Patent Pick: The Hottest Move in Anti-aging

Shiseido inventors are approaching anti-aging cosmetics from a new angle: heat. The company recently was granted a patent on a skin temperature-elevating agent that, upon inhalation, increases circulation for reported skin care benefits.

Related: 5 Skin Care Trends on the Horizon

The Premise

Modern society tends to run short on exercise and sleep, and long on stress. This can cause imbalances in the autonomic nervous system, thereby resulting in poor circulation. When blood circulation is poor, warm blood does not reach the body's periphery; nor do oxygen or nutrition. Also, waste products accumulate, slowing metabolism.

According to these inventors, when metabolism slows, the skin's ability to recover from fatigue is lowered, resulting in the deterioration of beauty due to bad complexion and the aging. Hence, attempts have been made to improve circulation.

As such, the present work focused on skin temperature-elevating agents whose aromas may be inhaled or sensed via product use to improve blood flow and, in turn, raise the temperature of skin. One agent identified was dihydro-β-ionol. 

The Literature

Skin temperature-elevating agent and cosmetic, food and sundry applications containing it

European Patent EP2578205 

Publication date: Oct. 24, 2018

Assignee: Shiseido Company, Ltd.

Disclosed in this patent is the use of, for example, dihydro-β-ionol in cosmetics such as perfume, skin cream, lotion, massage gel/cream, foundation, face powder, lipstick, shampoo, body wash, body powder, aerosols or bath additives to elevate skin temperature. Alternative agents comprise one or more of the following: 4-methoxys­tyrene; clary sage extract; Japanese peppermint or juniper berry extract; and geraniol.

Specifically, a user's skin temperature is raised when they smell the aroma of these entities, or when they are absorbed in the body through drinking and eating, or applied to skin.