Skin photoaging is a type of skin damage caused by long-term exposure to ultraviolet radiation, clinically characterized mainly by wrinkle formation, pigmentation, reduced skin elasticity, and potential progression to precancerous lesions. In the treatment of skin photoaging, conventional pharmaceutical formulations often face challenges such as poor transdermal performance, weak targeting capability, and short drug retention time. In recent years, intelligent responsive hydrogels constructed based on various active ingredients such as phenolic acids, polysaccharides, and saponins have provided novel therapeutic strategies for the repair of skin photoaging. These hydrogels can not only load functional components with activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and collagen synthesis promotion but also autonomously respond to the microenvironment of photoaged skin, thereby achieving precise drug delivery. This paper systematically reviews the response mechanisms of intelligent responsive hydrogels and their research progress in the treatment of skin photoaging, aiming to provide new insights and theoretical references for the development of efficient and accurate topical formulations and to promote their application in this field.

hydrogel  /  intelligent responsive  /  stimulus responsiveness  /  photoaging  /  drug delivery  /  precision delivery