THE HISTORY OF
COSMECEUTICALS
By Leslie Harris, Global General Manager for SkinCeuticals
T
he science of great skin: it’s as
old as the history of beauty itself,
illustrated by Cleopatra’s reputed
love for milk baths to smooth her skin
(Lactic Acid was the secret)… But the
proof behind great skin? That’s a much
more recent discovery.
It’s not that proof wasn’t available in ancient
times - some of the earliest clinical trials were
recorded during the Roman Empire - but,
since skin care was considered a feminine and
decorative domain, proof wasn’t so important.
The promise of science was enough. The 17th
century gave us the science that white lead and
mercury could lighten the skin. However, proper
studies would have shown its deadly effects
(ultimately they did). The 19th century then
offered us arsenic wafers to remove freckles and
imperfections, much to the same conclusion.
Even the modernity of the 20th century,
marked by safer, more reliable products sold
by established beauty brands still had its share
of questionable science and limited proof. For
example, science-driven radioactive beauty,
sold in the early 1900s, promised to improve
luminosity through radium-enhanced skin care
(it didn’t), while placenta-enriched creams,
introduced in the 1950s, claimed a ‘sensational
cosmetic discovery – tell-tale wrinkles removed!’
I’m pretty sure no wrinkles were erased. Yes,
these examples are on the end of extreme, but
you get the picture. The promise of science
throughout history has rarely been supported
by proof never mind safety.
The introduction of government oversight
throughout the 20th century played a large
role in instituting regulations on labelling and
safety to tame these scientific promises. And
while safety improved dramatically, scientific
proof in skin care was lacking, especially in the
world of anti-aging. Until a pivotal discovery
helped to show its promise through the creation
of cosmeceuticals.
Cosmeceutical as a word may sound like more
scientific promises, but it’s not. Coined by
Raymond Reed, the founding member of the
United States Society of Cosmetic Chemists in
1962, cosmeceutical was a way of describing
active, ‘science-based’ products offering biolog-
ical benefits somewhere between cosmetics and
pharmaceuticals. He pointed to cosmeceuticals
as a way to describe modern results-focused
products to control ‘such phenomena as the
moisture balance of the skin, the prevention of
ISSUE #10 | 2019 | SkinHealthMagazine.com 6