A cosmeceutical is defined as a product that is marketed as a cosmetic but has the capacity to exert pharmaceutical effects. In recent years, exosomes have been utilized within the global cosmetics industry to manufacture and market skincare products that use the power of these small extracellular vesicles to enhance a broad range of traits, including but not limited to skin health and rejuvenation, scar improvement, hair regrowth, anti-aging effects, and beyond. Exosomes can provide bioactive substances such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids to the target cells to alter gene expression and cellular function. Importantly, exosomes can also induce collagen formation, enhance tissue regeneration, and exert anti-inflammatory properties. [Read more…]

Exosomes are small vesicles ranging from 30-100nm in size that are found in nearly all eukaryotic fluids and facilitate a range of important cellular functions. In the early 1960s, Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. started several experiments leading to the discovery of stem cells. It was not until much later in 1987 that exosomes were first identified in a mammalian reticulocyte (red blood cell)[1] and not until 2007 that exosome-mediated transfer of mRNAs and microRNAs was identified as a “novel mechanism of genetic exchange between cells.”[2] [Read more…]