Vichy's Improved Anti-Ageing Miracle Plus a 10 Day Challenge!

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Vichy Laboraties media event. On the agenda was a closer look at the not new but improved Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10 Supreme. Renowned aesthetic medical practitioner Dr Alek Nikolic was present to educate fellow bloggers and beauty editors on the technicalities of the serum such as the ingredients used this time around and its effects on the skin. At 24, I am beginning to get stuck into a skincare routine that will correct current concerns while also slowing down the process of ageing and in some cases preventing unwanted skin problems from occurring. In so doing, I have added the Vichy LiftActiv Serum 10 Supreme to my daily routine as an effective premature ageing buster. 

Dr Alek Nikolic began by describing factors that make the skin look old. Namely the texture and colour of the skin; glow and luminosity, symmetry (think firmness and structure) and wrinkles (includes fine lines and crows feet). The new and improved formula claims to help visibly improve the ten known signs of ageing. We'll see how it  is expected to perform by taking a closer look at some of its key ingredients...

1. Fragmented Hyaluronic Acid (HA)

This is a new addition to the formula! Fragmented hyaluronic acid is made up of three times more water than regular HA and is 16 times smaller meaning the important rhamnose (will elaborate on this ingredient next) will be able to penetrate the skin deeper. 

HA molecular structure

In case you're thinking "WTF is hyaluronic acid?"

Hyaluronic acid is a polymer (a big molecule made up of smaller repeated molecules) naturally produced in our bodies. It's composed of two sugars (N-acetyl-glucosamine-6-phosphate and glucuronic acid) that our cells produce throughout their lives. These two sugars alternate between each other to produce

what we call hyaluronic acid and is present in our joints (to keep them nimble) and is the main molecule of the extracellular matrix of the skin (which keeps it from sagging and developing fine lines and wrinkles). Everyday, an estimated one third of HA in our body is produced and degraded and as we age, the production rate becomes lower than the rate of degredation. Added to this natural process, free radicals such as UV exposure, pollutants and chemical degrade HA even further. Our joints become painful and premature signs of ageing begin to show. This is why aestheticians love products with high levels of HA.* 

So, between high molecular weight HA and fragmented HA (low molecular weight HA), the latter is made up of small pieces of high molecular weight HA and is normally used in cosmetics as these pieces activate some biological pathways leading to anti-ageing effects.* 

2. Rhamnose 

Rhamnose is another naturally occurring sugar and is promoted as an anti-wrinkle agent known to have skin soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. The smaller fragmented HA molecules means rhamnose is able to penetrate more deeply into the skin and is number two on the ingredients list.