Sequoia sempervirens, called coast redwood, is so named because it is native to moist, foggy, coastal plain areas along the Pacific coast. The Coast Redwoods are among the tallest trees in the world, living to hundreds and sometimes thousands of years old (the oldest one is 2200 years old. Its bark is particularly stunning and turns a bright orange on older trees.
Would it fascinate you to learn that this majestic beast also seems to have anti-aging powers?
Naturally sourced ingredient manufacturer, Naolys, just released a new ingredient called MReload that claims to firm and protect the skin, helping the skin to age more slowly
and to reduce wrinkles.
Clinical Study Results
Their clinical study showed a reduction in wrinkles after 28 days on a sample of 22 men aged 41 to 60 years with different types of skin (regular, dry skin, combination skin or oily skin). At a concentration of 0.5% in a solution applied twice daily:
- 61% said wrinkles appeared to be reduced,
- 65% said fine lines appeared to be reduced,
- 52% said their skin looked firmer,
- 57% said their skin looked younger,
- 74% said their skin looks brighter.
In vitro test results attributed the following:
- Firming effect is due to an increase of the proteoglycans rate of 18% (average) and the collagens rate of 19%
- Moisturizing effect is due to an increase in water retention in epidermis by 29%, after 30 mins and an increase in transepidermal flow by 20% after 60 mins
- Antioxidant effect is due to a decreased in the creation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by UVA and UVB, 26% after 3 hours and an increase in antioxidant enzymes, 15% and catalase activity 18% after 3 hours
- Soothing effect is due to a decrease in the inflammation mediators IL1-alpha by 21%, II-6 by 18%, PGE2 by 17%
Reduction in crow’s feet after 28 days was measured and a decrease in wrinkles was found at three levels:
- Decrease of the total surface of wrinkles of 21%
- Decrease of the number of wrinkles of 14%
- Decrease of the length of wrinkles of 19%
Men’s skin is different from women’s skin
The most interesting thing I found about this ingredient is that it is targeted to males. Naolys shares in their ingredient brief that men’s skin is naturally thicker and oilier caused by a 10x higher level of testosterone than women and firmer due to a greater quantity of collagen. These three factors (thickness, sebum, and collagen) enable the ageing of men’s skin to be slowed down; but, from the age of 40, this accelerates and deep wrinkles can appear relatively quickly, the area around the eyes is particularly affected.
Sources
Naolys, “MReload Sequoia: Better protection for skin against ageing”, (2018, http://www.naolys.com/media/Naolys_MReload_Sequoia_EN.pdf)
Arbor Day Foundation, “Coast Redwood Sequoia sempervirens” (https://www.arborday.org/trees/treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=1079)
Eye Know Beauty 