A revolutionary anti-wrinkle pill, which goes on sale today in UK, claims to shrink crow’s feet by up to 30%.
The three-times-a-day tablet is thought to be the first treatment to work on the deepest layers of the skin.
The revolutionary pill, which was developed by British scientists,showed in tests on 480 women it reduced heavy lines around their eyes by up to 30% within 14 weeks.
The anti-wrinkle pills cost £35 (about $54) for a month’s supply, contain a blend of nutrients which the researchers say attack the genetic causes of ageing.
As women get older, their oestrogen levels fall and their skin produces less collagen. The collagen is a substance that makes the skin smooth and elastic.
Majority of anti-wrinkle creams work on the top layer of the skin, the epidermis, and many have been criticized for being ineffective.
Dr. John Casey, who led the Unilever team of specialists which developed the pill, said it worked by activating the genes which produce oestrogen and collagen, reducing wrinkles and sun damage in the deep level of the skin, called the dermis.
“We used ingredients which have been shown in the scientific literature and our own tests to combat the causes of skin ageing and kickstart old skin cells into behaving like young skin cells.
“We spent five years testing the ingredients on hundreds of women and found this combination could reduce deep wrinkles within 14 weeks. There is nothing currently on the market which can do that.”
The main ingredients of the revolutionary anti-wrinkle pill are vitamins C and E, isoflavones from soya, lycopene from tomatoes and omega-3 from fish oils, which are all currently sold as food supplements.
During tests run in the UK, France and Germany, researchers took 4 mm deep biopsies from the skin of 110 of the women. The specialists found those taking the tablet produced significantly more collagen than those who were given a placebo.
On average, crow’s feet were reduced by 10%, but in some cases they shrank by 30% within 14 weeks.
The study findings were published in New Scientist magazine and were also unveiled at the Society for Investigative Dermatology conference in Atlanta and have been sent to scientific journals for review.
As the nutrients found in the new pill are all in use already, the new tablet do not need regulatory approval and will be sold in branches of Dove Spa from UK, starting with the next month and on the spa’s website from tomorrow.
