Move over botox. A new anti-wrinkle pill promises to shrink wrinkles from inside the skin. Anti-aging face creams penetrate only the top layer of skin – the epidermis. A new anti-wrinkle pill, by contrast, claims to reach the dermis, stimulating the production of collagen in deeper layers.
Unilever labs in Sharnbrook, UK, makers of the three-a-day capsules, say they use blends of natural food extracts to activate genes that improve skin tone. The pills, containing vitamins C and E along with compounds from soya and tomatoes and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils, are said to activate “master” genes that boost collagen levels.
According to a report in New Scientist, just before menopause, estrogen production slows down. This removes elastic collagen fast, and cannot be replaced quickly enough. The extracts in this pill changes the behavior of certain genes and ensures that the collagen keeps being produced. British researchers tested the pills on four groups of post-menopausal women in Britain, France and Germany. In one study, a fifth of women who took the pills had significantly more fresh collagen in the dermis, the bottom layer of skin, than those who took a placebo.
Unilever has reported it plans to launch the product next month in 44 spas that it co-owns in the UK, Spain and Canada. It does not need approval to sell the capsules because the extracts they contain are already in use and the company does not claim that the capsules benefit health.
