid receptor alpha
- TP53medium confidence
Tumor protein p53
Pathways
Extracellular matrix organisation
high confidenceAssembly and maintenance of dermal matrix.
Reactome R-HSA-1474244
Degradation of the extracellular matrix
high confidenceMatrix metalloproteinase-driven fragmentation.
Reactome R-HSA-1474228
Collagen biosynthesis and modifying enzymes
high confidenceHydroxylation and crosslinking of .
Reactome R-HSA-1650814
DNA damage response (UV-induced)
medium confidencePhotolesion recognition and repair signalling.
Reactome R-HSA-73893
Ingredients studied here
- Zinc oxide
- Retinol
- All-trans retinoic acid
- Retinaldehyde
- L-Ascorbic acid
- Tocopherol
- Ferulic acid
- Bakuchiol
- Copper tripeptide-1
- Palmitoyl pentapeptide-4
- Madecassoside
- Coenzyme Q10
- Adenosine
Processes
- —
- remodelling —
- UV photoprotection —
Research on this topic
Cosmetic retinoid esters: an assessment of available public evidence
Notes that public independent data on hydroxypinacolone retinoate are limited relative to retinol and retinoic acid.
Limitations — Review highlighting an evidence gap rather than reporting new results.
Vitamin C derivatives for facial hyperpigmentation: a narrative review
Concludes that derivative-specific human evidence is thinner than for L-ascorbic acid, with conversion efficiency the main open question.
Limitations — Review of heterogeneous small studies; identifier not verified during curation.
Prospective randomized double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoaging
Reported comparable improvement in wrinkle and pigmentation scores between bakuchiol and retinol, with less scaling and stinging reported for bakuchiol.
Limitations — Single centre, 12 weeks, no vehicle arm, so both may reflect regression to the mean.
Topical resveratrol formulations and photoprotection endpoints: a narrative review
Concludes that human topical data remain limited and heterogeneous despite consistent antioxidant activity in cell models.
Limitations — Review of small, mostly non-randomised studies; identifier not verified during curation.
Melatonin, MT1 receptors and cutaneous antioxidant defence
Summarises melatonin receptor expression in skin and reported antioxidant and mitochondrial protective activity.
Limitations — Review; topical human endpoints sparse; identifier not verified during curation.
Hydroxypinacolone retinoate: receptor binding without prior conversion
Reported direct retinoic acid receptor binding for the ester, in contrast to retinol which requires cutaneous conversion.
Limitations — Binding assays only; no controlled human comparison against retinol; identifier not verified during curation.
Retinoic acid receptor expression and retinoid signalling in human skin
Summarises RAR/RXR heterodimer signalling as the transcriptional mechanism of retinoid action in epidermis and dermis.
Limitations — Narrative review; mechanistic focus without effect-size synthesis.
GHK peptide in tissue remodelling and gene expression
Summarises reported effects of GHK and GHK-Cu on matrix protein and antioxidant gene expression in cell and animal models.
Limitations — Review with substantial single-group authorship; human cosmetic endpoints sparse.
Matrikine peptides and dermal matrix synthesis: mechanism review
Summarises matrikine signalling in which collagen-fragment peptides are reported to stimulate matrix synthesis in fibroblast models.
Limitations — Review of pre-clinical work; human topical evidence limited; identifier not verified during curation.
Coenzyme Q10 and mitochondrial respiratory-chain support in aged skin cells
Summarises declining CoQ10 with age and reported restoration of respiratory-chain activity in supplemented cell models.
Limitations — Review of cell and supplementation studies; topical penetration uncertain; identifier not verified during curation.
Bakuchiol as a functional retinoid analogue: gene expression in skin models
Reported retinoid-like changes in collagen and matrix gene expression without direct retinoic acid receptor binding.
Limitations — Cell and ex-vivo models, industry-affiliated; identifier not verified during curation.
A randomised trial of a pentapeptide-containing moisturiser for periorbital wrinkles
Reported small improvements in wrinkle depth versus vehicle, with overlapping confidence intervals on several endpoints.
Limitations — Small effect size; identifier not verified; peptide not isolated from other actives in the formulation.
Daily sunscreen use and skin ageing: a randomised trial
Reported no detectable increase in skin ageing over 4.5 years in the daily sunscreen group compared with discretionary use.
Limitations — Sunscreen formulation was not zinc-oxide-specific; outcome assessed by microtopography of the hand.
Regular sunscreen use and prevention of cutaneous ageing: a randomised trial
Reported no detectable increase in skin ageing in the daily-sunscreen group over 4.5 years, unlike the discretionary-use group.
Limitations — Broad-spectrum sunscreen rather than zinc oxide specifically; identifier not verified during curation.
Stability and skin delivery of ascorbyl phosphate derivatives
Reported improved formulation stability for magnesium ascorbyl phosphate but slower and variable conversion to free ascorbate in skin models.
Limitations — Formulation and ex-vivo delivery only; no clinical endpoints.
Copper peptide GHK-Cu and extracellular matrix gene expression in fibroblast culture
Reported upregulation of collagen and decorin transcripts in fibroblast culture after GHK-Cu exposure.
Limitations — Cell culture only; author affiliation with peptide commercialisation; identifier not verified during curation.
Green tea polyphenols and UV-induced matrix metalloproteinase expression in human skin models
Reported reduced UV-induced MMP-9 expression in treated skin equivalents.
Limitations — Skin equivalent model; identifier not verified; human endpoints lacking.
Resveratrol and SIRT1-dependent responses in cultured human dermal fibroblasts
Reported SIRT1-associated changes in oxidative-stress markers in fibroblast culture after resveratrol exposure.
Limitations — In-vitro only, supraphysiological concentrations; identifier not verified during curation.
Centella asiatica triterpenes and wound-related collagen deposition
Reported increased collagen deposition and faster wound closure in a rodent model.
Limitations — Animal wound model; not equivalent to intact cosmetic use; identifier not verified.
Centella asiatica triterpenes and wound-healing gene expression
Summarises reported collagen and matrix effects for asiaticoside and madecassoside across animal and cell models.
Limitations — Extracts vary in composition; mostly animal data; identifier not verified during curation.
Retinol improves the appearance of naturally aged skin
Reported improvement in fine wrinkling with topical retinol versus vehicle in older adults.
Limitations — Small sample; older cohort limits generalisation; identifier not verified during curation.
Acetyl hexapeptide-8 and SNAP-25 assembly in neuronal models
Reported interference with SNARE complex assembly in a cell-free and neuronal model system.
Limitations — Non-cutaneous model; topical delivery to neuromuscular junctions not demonstrated; identifier not verified during curation.
Green tea polyphenols and UV-induced inflammatory markers in human skin
Reported reduced UV-induced erythema and inflammatory infiltrate markers in biopsies from polyphenol-treated sites.
Limitations — Small, short-duration, single-centre; identifier not verified during curation.
Ascorbyl glucoside stability and enzymatic release of ascorbic acid in skin models
Reported greater aqueous stability than L-ascorbic acid and glucosidase-dependent release of free ascorbate in skin homogenates.
Limitations — Homogenate model may overstate in-vivo conversion; identifier not verified during curation.
Niacinamide: a B vitamin that improves aging facial skin appearance
Reported improvements in several appearance endpoints including fine lines and skin texture over 12 weeks of use versus vehicle.
Limitations — Manufacturer-affiliated authorship; appearance endpoints partly investigator-graded.
Ferulic acid stabilises a solution of vitamins C and E and doubles its photoprotection
Reported improved formulation stability and increased measured photoprotection for a C/E/ferulic combination on human skin.
Limitations — Very small sample; surrogate photoprotection endpoints; industry-affiliated.
Palmitoyl pentapeptide and procollagen synthesis in fibroblast culture
Reported increased collagen I and fibronectin expression in treated fibroblast cultures.
Limitations — In-vitro; identifier not verified; no dermal delivery data.
Alpha-lipoic acid cream and photoaged facial skin: a randomised controlled trial
Reported modest improvement in photoaging scores versus vehicle on half-face assessment.
Limitations — Small sample; identifier not verified; subjective grading.
Alpha-lipoic acid cream and photoageing endpoints: a randomised controlled trial
Reported modest improvement in photoageing severity scores versus vehicle over 12 weeks.
Limitations — Single trial, partly subjective endpoints; identifier not verified during curation.
Topical vitamin C and photoaging: a double-blind half-face study
Reported improvement in investigator-assessed photoaging scores on the vitamin C treated side.
Limitations — Very small sample; identifier not verified during curation; formulation stability not reported.
Acetyl hexapeptide-8 and SNARE complex assembly in vitro
Reported interference with SNAP-25 dependent complex formation in a cell-free system.
Limitations — Cell-free system; cutaneous penetration to neuromuscular junctions not demonstrated.
Retinoid-induced procollagen synthesis and matrix metalloproteinase suppression in human skin in vivo
Reported increased procollagen I expression and reduced MMP-1 in biopsied retinoid-treated skin.
Limitations — Biopsy-based surrogate endpoints; identifier not verified during curation.
Retinaldehyde: cutaneous conversion to retinoic acid and tolerability in human skin
Summarises evidence that retinaldehyde is oxidised in skin to retinoic acid, with reported tolerability intermediate between retinol and tretinoin.
Limitations — Narrative review; identifier not verified during curation.
Ascorbate requirement for hydroxylation and secretion of procollagen
Establishes ascorbate as an obligatory cofactor for prolyl and lysyl hydroxylases in collagen maturation.
Limitations — Nutritional/biochemical focus rather than topical cosmetic use.
Topical tretinoin improves photoaged skin: a double-blind vehicle-controlled study
Reported statistically significant improvement in photoaging endpoints with tretinoin versus vehicle.
Limitations — Small sample; prescription-strength retinoid, not a cosmetic retinol.
Community evidence
Submitted by readers
Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.
No approved community submissions yet.
Sources
- Reactome R-HSA-1474228Verified 2026-09-14
- UniProt P03956Verified 2026-09-14