Anti-ageing ingredients and treatments: what’s the latest in beauty?

Today is the second part of a focus on segments that have seen major developments in 2015. Here, Cosmetics Design offers a roundup of the most exciting and unusual developments to emerge from the anti-ageing arena over the year.

Something fishy​

Skin care company Startlet Derma earlier this year revealed that its work with sea anemones ​has led to the development of a natural microinjection system based on the stinging cells found within the ocean-dwelling creatures.

The team say that the same micro injectors used by sea anemone to inject venom into their prey can be collected to deliver the likes of anti-wrinkle and brightening creams, deeper into the skin. It offers, the company claims, a sustainable way to deliver higher amounts of marine collagen.

Stem cell science​

Slightly ethically contentious in some circles, stem cell treatments, which have been used in medicine for many years, are now starting to find their way into beauty.

Self-regenerative stem cell solutions are increasingly joining the offerings of beauty brands, with ingredients provider Lucas Meyer’s new solution ​offering one recent example.

Based on the latest reconstructive tissue engineering, according to the company, the SWT-7 solution aims to give users smoother looking skin, as well as the ability to ‘blur’ the appearance of vertical wrinkles, skin texture, lip contour wrinkles and roughness.

Snail slime creams​

Beauty products containing snail extract have been enjoying booming sales lately, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

One brand in particular; 'It’s Skin', has seen success in the region, with a product that contains 12,600mg of a filtrate of snail slime​, and enthusiasm for the ingredient is spreading globally.

"One of the products sells every 6 seconds all over the world, and its sales are expected to exceed 5 million soon, if the trend continues​," a company rep told Business Korea.

Copper-plated faces?​

Copper is another beauty product element which has been heralded as a key anti-ageing component, with skin care experts in the US​ reckoning the metal will be this decade’s ‘most prominent anti-ageing ingredient’.

Dermatologists now say that unlike heavier metals, such as silver, topically-applied copper can be metabolized by the body, and so lower the risk of toxicity.

"Compared with other anti-aging ingredients, the science, safety, efficacy, and clinical validation of copper peptides make it unique,​" says Francine Porter, founder of Osmotics.