2.1 Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to dermatological preparations, and more particularly, to hormonally-timed dermatological preparations.
2.2 Description of the Related Art
Hormones are well-known to affect the condition of the skin. When these hormonal balances shift, dermatological properties shift as well. In women, menstrual cycling is associated with changes in skin thickness, water retention, blood flow and immune reactivity (Agner, Damm, and Skouby, J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 24(4):566-70 (1991); Harvell, Hussna-Saeed, and Maibach, Contact Dermatitis 27(5):294-301(1992); Eisenbeiss, Welzel, and Schmeller, Br. J Dermatol 139(3):462-7 (1998); Kirmaz, Yuksel, Mete, Bayrak and Baytur, Asian Pac. J Allergy Immunol. 22(4):197-203 2004), as the result of increasing levels first of estrogen and then of progesterone secretion. Skin reactions to these shifts are most apparent in a small proportion of women who have frank hypersensitivities to progesterone. These women have obvious dermatological and immunogenic problems during the immediate premenstrual period, that include skin rashing, acne and hyperpigmentation (Iteskson, Lazarov, Cordoba, Zeitune, Abraham, and Seidman, J. Reprod. Med. 49(3): 195-9 (2004)). As might be anticipated, special cosmetic or therapeutic interventions are often recommended for such serious skin reactions, typically during the period when progesterone is secreted in high concentrations. Evidence of the important role played by cycling hormones is also apparent from the effects of contraceptive hormones on the skin of premenopausal women. The use of contraceptive hormones is often recommended to young women to stabilize hormone levels because this is associated with a reduction in acne (Cibula, Paseka, Unzeitig, Horejsi, Rotta, and Chroust, Ceska Gynekol. 65(2):79-82 (2000)). Loss of cyclical hormone production at menopause is associated with thinning of the skin, decreased collagen and sebum production and reduced healing capacity (Shah and Maibach, Am. J. Clin. Dermatol. 2(3):143-50 (2001)). These conditions can be mitigated by hormone replacement therapies. Some women, in fact, choose to continue with hormonal therapy to control the symptoms of menopause and enhance the appearance of their skin despite concerns about cardiac or other complications. Commonly, replacement therapies attempt to mimic the normal cycling of the hormones by first supplementing estrogen, and then later adding progesterone to replicate the patterns of hormonal cycling typical of the menstrual pattern. However, the less pathologic skin conditions that do not require drug therapy but are present widely in the general population have not received much attention when developing skin treatments, lotions, cosmetics and soaps.
A knowledge of the physiological effects that normal or imposed hormonal cycling has on the skin may be used to improve the formulation and timing of dermatological products most suitable for the skin at different points in the cycle. Many products have been developed to enhance skin properties or appearance, but these are marketed for use at all time points throughout a monthly cycle. Typically a woman will buy a single facial moisturizer or soap that is used continuously, even when the woman is dissatisfied with the product for some of the time. There is a failure to appreciate that different products might be needed at different points in the menstrual cycle. This often leads women on an expensive search for a better cosmetic or cleansing product, but this search is handicapped by the fact that each product may work best for only one part of the cycle. What is needed, and what is claimed here, is a set of dermatological preparations whose formulations are specialized for administration at different times during the hormonal cycle. A plurality of such preparations would be packaged so that the customer can be reminded to use different formulations appropriate to different parts of the hormonal cycle.
It is an object of this invention to improve skin cosmesis or conditioning by using different formulations of the dermatological preparation in a sequence that suits the needs of the skin at different points of the hormonal cycle. In its simplest implementation, this would be a two-phase skin treatment, such as a cosmetic, lotion or soap whose formulation changes to balance the differing states of hydration and reactivity of the skin during the early and late phases of the cycle.
It is also an object of this invention to facilitate improvements to the appearance or condition of the skin by ensuring that a plurality of formulations can be identified and delivered conveniently for use at different times of a hormonal cycle.
It is a further object of this invention to teach a method by which such a product could be packaged to permit the convenient purchase and dispensing of the different formulations in a manner that could be easily sequenced with the hormonal cycle.
In general, the present disclosure describes hormonally-timed dermatological preparations. For easier understanding, specific embodiments of present invention are shown in the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the example embodiments describe below.
Methods to time, produce and package a sequence of dermatological formulations is described in
In another embodiment designed for younger women or women with sensitivity to progesterone, the second formulation 20 administered during the late phase of the cycle, when acne is particularly problematic, would differ from the first formulation 10 by the addition of constituents to control sebum production, reduce bacterial proliferation and inflammation, or soothe or disguise rashing. By supplying two or more sequenced formulations, better control of skin properties may be achieved with greater convenience to the user. It would be obvious to one normally skilled in the art that this invention could be adapted for situations in which the timing of hormones varied, or in which the formulations were altered for specific types of skin and different skin conditions that are affected by hormonal cycling.
The invention includes means to deliver combinations of formulations. The preferred embodiment has the basic form of a package containing a plurality of reservoirs containing more than one dermatological formulation, and a method of labeling that identifies which formulations are to be used at specific points in the menstrual cycle.
This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/704,296 filed Aug. 1, 2005, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.