IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO COSMETIC TREATMENT OF SKIN
LINES
The present invention relates to cosmetic treatment of skin lines.
Lines appear on the skin as one ages and many regard them as undesirable, particularly those line that appear on the face and neck. Significant sums of money are spent annually on beauty products such as creams or ointments aimed at reducing such lines or at least slowing their progress.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of cosmetic treatment of skin lines comprising the steps of exposing an area to be treated to orange light of wavelength in the range 585-560 nano metres and frequency 460-510 x 10ι : hertz for a period in the range 15 to 25 minutes, followed by yellow light of wavelength 575-585 nano metres and frequency 510-520x10 ' hertz for a period in the range 4 to 6 minutes.
Preferably the skin to be treated is initially covered with collagen skin food prior to light being directed thereat.
Preferably the area to be treated is exposed to orange light for 20 minutes and the yellow light for 5 minutes.
Preferably the light source is positioned at a distance of 15 centimetres from the area to be treated.
A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying figures in which:
Figure 1 shows a plan view of a cast taken from skin around the left eye of a first subject before treatment as described in Example 1 :
Figure 2 shows a plan view of a cast taken from the skin around the left eye of a first subject after a first treatment according to the present invention, as described in Example 1 :
Figure 3 shows a plan view of a cast taken from the skin around the left eye of a first subject after a second treatment according to the present invention, as described in Example
1 ;
Figure 4 shows sectioned end views of casts taken from skin around the right eye of a first subject before treatment and after first and second treatments according to the present invention, as described in Example 1 ;
Figure 5 shows perspective end views of the casts of figure 4.
Figures 6 to 8 shows plan views of casts taken from skin area around the left eye of a second subject before treatment and after first and second treatments according to the present invention, as described in Example 2:
Figure 9 shows an end view of a section through the casts of figures 6 and 8:
Figure 10 shows a perspective end view of the casts of figure 9: and
Figures 1 1 to 13 show plan views of casts taken from skin around the left eye of a third subject as described in Example 3.
The cosmetic treatment of the present application uses the known technique of chromotherapy whereby skin is exposed to controlled quantities of coloured light obtained by filtering the output of electric lamps.
The machine used to produce the light is an Aurora 200SLR unit which has two articulated arms with end pods. Each pod contains a halogen lamp rated at 50 Watts. 24 Volts and an associated condenser lens. In front of the lens is a filter holder into which may be placed spectrally selective colour filters.
In order to treat fine skin lines such as those found on the face and neck the machine is used to direct light at the skin in a specific sequence of colours and with specific timing as described below.
First, the area of skin on the patient to be treated is cleansed. Collagen skin food is then applied to the area of skin to be treated. The skin food is of a known composition and comprises the following ingredients: purified water: soya oil: tsopropylmyristate: stearic acid: glycerine: jojoba oil: triethanolamine: collagen: octyl dimethyl PABA: synthetic beeswax: cetyl alcohol: diemethicone: carbomer: phenoxy ethanol butyl paraben: fragrance and colouring.
Secondly the orange filters are placed into the lamp pods so that when the lamps are switched on orange light of wavelength 585-560 nano metres and frequency 460 x 10 * hertz is produced. The lamps are positioned at a distance of 6 inches ( 15 centimetres) from the area to be treated.
The machine is then switched on and the light intensity is set to maximum. The treatment area is subjected to the orange light for a period of 20 minutes. Thereafter the filters are removed using a clean cloth to prevent fingerprint contamination (which may reduce the effectiveness of the treatment) and vellow filters are installed. The yellow filters provide
yellow light of wavelength 575-585 nano metres and frequency 510 x lθ'~ hertz and this is directed at the treatment area for a period of 5 minutes at maximum intensity.
The light machine is then switched off and removed. The patient remains in position for five minutes to relax.
The method described above produces significant reduction in the number of skin lines and their depth which heretofore has been unmatched by comparable techniques.
The method described above may be applied to other marking of the skin such as stretch marks.
Examples
In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the cosmetic treatment several subjects were treated according to the present invention to reduce the depth of facial creases around the eye where wrinkles are most prominent and variable in depth. To capture the facial creases from each subject a catalyst-cured silicone rubber impression material, commonly used in dental work and capable of reproducing the fine detail of surface textures, was used. Mouldings were taken from selected facial skin zones around the eyes of each subject. The impression material was manually applied to skin area around the eye with even pressure and on removal a negative impression of the skin surface was obtained i.e the elevations on each removed cast represented the furrows of the facial creases. This technique permitted a cross- section of each cast to be obtained by slicing through the moulded impression material after removal. Each subject was instructed to maintain a consistent facial expression throughout the casting process to avoid stretching or creasing of the skin. After each cast was removed it was cut carefully at right angles to allow assessment of their surface profiles. The thin rubber sections carrying negative impressions of the skin were rigid but soft and sliced easily by a scalpel blade.
In order to make valid comparisons between mouldings before and after treatment, it was vitally important to ensure that the scalpel cuts passed precisely through the same regions, so that the cross-section being compared were taken at the same point in all cases. The cutting was performed with scrutiny by a low-power (x20 magnification) stereo microscope.
The cut edges were photographed (see figures 2. 3. and 9. 10) using a 35mm single- lens reflex camera fitted with close-up lens attachments. A scale marked with 1 mm divisions
is shown on all such views to provide an indication of the dimension of the surface topography of each cast.
Example 1
A first subject being a male aged 45 was treated by taking a first cast from the skin area around the left and right eyes. The cast impression of around the left eye is shown in plan in figure 1. The cast around the right eye was sliced to enable the mould profile to be inspected and the result is shown in the top cast section of the photograph shown in figure 2. The significant creases represented by peaks in the cast section are marked with the letters A to F. A scale with 1mm divisions is shown at the bottom of the photograph. The top cast section in the photograph of figure 3 shows an angled view of the same cast with the peaks labelled in the same manner as in figure 2.
After removal of the first cast, the area of skin around the left and right eyes of the first subject was then exposed to orange light of wavelength 585-650 nano metres for a period of twenty minutes followed by exposure to yellow light of wavelength 575-585 nano metres for a period of six minutes.
After this treatment second casts of the skin around the left and right eyes were immediately taken and a plan view of the left eye cast is shown in figure 2. The cast from the right eye was sliced and an end view is shown on the middle cast in the photograph of figure 4. an angle view being shown in the middle cast of figure 5. It will be seen from the photographs that peaks A and C have virtually disappeared whereas peaks B. E and F are significantly reduced in height.
A period of sixteen days passed during which collagen skin food was applied daily to the skin around the eyes of the subject. On the seventeenth day the light exposure treatment of the present invention was repeated and casts were again taken. The results are shown in figure 3 (left eye) and the bottom casts in the photographs of figures 4 and 5 (right eye). It will be seen, in the case of the right eye. that creases A. C. E and F have practically disappeared, whereas crease B is significantly reduced in height. Crease D in figures 4 and 5 is obscured by a bubble in the mould material. It will also be apparent from comparison of the three casts of each of the left and right eye that the skin surface and texture is smoother generally.
Example 2
Subject two was a female aged 51 . She was subjected to the same treatment as described in Example 1. The results for the skin area around the left eye are shown in figures 6 to 10. Figures 6 to 8 show in plan the casts taken respective before treatment, after the first treatment and after the second treatment sixteen days later. It will be seen that the number, height and length of each crease has been reduced dramatically. After the second treatment it will be seen that only five elevations in the cast remain and all these are reduced in height and length.
Figures 9 and 10 show sections through the casts before treatment (top) and after the second treatment (bottom). Again a 1mm scale is shown at the bottom of figure 9 and the middle of figure 10. Selected main elevations in the cast (representing lines in the skin) before treatment have been identified with the letters A to H. It will be seen that after treatment (bottom cast in each figure) only elevation F remains prominent at the cross- section. Elevations A. B. D. E. G and H are significantly diminished whereas C (perhaps the largest elevation before treatment) has disappeared completely. Again it will be apparent from figures 8 and 10 that the general surface texture of the skin is significantly smoother.
Example 3
Figures 1 1 to 13 show, respectively, castings taken from around the left eye of a third subject: a female aged 60. It will be seen that the number, height and length of each elevation has been reduced dramatically leaving only few elevations that are just visible without magnification.