Skin improvement using Labisia Pumila and Ficus Deltoidea cosmetic formulations

In the tropic, continuous exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light is known to cause photoageing. UV generated reactive oxygen species leading to collagen deficiency and eventually skin wrinkling. Our in vitro study indicated that Labisia pumila (LP) and Ficus deltoidea (FD) could protect fibroblast from UVB irradiation damage. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the cosmetic formulation based on LP and FD extracts in reducing the effect of skin ageing due to exposure to UVB irradiation. The evaluation of the active serum and placebo was carried out on 78 volunteers for two months and conducted using noninvasive bioengineering methods including melanin index, erythema index, skin moisture content, skin sebum content and skin surface pH measurement. The cutaneous hydration was increased after 8 weeks application of cosmetic formulation and this is highly related to a decrease of restoration of normal skin surface pH. Besides, the formulation application also caused a significant decrease in skin melanin, erythema content and casual sebum level after 8 weeks application. The formulations prepared from LP and FD were able to exhibit anti-ageing effects. Further study on LP and FD based formulations must be carried out for future natural regenerative anti-ageing cosmetic in the tropic region such as Asia and Middle East market.