Unique Anti-Aging Technology Grounded in Essential Skin Science

In every corner of the world, people fret over wrinkles, dark spots, and other age-related skin changes. For more than 30 years Kao has been pursuing essential research on skin aging with a view to uncovering the secrets to preserving beautiful skin.

While most studies in this area have focused on the pigment cells that produce melanin in human skin, Kao’s research shed new light on the key role that endothelin (produced in the epidermis) and epidermal stem cell factor (SCF) play in the development of dark spots (hyperpigmentation) induced by ultraviolet radiation.

Researchers in this area have tended to focus on collagen, the basic structural component of the dermis. Kao was the first to identify skin elastase, which breaks down the elastic fibers responsible for skin’s elasticity, and to determine that elastase activity increases with aging and ultraviolet exposure, resulting in the formation of wrinkles.

Building on these essential researches, Kao has developed its own original ingredients to fight against wrinkles and age spots. These include our whitening agent Chamomile ET, which works by controlling the action of endothelin, as well as ingredients that inhibit the action of SCF (Figure 1) and skin elastase (Figure2). Our anti-aging skin care products deliver “results you can see” clearly because they incorporate technology based on essential research of the skin. Kao’s contribution to research and development in this area is detailed in more than 120 papers.

Unique Anti-Aging Technology Grounded in Essential Skin Science