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VICHY PIONEERS
EXPOSOME SCIENCE
SINCE 40 YEARS

Skin’s healthy appearance has always been a quest for Vichy.
Our expertise relies on the comprehensive study
of the elements that affect its evolution over time.

VICHY PIONEERS EXPOSOME SCIENCESINCE 40 YEARS

“Exposome
accounts for
more than
{}
of skin aging”

Dr. Delphine Kerob

Dermatologist and
Vichy Global Medical Director

delphine kerob

Exposome Science:
At the service of skin’s healthy appearance

Skin’s healthy appearance has always been a quest for us. To create the best solutions for your skin, we developed an expertise based on the comprehensive study of the elements that affect its evolution over time. They are called “the exposome”.

v_exposome.jpg
The concept

The concept

The concept of the exposome comes initially from the cancer research field. It was first defined in 2005 by Professor Christopher Wild, former Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IRAC) as “The cumulative measure of environmental influences and associated biological responses, including exposures from the environment, diet, behaviour, and endogenous processes”. 1, 2

When it comes to the skin, our lab research has shown that exposome is the combination of multiple influences: environmental, behavioral, and hormonal. And, above all: it’s their cumulative effect that can affect the skin’s biological functions and accelerate its ageing. In 2016, we turned these discoveries into a science: Skin Exposome Science.

The concept

Exposome factors:
The multiple elements affecting skin healthy appearance

Skin’s healthy appearance is significantly influenced by many external and internal exposome factors, worsened by their cumulative impact. 15

Environmental
factors

  • UVs:
    UVA, UVB, IR, blue light
  • Pollution:
    chemical contaminants, Microparticles PM10 / PM2.5, ultrafine particles, ozone, insecticides etc
  • Climate changes:
    temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure variations
Environmental factors

Behavioral
factors

  • Diet:
    nutrition, tobacco, alcohol
  • Psychological stress
  • Lack of sleep
  • Physical activity
Behavioral factors

Hormonal
factors

  • Femininity
    hormones variations:

    puberty, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause
Hormonal factors

The study of
the exposome
is a complex
and ambitious
project.

Understanding the exposome means taking into account an infinite number of variables.
That is to say, to take into account multiple influences such as environmental, behavioral, hormonal or the infinite biological skin diversity. Hence, each individual has his own exposome profile. Indeed, an individual will not be exposed to the same factors of the exposome as his neighbor, nor it will trigger the same biological damages on the skin. It is therefore fundamental to understand these factors and to study their cumulative and synergistic effect on the skin to propose personalized solution enhancing skin's potential at every stage of life. For instance, daily light combined with pollution, called Photopollution, may significantly impact skin healthy appearance and aggravate skin aging.”

Luc Aguilar

Head of Biological
and Clinical Research at L’Oreal

 luc aguilar

Exposome impacts:
The effects on the skin

Skin is the human body's largest organ.

Its 4 main functions :
SKIN PHYSICAL BARRIER – SKIN PIGMENTATION – SKIN DEFENSE – SKIN STRUCTURE
are affected by the exposome influencing our skin’s healthy appearance, integrity and quality.

UVS

UVs are responsible for 80% of visible facial aging signs. They destroy collagen and elastic fibers leading to aging signs: wrinkles, loss of firmness, rough texture appearance and pigmentation disorders. 3, 4

uvs

Pollution

Pollution causes oxidative stress. It has been proven that it leads to skin aging signs especially dark spots and wrinkles. 5, 6

When combined with UV, it worsens even more skin aging signs. 7, 8

pollution

Climate
change

Climate changes such as temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure can affect the skin barrier function. Cold temperature dries out the skin while warm temperature increases skin hydration and sebum production/sweating, resulting in breakouts, especially for oily skin types. 9, 10, 11, 12

climate

Nutrition

Nutrition directly affects the appearance of our skin and its ability to resist external aggressions, such as pollution, UV rays and stress. A poor diet can cause premature skin aging as well as potential impacts on acne and skin issues (rosacea, atopic dermatitis, and psoriasis). 13

nutrition

Psychological
stress

Psychological stress can have an impact on skin both in the short and long term. For example, women who are stressed often present an impaired skin barrier function leading to a drier and duller skin complexion in the short term. 14

stress

Lack of
sleep

Lack of sleep impairs skin barrier function and accelerates overall skin ageing. Skin can look paler, and accentuated fine lines/wrinkles. The area around the eyes is particularly affected. 15, 16, 17

sleep

Hormone variation

Hormone variation, especially female hormones (such as estrogens and progesterone) can affect the skin structure and composition your entire life and especially during the menstrual cycle (imperfections, breakouts, sebum production increase), pregnancy (imperfections, breakouts, melasma) and menopause. 18, 19, 20, 21

hormones
Exposome impacts: The effects on the skin

Our solutions
against the exposome

To make skin stronger against the aggressions of Exposome, we put technology at your service: with personalized diagnosis on SkinConsultAI.com, created with dermatologists and skin health experts, you will know your skin priorities. This diagnosis will allow us to propose comprehensive care protocols answering your specific skin concerns with high safety standards.

Our mission to
move exposome
science forward

Our day-to-day mission is to make the science of skin health quality progress and make knowledge accessible to you. Since day one in 1931, Vichy is at the forefront of skin scientific research to accompany women at every stage of life. As a pioneer in Skin Exposome Science and sponsor of our annual research grant, we continue to fund and support the development of scientific knowledge regarding skin’s healthy appearance.

Our mission to move exposome science forward

Vichy Exposome
publications

Our researches led in 2019 to the publication, by Vichy Exposome medical board, of “Skin and Exposome”, the first review presenting the biological and clinical impacts of Exposome on the skin, the latest knowledge on pollution impact by hair monitoring and the future perspectives.

To enrich the Exposome knowledge, Vichy publishes studies results every year in renowned dermatological journal or posters and accounts today for more than 30 scientific publications.