The science behind No7’s latest skin innovation
Created following 15 years of research into skin ageing and repair with the University of Manchester, No7’s new Future Renew range comes with lots of expectations. But is it worth the hype?
With waiting lists in the tens of thousands, and a ton of research behind it, No7’s Future Renew has already received plenty of attention for its breakthrough science. But is this really different or better than other hyped or groundbreaking skin innovations?
First off, with 37 studies on over 4,200 people, including two clinical trials and 23 user trials, the science for the Future Renew range is pretty overwhelming. More than half (51 per cent) of the total testing group had skin of colour so it is also No7’s most comprehensive study yet. The Reversal Serum, the cornerstone of the range has been clinically proven in a blinded split-face controlled trial to reverse the appearance of multiple signs of skin damage across a range of skin types and tones, including fine lines, wrinkles, lack of luminosity, dryness, uneven skin tone and loss of firmness. According to their findings, 97 per cent of women in the clinical study had improvements in the appearance of multiple (3 or more) visible signs of skin damage.
And why? Well, back in February I was lucky enough to be just one of two journalists to get the chance to meet No7’s head of science research Dr Mike Bell to go through the findings. Conducted over 15 years – in conjunction with the University of Manchester with whom they created the Perfect & Protect range – what Dr Bell and his team have found is a world-first, a super peptide blend proven to harness the skin’s own natural repair process.
What is a peptide?
Over 20 per cent of our bodies are made of proteins which in turn are comprised of amino acids. Collagen, a key component in healthy skin, contains thousands of amino acids but as a topical treatment, many are far big to penetrate the skin. When they are damaged they break up into peptides, which are small amino acids, which in turn act as a key signal that there is damage going on and they need to repair it.
How does it work?
“In the skin, you’ve got normal ‘packmen enzymes’,” explains Dr Bell, “these peptides tell the skin to repair and that’s a natural repair process. These enzymes are there naturally in the skin, but in older or damaged skin the packmen go rogue and start taking bites out of molecular parts of the skin indiscriminately.” And while they’ve been working with peptides in their skin ranges since 2003, (they have their own optimised blend of peptides already in other ranges), it’s very focused on lines and wrinkles, says Dr Bell. “The issue is that it’s not holistic and not based on anything naturally happening in the skin.”
“Peptides are powerhouses of efficacy,” Dr Bell adds, “but every brand has them. The question was, can we identify what those signal peptides are that are naturally present in the skin that repair the damage? Can we synthesise them and can we commercialise them, making new chemical entities?” So along with the University of Manchester, they used cutting-edge R&D across several fields of science and technology including advanced robotics, mathematical modelling, bioinformatics, machine learning, cell biology and cosmetic science to identify 2,900 proteins in the skin, about 200 of which are found in the dermal layer which are easily damaged.
They then narrowed it down to 27 proteins. They then worked with scientists using algorithms to find the peptides they could synthesise. The challenge was to find a peptide small enough to penetrate the skin. Of the 27, they found 19 that could. They tested them and narrowed it down to eight that worked powerfully on repairing the skin, two of which they found they could synthesise. They then combined both into a blend, the “super peptide” component that has become the world’s first peptide technology of its kind.
Already presented at world-leading scientific conferences this spring including the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Conference in Louisiana, the British Society for Investigative Dermatology (BSID) Annual Meeting in Glasgow and the International Societies for Investigative Dermatology (ISID) meeting in Tokyo, they discovered there was another bonus too. The new super peptide looks set to be one of the most active and tolerated skincare ingredients on the cosmetic market as unlike other regenerative actives like retinoic acid, it seems to work for even the most sensitive skin.
What is the new range?
The No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal Serum (50ml - €54.95 / 25ml - €44.95)
This is the cornerstone of the range and as well as the super peptide complex, comes with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, mulberry and hydrolysed rice proteins. According to their research, the serum has proven to reverse visible signs of skin damage in just four weeks, including everything from the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, uneven tone and texture, dry skin, and less elastic and firm feeling skin.
No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal SPF 40 Day Cream 50ml - €44.95
With an SPF40, it works to protect against UV and reverse visible signs of skin damage, as well as dryness and loss of elasticity. As well as the SPF40 and the super peptide blend, it contains an antioxidant blend, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and rice proteins with a promise to keep skin hydrated for up to 72 hours,
No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal Night Cream 50ml - €44.95
As well as the new super peptide blend, the night cream comes with shea butter, niacinamide and hyaluronic acid.
No7 Future Renew Damage Reversal Eye Serum 15ml - €34.95
Designed to target the delicate eye area, the eye serum promises to reverse visible signs of skin damage in eight weeks.
The No7 Future Renew range is available nationwide at Boots stores and Boots.ie/no7
