Harvard Scientists have successfully done pilot testing of a chemically made new or ‘second skin’.
Second skin is an invisible film painted onto your existing skin in order to give it back the elasticity of youth. Bags under eyes vanish and wrinkles literally disappear.
The second skin is made up of commonly used chemicals called siloxanes and polymers, which have already been deemed safe for human use by the FDA .
The design is made up of a biomaterial that cleverly recapitulates the properties of young and healthy skin. Like placing a band-aid over old and aging skin.
Scientists at Harvard and MIT have successfully tested the second skin on 170 subjects in a pilot test and so far no one has reported any irritation or allergic reactions.
Those studies included tests on people with under-eye bags and those with dry skin on their legs.
In one study, to test skin elasticity, participants placed second skin on their forearms to see how quickly the skin returned to normal after it was pinched with a suction cup.
In another study, participates were given second skin under their eyes to test for durability and flexibility whilst running in heat, swimming or out in the rain. All tests were successful in their results of the products use.
Aside from treating wrinkles, scientists say the second skin can be used to treat eczema and other dry skin irritations.
This helps when you have applied a topical cream onto a skin irritation and to prevent the cream from rubbing onto your clothes during the day or bed sheets whilst you sleep at night. The second skin can be applied over the cream to hold it in place without adding any further irritation.
The idea for the second skin originated more than a decade ago, when a Dr R Rox Anderson, a professor of dermatology from Harvard Medical School, was experimenting on polymers for hair regeneration and came up with the idea that it would also work on skin.
Tests are still being carried out on the second skin and scientists are unsure of a timeline when it can be approved by the FDA for marketing approval. They hope to know more by the end of the year.
