Understanding fibroblasts

The team at LPG explains everything you need to know about fibroblasts and the action of mechanical stimulation on skin ageing

Our skin is made up of three layers:

• Epidermis (the most superficial layer of the skin) protects us from the outside world and limits water loss.

• Dermis includes collagen fibres and cells: fibroblasts, essential skin cells that evolve in the extracellular matrix (a combination of water and sugars including hyaluronic acid, which have the ability to retain water). The dermis is responsible for skin elasticity.

• Hypodermis (fatty tissue) made up of adipocytes where energy is stored.

The skin is an organ, like the heart or liver. It has a unity of form and structure with its own protective and barrier functions. It is made up of cells that are all within an extracellular environment through which vessels pass to nourish it, as well as nerves, which give skin its sensitivity.

Within the dermis, fibroblasts are extremely important. These are the cells that build our skin, that make the collagen fibres come together and form large braids that will give firmness and elasticity to the skin. After an injury, fibroblasts will immediately come to the site to make collagen, to fill up that wound.

Unfortunately, the fibroblast is an ageing cell. When it is healthy, it will transform into what is called a myofibroblast. The myofibroblast has a muscle fibre: the alpha SM actin. It is basically a fibroblast with muscles, a very active cell.

At his research centre in Besançon, France, Professor Philippe Humbert conducted a study which shows that when the skin is mechanically stimulated with a determined frequency (face Endermologie), the fibroblast is transformed into a myofibroblast, allowing the skin to reduce its wrinkles and its ptosis (sagging).

When the skin faces muscle contractions due to facial expressions, it tries to remain tense, not to wrinkle. To do so it uses the transformation of the fibroblast into a myofibroblast. But at some point, that skin becomes exhausted because it has been exposed to the sun and lost some of its protective capacity, so wrinkles appear.

Fibroblasts are tired so they need to be stimulated. To stimulate an athlete, you put them on a treadmill. Small gestures made with hands or with mechanical stimulation devices create stimulation of the fibroblast which starts to become younger and transform into a myofibroblast.

The amazing thing is that Professor Humbert’s team demonstrated that with six weeks of mechanical stimulation all the skin collagen is renewed, 45% elastin and 80% hyaluronic acid are produced, with no need to inject anything. This mechanical stimulation with Endermologie rejuvenates skin by activating the fibroblasts.

When skin is mechanically stimulated, the fibroblasts, and microcirculation, are stimulated. This can be observed right from the first session. After just one session, the client has a radiant complexion, and by continuing the course of treatments, other results will appear, including significant improvement in ptosis severity scores, and production of hyaluronic acid, collagen and elastin.

Endermologie comes from the word dermis. Therefore, by stimulating the skin, Endermologie heals it, renews it, rejuvenates it.