Damask rose essential oil, a natural ingredient against wrinkles.

Wrinkles are the primary indicators of skin ageing. They manifest as a fold, ridge, or depression in the skin. Inevitable with age, they can be somewhat "unsightly" and cause some discomfort in the lives of those affected. Certain factors such as excessive exposure to sunlight or smoking accelerate the appearance of wrinkles.

Wrinkles can be dynamic, appearing with the movements of facial muscles, or static. The most common wrinkles are those of the crow's feet at the corner of the eyes, the forehead lines, the frown lines or the perioral wrinkles. The skin sagging and bags are visible at the level of the eyebrows, eyelid, neck line, ears, nose or lip.

In cosmetic formulations, this natural ingredient goes by the I.N.C.I. name of "Rosa Damascena Flower Oil". To combat skin ageing, it operates on two levels:

• Upstream, it protects the skin from external aggressions that accelerate skin ageing.

  For reference, this phenomenon known as oxidative stress is characterised by an overproduction of reactive oxygen species, also known as free radicals, when cells are exposed to stress. The sources of stress are numerous, the main ones being UV exposure, pollution, smoking, and a diet too rich in fats and/or sugars. Free radicals are particularly unstable molecules due to their unpaired electron. They tend to react with other molecules to form an electron pair, and thus cause damage to cells, DNA and body proteins such as collagen and elastin. They are notably involved in lipid peroxidation, a degradation reaction of the constituents of cell membranes. This accelerates ageing and deepens wrinkles on the skin's surface. TheDamask rose essential oil is therefore an excellent ally in preventing skin ageing and combating the appearance and/or accentuation of wrinkles.

• Downstream, it diminishes the appearance of already present wrinkles.

  The monoterpene alcohols it contains (citronellol, nerol and geraniol) tighten the tissues, thus limiting the skin sagging that appears over the years. Moreover, researchers have demonstrated its ability tostimulate the expression of the collagen-I gene. In other words, this essential oil is a truetissue and cellular regenerator.