Japanese beauty giant Shiseido has discovered Ring Collagen, a ring-shaped collagen structure located around vellus hairs and sebaceous glands.
By contracting and pulling against each other, these rings form an internal honeycomb network that generates tension to maintain facial shape and prevent age-related sagging.
Individual Ring Collagen structures contract inwardly and pull against adjacent rings to wrap the skin tightly around facial structures.
The structural integrity of Ring Collagen relies heavily on surrounding proteoglycans, which cushion the rings.
With age, proteoglycan levels decline, causing the Ring Collagen network to disrupt and lose its tension-generating abilities.
Moderate physical stimulation and facial massage were found to boost proteoglycan production, improving the structure of Ring Collagen.
The use of rosehip extract and safflower (benibana) extract was shown to increase proteoglycan-related gene expression, aiding in the preservation of skin firmness.
The discovery was made in collaboration with researchers from the International University of Health and Welfare, Jichi Medical University and the National Institute for Physiological Sciences
To map this phenomenon, Shiseido developed Digital-Skin Reality, an AI-powered 3D visualization technology that renders the intangible mechanical forces at work within the skin.
“Shiseido’s ‘Digital-Skin Ready’ provides a paradigm shift in skin visualization from the tangible world (seeing structure and movement) to the intangible world (seeing physical forces generated within the skin),” it said.
“It also moves the visualization environment from the monitor screen into real space.”
