Why carry out this study?

Micro-injury treatments, such as microneedling, leverage the skin’s natural healing abilities to promote skin rejuvenation; however, they are commonly associated with acute complications including erythema and oedema, and multiple sittings are often required to achieve the desired effect.

Microneedling techniques are commonly combined with the application of topical formulations that enhance skin rejuvenation and reduce healing time.

What was the aim of the study?

The objective of this split-face study was to determine whether topical application of a novel multiple-active formulation before, during and up to 7 days after microneedling can resolve inflammation and accelerate wound healing in adults with healthy skin to amplify luminosity and reduce erythema and tactile skin texture over 28 days compared with conventional microneedling protocol with a hyaluronic acid serum.

What were the study outcomes/conclusions?

Significantly greater improvements in expert-assessed erythema, luminosity and skin texture were reported following application of the novel multiple-active-ingredient formulation than the hyaluronic acid control serum.

What has been learned from the study?

These data support the topical application of a novel multiple-active-ingredient formulation in combination with microneedling for accelerating inflammation resolution and subsequent wound healing in female adults with healthy skin; however, further evaluation among adult male subjects with healthy skin is needed to ensure broader efficacy and applicability.

The novel formulation shows promising results for reducing the downtime associated with micro-injury treatments while amplifying the associated benefits of skin luminosity and texture.

The presence of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the novel formulation may have played a key role in improving inflammation resolution alongside the complementary action of the other active ingredients, leading to the observed improvements in skin outcomes.