Anti-ageing has been a popular buzzword in the beauty industry. However, we believe that instead of fighting signs of ageing we should embrace natural ageing. This means addressing signs of ageing without feeling that we need to ‘correct’ any symptoms. Redefining skin ageing for us means looking after skin health, using safe and natural ingredients and managing skin damage that can naturally occur with time. AvenaPLex is a unique oat complex with a powerful anti-ageing effect. It has an outstanding profile consisting of a 40/60 split of polar lipids to neutral lipids. The polar lipids comprise ceramides, phospholipids and very effective emulsifiers.
Why are ceramides important?
The minimum 4% ceramides in AvenaPLex is just 1% under normal skin levels. This level is regarded as therapeutic to the skin.
Ceramides have a key role in:
- Skin barrier improvement: Ceramides form part of the skin’s barrier which works to prevent excessive water loss and protect the skin from environmental factors and other external aggressors.
- Anti-ageing effect: With time, the skin naturally ages. This means that ceramide levels can vary with age, and naturally deplete down to almost 37% from 100% on the face between the ages of 41-50 years, and the decrease in skin ceramide can start as early as 25 years old. AvenaPLex is immediately effective on skin that has an impaired barrier function as it contains a significant proportion of the skin-identical ceramide classes required by the skin.
Redefine ageing: Looking after the skin at all life stages
The beauty market is moving towards addressing specific consumer concerns, and those concerns change as we go through different life stages. As skin matures, particularly with women who experience menopause, their key skin concerns change too. Some of these concerns/symptoms include:
- Skin thinning
- Dry skin
- Slack skin, wrinkles and deepening fine lines
- Redness and irritation
- Pimples and other types of acne
…and more.
AvenaPLex has been tested on mature skin types to show significant improvement in addressing the above concerns. From improved skin barrier function to boosting the skin’s own hyaluronic acid level, all whilst protecting the skin from UV exposure, we share with you the best of AvenaPLex.
Boosting skin’s hyaluronic acid levels
Hyaluronic acid is a skin hero in the beauty industry. It is particularly powerful at binding to large amounts of water and consequently hydrating the skin. In younger skin, hyaluronic acid is found near the collagen and elastin fibres. However, in more mature skin this connection is often missing. We carried out in vivo and ex vivo testing and results showed that the samples treated with 1% AvenaPLex helped to boost the skin’s naturally-occurring hyaluronic acid molecules by up to 14% higher content than untreated skin (statistically significant =p<0.01).
The above images show that the intensity of the immunofluorescence labelling of hyaluronic acid (red) increases significantly in comparison to untreated. Whilst the market is saturated with products for topical application of hyaluronic acid, with AvenaPLex we show that you can boost the skin’s own hyaluronic acid levels.
Managing crow’s feet wrinkles
As the skin ages, the thickness of the dermis decreases. This results in the depletion of skin-beneficial molecules such as collagen, hyaluronic acid and glycosaminoglycans. Physically, this can result in mechanical tension that induces the formation of wrinkles.
Our in vivo testing on 40-59 years old over 12 weeks shows that 1% AvenaPLex visibly reduces the appearance of crow’s feet wrinkles by up to 15% compared to day 0 (statistically significant p<0.01).
Protection and repairment of skin exposed to UV A+B
Inevitably, the skin is exposed to pollution such as particle matter and UV light. In fact, 90% of symptoms of premature skin ageing are due to sun exposure/UV light. We carried out an in vivo test to assess the ability of AvenaPLex to protect and repair the skin after explore to UV A+B light.
Product treatment used:
- 1.4% AvenaPLex – Avena sativa kernel extract
- 2% Competitor product (oat avenanthramides) – Glycerin, Avena sativa kernel extract, potassium sorbate, in-vehicle control.
After exposure to UV A+B light, a single application of AvenaPLex visibly reduces skin redness by up to 87%, compared to untreated (repairing effect).
Non-comedogenic effect against acne lesions
Common concerns of mature skin, particularly those undergoing menopause, include common types of acne. We carried out an in vivo study on a group of 22 participants aged between 35 and 68 years old, with oily skin. Participants were provided with 100% AvenaPLex to apply once each evening to the face during the 4-week study period.
Results:
- AvenaPLex did not induce acne
- AvenaPLex improved overall skin condition over the 28 days
- AvenaPLex help to reduce the number of each type of acne lesion (such as micro cysts, blackheads, papules, and pustules)
Conclusion
AvenaPLex is a skin lipid repairing, renewing and protective natural active complex that is particularly effective in mature skin and its concerns. We explain its efficacy from gene expression analysis to in vivo testing over the long term and learn more about how aim to redefine anti-ageing with AvenaPLex.
To access the full set of results and resources, download the AvenaPLex data pack on our ingredient page.
