Q&A with Dr Mike Bell, Boots Skincare Scientific Advisor
What is a serum?
A serum is a product that can be seen as the ‘treatment’ stage of a skincare regime. Of all the products in a skin care regime, a serum contains the highest concentration of active ingredients that sink well in to the skin. “Serums are designed to deliver the key ingredients into the skin more effectively,” says Dr Mike Bell, Boots Skincare Scientific Advisor. “Serums are not “all rounders” like day creams. They are targeted at very specific concerns such as lines and wrinkles in the case of the No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED Serums. The active ingredients and delivery system are focused on this concern and there are no superfluous ingredients.”
No7 serums should be used after cleansing the face, on dry skin, in the morning and again in the evening. Once the serum has been absorbed, it should be followed with an appropriate No7 anti-ageing moisturiser. For daytime, this would be a product that offers broad spectrum UV protection to prevent further premature ageing.
All four No7 anti-ageing day creams provide SPF15 and unbeatable 5-star UVA protection.
Why is it important to have a skincare regime, using both a serum and a cream?
You can think of a serum as a treatment that forms the backbone of your skincare regime, but your skin also has other needs, and this is where using a moisturising cream after your serum can help. The difference between moisturisers and serums is that moisturisers are formulated to keep the skin hydrated by putting a protective barrier between your skin and the outside world; serums however have a different purpose. Serums are lighter than creams, so they can be quickly absorbed to deliver the key ingredients into the skin effectively. All No7 clinically proven serums contain the highest levels of Matrixyl 3000 to help boost key components of the skin’s dermal architecture (e.g. proteins like collagen and fibrillin) to keep your skin looking plump and youthful. To maintain the serum repair combine it with broad spectrum UV protection delivered by all No7 SPF15 5-star UVA day creams.
What is fibrillin? Why is it important?
Fibrillin is a vital protein in the skin. It forms beautiful, candelabra shaped structures and in the words of Dr Mike Sherratt, lecturer in Molecular Biochemistry at The University of Manchester and one of the world’s leading experts on this protein "fibrillin, together with elastin, makes elastic fibres which act like springs in the mattress of the skin".
The Skin Research Team at The University of Manchester has shown that, compared with other proteins such as collagen, fibrillin is particularly sensitive to damage caused by exposure to ultraviolet light, hence says Dr Sherratt "fibrillin breakdown acts like a canary in the coalmine of skin damage". As fibrillin performs many functions in skin, including communicating with skin cells, Dr Sherratt says that "breakdown of fibrillin may prompt an avalanche of tissue damage". Because of this, fibrillin – the extent of it, and the quality of it – is potentially even more important for middle-aged skin than collagen.
What are the key ingredients in the new products? Which ones are new and what do they do?
What we have done with the new No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED Serums is to build on the existing, clinically-proven formulas of the original No7 Protect & Perfect Serums and improve them in order to achieve the maximum effects in reducing fine lines and wrinkles, with ingredients carefully chosen for their ability to repair, enhance and protect the skin.
The repairing ingredients are specialised peptides. A peptide is a string of amino acids (which are the building blocks of proteins) and in very specific combinations, they have particular functions in the skin.
Matrixyl 3000 Plus - In the original serums, research with The University of Manchester proved that No7’s blend of peptides drives repair of fibrillin in the skin. In the new No7 serums, levels of Matrixyl 3000 have been increased for new No7 Protect & Perfect Intense ADVANCED Serum and new No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED Serum. In addition, Matrixyl 3000 has been combined with next generation di-peptide (see below) – this ingredient combination is called Matrixyl 3000 Plus. New clinical trials show that the new advanced serums containing Matrixyl 3000 plus deliver are even more effective at reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles
Acetyl di-peptide - Another peptide, which is a new ingredient in the new No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED Serums, is di-peptide (or acetyl-di-peptide). This is complementary to Matrixyl 3000 working to help provide more holistic skin repair. It helps reduce crosslinking in skin, a factor that gives rise to stiffer, less supple skin as it ages. Put together with Matrixyl 3000, it forms a unique peptide blend that stimulates collagen and fibrillin repair in the skin. In total the new combination of Matrixyl 3000 and di-peptide results in more than 30 times the repairing peptide concentration in both of the new No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED Serums when compared to the original serums.
Salicylic acid - This is a new addition to the No7 Protect & Perfect ADVANCED Serum. Salicylic acid helps exfoliate the skin by gently dissolving the bonds that hold old dead skin cells in place on the skin’s surface. This helps to keep pores clear, resulting in clearer and blemish free skin, important benefits for the younger consumer just getting into anti-ageing.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) - Hyaluronic acid is a natural component of the skin, responsible for providing volume or ‘stuffing’ in the skin by virtue of its ability to bind water into the skin. In ageing, Hyaluronic Acid is lost from the skin. It is a new ingredient in the new No7 Protect & Perfect Intense ADVANCED Serum and is included because of its water-binding ability. This means it helps to provide surface firming of the skin.
Patented Antioxidant complex - Everyone is encouraged to eat more antioxidants for the sake of their health. In skincare, as well as everyday diets, antioxidants are vital to neutralise unstable free radical molecules generated by environmental aggression, such as the sun’s UV, pollution and stress. The antioxidant complex contains Vitamin C, extracts of mulberry and ginseng for wide-ranging antioxidant protection. In vitro models have shown that this complex is effective at protecting fibrillin from UV damage.
Rice peptide and alfalfa complex - This protects the skin by inhibiting the action of Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) - enzymes which break down structural proteins such as collagen and fibrillin within the skin.
Put together, all these ingredients mean the two new formulas are even more powerful. Clinical studies and consumer trials prove just how effective - click through to the Results section for the details.
What exactly does ‘clinically proven’ mean?
In skincare, clinical studies are conducted to establish the efficacy of a product, to work out how well it works. This is done in order to support claims made on behalf of the product.
A clinical study is a controlled, scientific experiment, a piece of research that follows a specific protocol. Properly conducted, the trial will provide solid evidence to show – in the case of skincare – just what difference a product can make to the skin, and how great that difference is. Ideally, a clinical study should be:
- Single or Double blind - in single blind studies the investigator does not know what has been used on each site they are measuring or observing. The participants, if they are in the test product group, for example, will know that they are using a product – but do not know what it is. In double blind studies, where typically a test and a control product will be used, neither the participants nor the investigator measuring the effects know which site has been treated with the test product and which received the control product.
- Controlled - many studies still compare results at different time points back to baseline measurements. Whilst this is a useful measure of benefit, it does not take into account the effect that time alone (i.e. seasonal changes) or just being on a trial may have on the skin or on the volunteer’s behaviour. Therefore it is best practice to include a control group (either using a comparative product, a product similar to the test product but without key active ingredients, or no treatment) to which the test group is compared at each time point so that it is clear that any difference is driven by the test product itself.
- Randomised – participants are allocated randomly to the treatment they receive by computer-generated randomisation programmes.
There are also a number of other elements that need to be taken into account:
Validated techniques – any assessment or measures used need to validated, so that the data generated can be trusted as a true measure of the product’s performance and not generated in error.
Appropriate study duration - the study should be of a length that matches the skin’s natural timelines for improvement. For true anti-ageing effects, we know that restoring key skin components or activity will take weeks or months, not days, so it is important to measure product benefits over weeks or months.
Relevant product usage - products are used in the same way by volunteers in the study as those who have bought the product are directed to use it at home.
Relevant volunteer groups – volunteers should be used who are similar to the consumers who will eventually use the product, and on enough volunteers for the results, through statistical testing, to be considered representative of that larger number of consumers.
Because of the care that needs to be taken throughout, a clinical study is a lengthy and expensive procedure. Participants are selected with care, and are recalled frequently to check on their progress and ensure excellent compliance.
Interestingly, while in consumer trials where there is less control over usage and larger numbers of participants are required to enable conclusions over product benefits, in clinical studies not so many participants are required in order to produce a compelling result. If the product benefits are large enough, robust, clinically significant results can be achieved with panel sizes of between 50 and 100 people
What are No7’s principles when it comes to creating clinically proven products?
When the scientists at No7 say a product is ‘clinically proven’, it means they have submitted the products to blind (double blind if possible), randomised, controlled clinical studies (explained above), for a rigorous and clinical assessment of whether they do the job they were designed to do, and live up to their claims.