Our Head of Sales, Angus Roberston, and Head of Marketing, James Daybell, recently attended NYSCC Suppliers’ Day to launch AvenaPLex in North America. Working with Charkit, our US distributor, the team met with many of the show’s visitors (which this year totalled almost 10,000) to publicise the exceptional properties of this active lipid complex.
Across NYSCC Suppliers’ Day, in-cosmetics Global, and numerous other sales meetings held since the launch of AvenaPLex, audiences have largely been captivated by the ingredient’s impressive sensorial properties – a thick, viscous material that melts effortlessly into the skin. However, perhaps more compelling is the substantial data behind AvenaPLex. This includes a series of studies that utilise immunostaining and image analysis of human explants to determine results.
Below, we provide a brief insight into these key studies – cell viability, ceramide increase, and lipid content – that evidence AvenaPLex’s efficacy.
Study: Ceramide Increase
The study sought to assess the ceramide content on the skin’s surface following application of AvenaPLex. Explants were treated with 100% AvenaPLex at day 0 and day 1, with ceramide content measured on the latter.
Results

The immunostaining results show a significant increase in the thickness of the ceramide layer (observed in pink) following application of 100% AvenaPLex (Figure 3), compared to the results seen in the control (Figure 2). Also evident is the fact that AvenaPLex replenishes lost ceramides through multiple layers of the stratum corneum. As ceramide levels decrease during the ageing process, along with the chain length of those ceramides remaining, these results highlight the extent to which AvenaPLex is beneficial for aged skin.
Study: Improving Lipid Barrier
This study sought to assess the neutral and polar lipid content of the skin following application of AvenaPLex. To measure neutral lipid content, explants were treated with 1% and 100% AvenaPLex at day 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4. The neutral lipid content of these explants was then compared with that of non-treated explants (control) at day 5. To measure polar lipid content, explants were treated with 100% AvenaPLex, with the polar lipid content of non-treated explants (control) compared at day 1 and day 5.
Results: Neutral Lipids

It is clear to see that application of 100% and 1% AvenaPLex induces a significant increase in neutral lipid content (shown in green) of the explants at day 5 (Figure 6, 5), compared to the control (Figure 4). Notably, the difference in efficacy between AvenaPLex at 1% and 100% is only very slight.
Results: Polar Lipids

The results show that an application of 100% AvenaPLex induces a significantly greater increase in the polar lipid content of the explants at day 1 than that of the control. At day 5, this difference in polar lipid content between 100% AvenaPLex and the control is even greater.
Our full AvenaPLex data pack contains a comprehensive collection of studies from cell viability to barrier function analysis. For the full results of those studies explored in this post, and access to other valuable data, download our data pack here.