BEAUTY is gene deep. Scientists claim to have found the 1,500 genes that govern how long people can retain their youthful looks.

Researchers have taken the results and techniques used in the genome project – the £2 billion global effort to decipher human DNA – to try to understand one of the deepest mysteries of the beauty industry: why some people seem to age so much faster than others.

Until recently this had seemed an impossible conundrum to solve because of the number of genes involved and the complexity of working out the relationships between their functions. However, the techniques for collecting and analysing vast amounts of genetic data that sprang out of the human genome project mean that such problems can now be tackled.

“The human genome project has made it possible for us to analyse ageing right down to the hundreds of genetic changes that happen in our skin as we get older,” said Jay Tiesman, principal scientist in the global biotechnology division of P&G Beauty. This is the cosmetics division of Procter & Gamble, the corporation that makes Boss fragrances and Olay skincare cream.

Several years ago the firm responded to the success of the human genome project by establishing its own genomics laboratory in the American city of Cincinnati.

The original aim was entirely commercial: P&G wanted to pinpoint the genetic changes that underlie skin ageing to help it make products to slow or reverse the consequences. It also wanted to give its products added scientific credibility.

However, researchers such as Tiesman have realised that their work may have greater medical potential and are working with the company to release their data in scientific journals.

In the research, Tiesman and his colleagues found that skin ages in eight separate ways, each controlled by its own “suite” of genes.

One of the most important is hydration – the process by which the skin gathers and retains its moisture levels, using molecules that bind water into the skin.

As skin ages, the genes that produce such molecules appear to become less active and the ability to retain water diminishes, leading eventually to wrinkles. It had been thought this was a relatively simple process, but Tiesman’s team have found that up to 700 genes could be implicated in the process.

Another of the ageing pathways involved collagen, a molecule produced by the skin to give structure and strength. Tiesman’s researchers found that as people age, the genes that degrade collagen become too active, causing skin to develop lines and wrinkles. About 40 genes have been implicated so far.

A third pathway, inflammation, was found to involve about 400 genes that tend to become overactive with age.

Such research is a powerful illustration of the complexity of genetic interactions. But there are some simple themes that have emerged from P&G’s research. One is to confirm that there are wide variations in people’s genetic resilience to ageing. But the findings also show the importance of exposure to environmental factors, such as sunshine.

According to Tiesman’s researchers, in aged skin that had not been exposed to the sun, there were about 3,800 genetic mutations. In sun-aged skin, the number of changes across the same selected genes rose to nearly 10,000.

Some of those who worked on the original human genome project might find it ironic that their work has helped the beauty industry. However, others are welcoming the industry’s decision to focus on older customers.

Anthea Tinker, a professor at King’s College London who studies the social aspects of ageing, said: “Older people care about their appearance just as much as any other age group and they are an important and growing market.”

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