Dermal drone: ‘Intelligent' encapsulation tech claims to be 860% more effective in improving skin elasticity

Heure was launched in the first week of November by Estetica Group, a Singapore-based beauty company.

The firm operates a chain of beauty salons and has developed brands such as ést.lab, which was developed in partnership with Singapore’s Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR).

Heure Beauty debuted with the Ageless range, a line-up of six products that all feature SPHR, Estetica’s proprietary encapsulated transdermal delivery system.

Heure managing director Han Lim told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that its latest brand is the result of 10 years of research and development of SPHR.

“[SPHR] is the proverbial key to unlocking the healing and curative properties of active ingredients and peptides, and deliver them to the areas where it matters. In a nutshell, it’s what the brand was conceptualised around,” ​said Lim.

According to the firm, this encapsulation technology works as a ‘drone’​ that targets collagen and elastin in the skin to deliver three peptides that are vital for skin growth and repair.

“Not only is SPHR able to encapsulate the peptides to a degree that its able to penetrate the epidermis, once it does, it is also able to intelligently seek out those areas where collagen and elastin lie. Only when it finds those regions will it trigger the release of the peptides,” ​said Lim.

Furthermore, the capsule is able to homogeneously disperse the active ingredients to fill the entire region across a period of 24 hours.

Backed by science

In a third-party clinical trial, peptides encapsulated by SPHR technology was compared to non-encapsulated peptides and found to be significantly more effective.

The company found that when encapsulated by SPHR, there was a 320% improvement in wrinkle reduction, 160% improvement in skin elasticity, and 680% improvement in transepidermal water loss (TEWL).

Lim told us that the results of this clinical trial are currently undergoing peer review and are expected to be published in a scientific journal soon.

The company also conducted a series of clinical trials to test the efficacy of Heure’s products against leading global anti-ageing serums.

The data sets showed there was 860% improvement in skin elasticity, 30% improvement in skin barrier function and 180% improvement in wrinkle reduction.

In addition, the firm also conducted consumer testing by running a series of double-blind randomised tests conducted by InterTek and overseen by an independent consultant in Shanghai.

According to the results, 100% of the subjects agreed that the skin appeared more radiant and healthier, 95% agreed skin appeared firmer, tighter and more hydrated, and 90% agreed that overall skin quality improved.

“To launch the brand, the science had to be perfect. For us, this technology is what drives the brand. It has to be on the merit of the technology that people come to us. Cumulatively, with hugely gratifying results from both objective tests and consumer testing, it gave us the confidence in Heure as a brand,” ​said Lim.

The company believes the strong scientific evidence can help the brand stand out from an increasingly competitive skin care landscape.

Lim said: “Science is taking greater precedence over the marketing and the packaging. We want to leverage these opportunities by leaning on social influencers and groups that are inclined towards real science that is backed by data.”​

Taking the digital approach

Given the ongoing novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the company decided to undertake a 100% digital launch instead of launching in brick-and-mortars.

“When we started the conceptualisation, we never thought to launch it fully digitally, but I see it as an opportunity. One of the benefits is that there is literally no barrier with the Internet so the engagement can be amplified,” ​said Lim.

He added that while the company has always envisioned Heure as a global brand, it would be focusing on Asia-Pacific for the time being due to the challenges brought about by COVID-19.

“Right now, we are cautiously planning out our globalisation plans. At this point, it’s very hard to look beyond Asia because of the challenges in the global market caused by COVID-19. Our primary focus in 2021 will be launching Heure in Asia, with an emphasis on leveraging our base here in Singapore to outreach neighbouring markets.”​

In addition to its official website, the company has also partnered with newly launched e-commerce beauty platform Beaubit.

“We see great synergies and alignment in Beaubit as a platform, both in its target demographic reach as well as in its content. In particular, Beaubit’s ambition of brand identification and recommendation through expert reviews and evaluation, with a stronger focus on scientific proof and credibility, makes it a compelling partner for Heure.”​