Cosmeceuticals off the face

Abstract

Cosmeceuticals are a category of topical agents designed to improve the appearance of the skin. Traditionally, the cosmeceutical market has focused on products designed for facial application, yet the use of these topicals for body appearance improvement is rapidly increasing. Cosmeceuticals are substances found in both the over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription arena that can be effectively used by dermatologists to maintain or improve the results obtained with other rejuvenative procedures. Cosmeceuticals must be distinguished from colored cosmetics, designed only to adorn the body using pigments. The intent is that cosmeceuticals will produce an improvement in skin functioning by modifying texture, roughness, pigmentation, erythema, and desquamation. This chapter discusses how to use cosmeceuticals off the face. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.