Our increased knowledge of normal skin physiology has ushered in a subtle revolution in cosmetic science. Originally designed as preparations to enhance personal appearance by direct application on to the skin, cosmetics have now taken on a new role in dermatology, through the support of the management of many skin disorders. This evolving role of cosmetics in skin care is primarily due to scientific and technological advancements that have changed our understanding of normal skin physiology and how cosmetics modify its appearance both physically and biologically. The vast array of techniques currently available to investigate skin responsivity to multiple stimuli has brought about a new era in cosmetic and dermocosmetic development based on a robust understanding of skin physiology and its varied responses to commonly encountered environmental insults. Most cosmetic research is undertaken on reconstructed skin models crucial in dermatological research, given the strict ban imposed by the European Union on animal testing. In addition, the design and conduct of trials evaluating cosmetics now follow rules comparable to those used in the development and evaluation of pharmaceutical products. Cosmetic research should now aim to ensure all trials adhere to strictly reproducible and scientifically sound methodologies. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the multidisciplinary scientific approach used in formulating dermocosmetics, and to examine the major advances in dermocosmetic development and assessment, the safety and regulatory guidelines governing their production and the exciting future outlook for these dermocosmetic processes following good practice rules.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is by far the most frequent type of cancer in humans. NMSC includes several types of malignancies with different clinical outcomes, the most frequent being basal and squamous cell carcinomas. We have used the Sleeping Beauty transposon/transposase system to identify somatic mutations associated with NMSC. Transgenic mice bearing multiple copies of a mutagenic Sleeping Beauty transposon T2Onc2 and expressing the SB11 transposase under the transcriptional control of regulatory elements from the keratin K5 promoter were treated with TPA, either in wild-type or Ha-ras mutated backgrounds. After several weeks of treatment, mice with transposition developed more malignant tumors with decreased latency compared with control mice. Transposon/transposase animals also developed basal cell carcinomas. Genetic analysis of the transposon integration sites in the tumors identified several genes recurrently mutated in different tumor samples, which may represent novel candidate cancer genes. We observed alterations in the expression levels of some of these genes in human tumors. Our results show that inactivating mutations in Notch1 and Nsd1, among others, may have an important role in skin carcinogenesis.

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