So where does our current molecule, Retinal, akaRetinaldehyde fit into the family (btw, here is a nice visual family tree about who is who)? Remember that retinol needed two conversion steps to become retinoic acid? Yes, you are right, Retinal is the intermediate step betweenretinoic acid and retinol, meaning it needs only one conversion step to become active in the skin. If we go with our royal familyanalogy, Retinal is Prince William, directly next in line to the throne. Once retinal is converted, it becomes retinoic acid and does the same things we detailed in our tretinoin description. In a nutshell, it is everything you expect from an anti-aging superstar such as decreased wrinkles, smoother, firmer and more elastic skin. Anti-aging: According to ex-vivo tests (meaning not on humans, so do not trust it too much) Biosaccharide Gum-1 can stimulate a protein in our skin called sirtuin-1. This is supposed to help our skin cells to live longer, and function better. Madecassoside can also help in burn wound healing through increasing antioxidant activity and enhancing collagen synthesis. Asiaticoside was shown to increase antioxidant levels on rats skin when applied at 0.2%.

The first and biggest concern is that if EGF is so good at stimulating cell proliferation, how does it relate to cancer? Isthe definition of cancer not "cells proliferating out of control"? Most experts agree on this answer: EGF ismitogenic (= stimulates cell proliferation) but notmutagenic (= does not alter the cell to make it cancerous) .If you do not have cancer, you will not get cancer from EGF. However, if you have cancerous cells, EGF will help them to spread, just like it helps healthy cells. So if you have a lot of moles, excessive UV exposure in the past, or if you have any of the skin cancer risk factors, we suggest you should think twice about using EGF products.The same is true if you have psoriasis, a skin disease related to the abnormal growth of epidermal skin cells. You do not want to add fuel to the firewith EGF. Another thing SAP might be able to do is to help with acne. A 2005 study showed in vitro (in test tubes) that 1% SAP has a strong antimicrobial activity on evil acne causing P. acnes and it also showed in vivo (on real people) that 5% SAP can strongly improvethe inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions of acne vulgaris. In fact, the results were comparable or even slightly better than with 5% benzoyl peroxide.Centella Asiatica also often shows up in products that try to treat cellulite or striae. Of course, it cannot make a miracle but it might have some effect via regulating microcirculation and normalizing the metabolism in the cells of connective tissues.

Last, but not least, we want to mention a pretty big (but subjectively evaluated), Avene (the French pharmacy brand famous for its Retinal products) sponsored study that examined the tolerability and efficacy of a 0.1 Retinal + 6% glycolic acid product in the treatmentof acne. The product was added next to the standard anti-acne regimen of1,709 patients for 90 days and the study concluded that the formula was both very well tolerated as well as effective next to other standard anti-acne medications such as benzoyl peroxide and antibiotics.Dhaliwal S, Rybak I, Ellis SR, et al. Prospective, randomized, double-blind assessment of topical bakuchiol and retinol for facial photoageing. Br J Dermatol. 2019;180(2):289-296. doi:10.1111/bjd.16918 Da version: this is the size that is claimed to be able to absorb into the skin and plump up wrinkles, so it is used mainly as an "anti-aging ingredient" Also, a manufacturer done in vitro study shows that carnosine might havecollagen-boosing magic power. However, the 2017research paper also mentions that even though Carnosine is a small molecule, it is water soluble and does not penetrate the skin past the top layers so we have some doubt if thecollagen-boosting works in real life. We could find one anti-aging study made on real people that mentions Carnosine, but it was combined with a bunch of other anti-aging actives so it is pretty muchimpossible to know what Carnosine did or did not. The brand AHC highlights the fact that the collagen and elastin used in this cream are “quasi-human”. They are indeed ingredients that the skin recognizes because they’re already naturally present in the deep layers of the skin. But I want to reassure you, AHC didn’t use the skin of real people to get these ingredients! They were produced through bio-technology. The 9 types of collagen used in this formula have the particularity of being very small molecules (unlike collagen molecules usually found on the market), which can penetrate much deeper into the skin than classic collagen molecules, for an immediate plumping effect!