SCIENTISTS WORK TO IMPLANT NEW SKIN PATCH TO COVER UNDER EYE BAGS

New York Times has an article by Gina Kolata discussing the possibility of concealing under eye bags with a band-aid like transparent skin patch. 

The idea for second skin originated more than a decade ago when Dr. R. Rox Anderson, a professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School, was approached by Living Proof, which had been working on a polymer to be used as a hair product. Since dermatologists also know about hair, the company consulted him. Why, Dr. Anderson asked the company executives, couldn’t there be a polymer to put on skin?

Dr. Murad Alam, professor of dermatology at Northwestern University, who also was not associated with the study, was impressed, too, but he cautioned that it was still early. “This is a first step,” he said, “and all these applications will require further work.” But, he added, if the testing is successful, “I think it will be very popular.”

The idea sounds like fantasy: an invisible film that can be painted on your skin and give it the elasticity of youth. Bags under the eyes vanish in seconds. Scientists at Harvard and M.I.T. have discovered that it is not fantasy at all. Researchers say a “second skin” composed of commonly used chemicals deemed safe by the Food and Drug Adminsitration can accomplish that — and in small studies of it, so far no one has reported irritation or allergic reactions.

Undereye bags are just the start. You can soak the film with sunscreen and protect yourself without worrying about sweat or water washing it away, researchers said. They expect it can be used to treat eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions by covering dry itchy patches with a film that moistures and soothes.

The chemicals are siloxanes — their basic form is one atom of oxygen linked to two atoms of silicon — which form polymers, long chains of repeating units. The researchers made a large collection of them by modifying molecular features such as the chain length to get the ones with the properties they wanted.

Success is long way ahead; and so far potential side-effects of such a procedure are yet to be ascertained. Meanwhile, therefore, it would be safer to go in for proven natural formulations (Herbally Radiant has one) which reduce under eye black circles,or eye bags, and restore the delicate skin under the eyes area to natural elasticity.