ABSTRACT

Pharmaceutical preparations are aimed at obtaining a curative effect. In these cases, the role of the vehicle is primarily to allow the delivery of the active principles to the site of application. Cosmetic formulations do not contain strictly curative drugs, but their purpose is rather to help skin homeostasis and prevent degenerative processes. As we have seen, a clear boundary between the medical and cosmetic fields cannot be easily traced, while the marked tendency of cosmetic industries to develop products containing pharmaceutically active principles has led to the introduction of the concept of cosmeceuticals.16 This term indicates cosmetic-pharmaceutical hybrids aimed at enhancing the beauty of the skin by means of ingredients that modify skin functionality or provide additional health-related function or benefit.