the present invention employs both non - invasive and minimally invasive protocols for skin sampling . non - invasive skin measurements which may be used include : skin fluorescence spectra , antioxidant capacity , epidermal cytokine release , redox state , skin ph , metal content , skin topological roughness , and natural moisturizing conditions . minimally invasive skin sampling methods include tape stripping , and suction blistering . it is to be appreciated that methods for skin sampling are continuously being developed and improved . the present invention is intended to encompass all such non - invasive and minimally - invasive methods which are known , and which are currently being developed . the above methods are used to test for the presence and / or quantity of one or more biomarkers . the results of the skin sampling are then compared to known biological material from different sources from esthetic surgery donated skin to the semi - invasive epidermal suction blistering ( which yields full - thickness epidermal sheets ) and upper layers tape stripping ( which yields successive layers of stratum corneum ) or in situ protein extraction ( for the measurement of cytokines , free radicals , etc ) will be compared for yield , feasibility and patients &# 39 ; compliance . after correlation studies between physical and biochemical characteristics determined by non - invasive methods such as in situ fluorescence , in situ protein extraction , ph determination , corneometry , etc , multifunctional biomarker analysis on skin samples and on reconstituted skin models ( supplied by straticell ) will be performed to build skin biomarker maps . in order to assess a multifunctional characterization of skin , providing a full specific “ map ” of individual skin condition and definition of physical / biochemical characteristics and biomarkers characteristic of skin conditions and pathologies , several assays have to be performed on skin samples : expression levels of types i and iii collagens expression of sp1 , sp3 , c - krox , nf - kb , ap - 1 , etc production of mmp - 1 , 2 , 3 , 9 expression of il - 1β , 1l - 6 , tgf - β1 , 2 , 3 and their receptors . signaling pathways : mapk , jnk , akt , stats , etc . . . . cell proliferation rate and expression of cell cycle proteins ( p21 , p27 , cyclin d1 ) the results will lead to a better understanding of the ecm alterations and their impact on ecm - cell interactions in these skin diseases , from which new treatment approaches will be established . it is noted that the method of the present invention is essentially a novel and non - obvious combination of many known emerging technologies the discovery of biomarkers associated with different physiological and pathological conditions , the development of novel sampling means , and the development of better drugs and drug - delivery systems . the present invention utilizes all of these three fields in order to provide a personalized , user - specific product for the general public . human skin types display many variations due to genetics , age , lifestyle , environment , seasons etc . the regular ways to differentiate cosmetic and dermocosmetic products by skin type ( i . e . : dry skin , very dry , oily , normal and combination skin ) or by skin condition ( i . e . : atopic , psoriatic , seborrehic , ichtiotic , acne , sensitivity , irritation etc .) are highly limited and do not reflect the endless skin variability of real life . based on human genome data , and on novel biotechnological methods for skin analysis , the present invention presents the development of personalized cosmetics , wherein the dermo - cosmetic products are specially formulated from a to z or slightly adapted to fit each patient &# 39 ; s skin , in order to improve skin health , radiance , and beauty . the present invention employs novel technologies to evaluate the biomarkers of various skin conditions including skin senescence , differentiation , apoptosis , dryness , barrier functioning and more . the skin analysis is based on a skin sample taken from the patient by one of various methods . the term ‘ sampling ’, as used in the present invention , means any in - vivo or ex - vivo protocol enabling sampling of a small portion of the skin , skin layers , or skin cells , and comprising inter alia the following techniques of skin sampling , biomarkers sampling : suction blistering , punch biopsies , blade scraping , tape stripping , etc . . . . a plurality of laboratory tests may be used for biomarkers determination . these tests are selected , yet not limited to : intracellular tests , including especially various techniques in the field of micro arrays , such as high - density and low - density cdna arrays , biochip , gen - arrays , proteomic arrays etc . . . . these tests may also include other methods of molecular and cellular biology , such as flow cytometry ( e . g ., facs ) and other technologies , 2d electrophoresis method , western blot , elisa and other immunological techniques . those methods have been proved useful , reliable , reproducible and cost - effective for skin analysis and biomarker determination . the purpose of ex - vivo sampling techniques is to evaluate the effects of topical applications of various products on “ cellular age ” in epidermal cells . the evaluation is mainly provided by comparing transcriptional patterns of treated versus untreated portions of epidermis , or by comparing data from a later skin specimen with those from early ones . additionally or alternatively , analysis is made of protein markers of ageing , and of age - related enzyme activities in epidermal samples from treated versus untreated skin portions , or from young versus old skin portions . the dermatologic punch used in the present invention is preferably a round knife ranging from 2 to 10 mm in size . a plurality of 5 mm punches generally provides adequate epidermis samples for analysis . the experiment was found to be especially effective in healthy volunteers ( i . e ., patients ) ages 18 - 65 , without skin diseases or chronic medication or drug use who were not participating in any other research . before performing a punch biopsy , the skin tension lines are determined . thus , the skin is stretched perpendicularly to these tension lines before the incision , and an elliptic wound is formed in such a manner that it can be closed with the help of normal skin tension without “ dog ears ”. after cleansing the skin , local anesthesia is achieved by intradermal injection . the punch is placed perpendicularly to the skin surface . after applying a gentle pressure , it is rotated back and forth while advancing on the hub . the edge of the specimen is then grasped with toothed forceps , or “ scooped ” out with the punch , so as not to crush the skin . if the underlying fatty tissue retains the base of the sample , iris scissors are used to snip the tissue free . hemostasis is obtained by applying aseptic solution , gauze and pressure . subsequently , the wound is closed by one or two sutures to avoid a depressed scar . biopsies of skin samples are stored in “ rna later ” solution ( promega ) before rna extraction , or put in pbs and frozen for protein analysis by elisa or western blots . total rna is extracted using the “ sv total rna isolation system ” ( promega ). polya + messenger rna can be extracted using micro - fastrack mrna isolation kit ( invitrogen ). two to four 5 mm - diameter biopsies are hence taken from each forearm , corresponding to 0 . 2 cm2 of epidermis per punch biopsy . about 100 , 000 keratinocytes are obtained from each punch biopsy , mixed with a small number of dermal fibroblasts ( up to 5 %). the yield of total rna is about 10 mu . g per punch biopsy ( up to 80 . mu . g per operation ). it is also in the scope of the present invention to provide another epidermal skin sampling protocol , namely tape - stripping . this protocol is useful for evaluation of the effects of topical applications of various products on “ cellular age ” in epidermal cells : analysis of protein markers of ageing , and of age - related enzyme activities , in treated versus untreated skin portions . here again , healthy volunteers are selected . the tape - stripping experiments are performed on the flexor forearm . adhesive tape is applied to the skin of the flexor forearm , pressed to the skin area with a roller and pulled off in one quick movement as described . the first tape strip is discarded . the next 5 to 20 tapes can be subjected to protein extraction for western blot analysis or enzyme assay . wounds are dressed with special hydrocolloid dressing , and heal within one week with no residual scars . in this protocol , the extraction yields are low when compared with surgical methods , since only a minority of epidermal cells is removed from the skin . for a treated surface of 10 cm . sup . 2 , yields of 100 - 200 . mu . g of protein can be obtained , depending on the number of successive strips . alternatively , another epidermal sampling protocol was used , namely suction blisters technique . this technique is especially useful for analysis of transcriptional changes in the expression of ageing markers , in skin epidermis from young and old donors , using high - density cdna micro - arrays . from this data , determination of a set of markers showing differential transcription patterns (“ profiles ”) is provided , especially useful for evaluation of the effects of topical applications of various products on “ cellular age ” in epidermal cells , carried out by comparing transcriptional patterns in treated versus untreated portions of the epidermis . accordingly , metal cups are attached to each forearm skin surface . skin is suctioned using a vacuum pump with negative pressure of 150 mm hg . epidermal blisters , 1 . 6 cm in diameter , are induced after 2 - 5 hours of suction . blister fluid is collected for protein analysis by elisa or western blots . epidermis samples are cut out from blister roofs and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen , or processed right away for rna extraction using the “ sv total rna isolation system ” ( promega ). total rna can be analyzed using the “ affymetrix cdna micro arrays ” transcript screening system or by specific skin low - density gene - arrays . alternatively , epidermis samples are processed for analysis of specific protein markers , protein modification , or enzyme activities . wounds are dressed with special hydrocolloid dressing , and heal within 10 days with no residual scars . two to four blisters are suctioned on each forearm . about 2 cm . sup . 2 of epidermis and about 106 cells , essentially keratinocytes , can be obtained from each blister . about 100 . mu . g of rna or 500 . mu . g of protein may be extracted per blister . it was found that the yields of the hereto - defined methods ( namely punch biopsies , tape stripping and suctions blisters ) retained for systematic sampling provide sufficient amounts of rna or proteins for at least one test per patient ( in the case of punch biopsies ) or more . tape stripping is restricted to the study of protein modifications . suction blistering was found appropriate for all the purposes of this project , including immunofluorescence and enzyme assays in situ . because punch biopsies are commonly practiced in most dermatology departments , this method provides a valuable alternative for obtaining rna samples whenever dependence on a specialized hospital facility may be a limiting factor . it is further acknowledged that epidermis sampling is needed for the analysis of age - sensitive rna transcripts and protein biomarkers , in order to evaluate the biological effects of potential active anti - ageing components following topical application . it is additionally acknowledged that by performing periodical skin sampling and analyzing rna extracts from skin one may determine up or down levels in the transcriptions of some ageing gene biomarkers . punch biopsy is the most direct method , allowing immediate sampling of skin slices that can be processed for either rna or protein extraction . however , this method is affected by several drawbacks : a . local anesthetic is necessary , and might interfere with the expression of short - lived transcripts ; b . the wound is expected to leave a minor scar , making the other methods preferable whenever punched slices of skin are not specifically needed ; and c . punched skin slices contain dermis , and keratinocyte separation is delicate because of the scarcity of the material . this inconvenience is limited for rna sampling because the accompanying dermis is constituted mainly of extracellular matrix and can contribute only a minority of cells and of rna ( less than 10 %); but the interference of dermis is more severe for protein sampling ; therefore the use of punch biopsies has to be restricted to rna analysis . for cosmetic purposes , it is important indeed that all tests address “ upper skin layers ” ( i . e . : epidermis ) only , and do not penetrate to sample deeper layers of the skin , in order to remain legally in the field of cosmetology . tape stripping is much less invasive than punch biopsy , leaving only superficial wounds that heal without residual scars . even after 30 repeated strippings , only epidermal material is collected , but the cells are heterogeneous and mostly representative of upper layers . these are keratinocytes , more or less deeply engaged in terminal differentiation and cell death , with very low yields of transcripts . were a transcriptional pattern to be detectable , it would represent terminal differentiation rather than ageing status . the same applies also to protein markers , except protein modifications , which are expected to be conserved in cellular proteins along the differentiation process . tape stripping therefore seems to be the method of choice for the study of protein modifications in epidermis . skin scraping with a scalpel or razor blade resembles tape stripping , but is more traumatic , and inaccurate in the selection of cell layers . it has therefore not been considered . suction blistering offers the advantage of performing a clean separation between dermis at blister bottom and epidermis at blister roof . epidermis comes off in its entirety including the basal layer . the procedure is almost painless , no anesthetic is used , and the wound is superficial and heals without a scar . blister roof , when cut , can be processed directly either for rna or for protein extraction . blister fluid can be collected and used for protein analysis . suction blistering appears therefore most appropriate for our purpose , yet has the drawback that suction itself has to be continued for 2 to 4 hours at ambient temperature , during which the marker profiles might be perturbed . it is also in the scope of the present invention to use cellular markers for flow cytometry . those non - immunologic , cellular markers are selected in a non - limiting manner from the group of biomarkers characterized by : . beta .- galactosidase activity , preferably studied by means of an intracellular assay ; proteasome chymotrypsin - like and postglutamyl - peptidase activities , preferably studied by means of an intracellular assay ; total protein content , preferably studied by fitc labeling . some of those markers are characterized by an expected up - regulation upon ageing , and others by down - regulation . beta .- galactosidase activity was found to increase notably upon ageing in most mammalian tissues including epidermis . more specifically , it was proved that beta .- galactosidase activity increases by a factor 4 in human epidermis between the ages of 20 and 80 . it is also in the scope of the present invention wherein the aforementioned undirected biomarkers are selected from apo j ( i . e ., clusterin ), ki - 67 , carbonyl groups e . g ., ( protein oxidation ), 4 - hydroxy - 2 - nonenal ( i . e ., lipid peroxidation adduct in proteins ), carboxymethyl - lysine or advanced glycated endproducts ( e . g ., at least two kinds of glycoxidation adducts in proteins ), ubiquitin adducts on proteins , total amount of cellular proteins or any combination thereof . it is acknowledged in this respect that the amount of apoj transcripts ( i . e ., an mrna ) increases , upon replicative senescence , by a factor 11 in human osteoblasts and by a factor of 24 in rat embryonal fibroblasts . total protein contents in human keratinocytes were found to increase by at least a factor of 5 upon replicative senescence . it is also in the scope of the present invention wherein enzymatic biomarkers are selected from . beta .- galactosidase , proteasome chymotrypsin - like or postglutamyl - peptidase activities . alternatively or additionally , the biomarkers involved in a senescence pathway may be selected from : p161nk4a ; cdk4 ; cdk6 ; p19arf ; p53 ; md2 ; p21cip1 ; pten ; p27kip1 or pi 3 - kinase . alternatively or additionally , the involved biomarkers in apoptosis pathways are selected from : fas , fas l , fadd , activated caspase 8 ( i . e ., cleaved protein ), p53 , bcl - 2 , bax , apaf - 1 , caspase 3 activity , annexin v - binding sites . the amounts of p161nk4a were found to increase by at least a factor of 2 upon replicative senescence in cultured human keratinocytes . the amounts of fas receptor were found to increase by a factor of 4 in human epidermis between the ages of 20 and 80 . it is also in the scope of the present invention wherein enzymatic biomarkers involved in keratinocyte differentiation are selected from involucrin and from cytokeratines . the proteasome chymotrypsin - like and postglutamyl - peptidase activities , in human epidermal extracts , were hereto proved to decrease by a factor of 3 between the age of 20 and the age of 60 - 70 . it is appreciated that the biomarkers which are tested for may comprises any predetermined set of biomarkers , and the above descriptions were provided for the purposes of example only .
a method for providing a personalized skin - care composition for an individual includes sampling the skin of an individual for whom a personalized skin - care composition is to be provided , testing for a predetermined set of biomarkers so as to produce an individual biomarker profile , analyzing the biomarker profile using a biomarker profile database , and producing a personalized skin - care composition based on the results . the personalized skin - care composition is adapted for treating one or more skin conditions which the individual has , and can be adapted according to the preferences of the individual .