Medik8 announces breakthrough new vitamin A product
British skincare brand Medik8 has announced the development of a new type of vitamin A – retinyl retinoate or “rRetinoate” – which offers comparable results to retinol, without irritation, and which can be used day and night.
The breakthrough is a result of four years of work and was announced at the Medik8 annual conference this week.
The brand, which is distributed in the UK by SkinBrands, will be launching its first product containing the new ingredient, rRetinoate Youth Activating Cream, in March 2016.
While retinol is recognised as one of the most effective anti-ageing ingredients, without prescription, it is widely known to cause irritation which can be too much for some skins.
Retinyl retinoate was created to address this. A hybrid vitamin A compound made with a condensing reaction of retinol and retinoic acid, this new form of vitamin A, listed in the same class as other natural non aromatic retinoids, is a cosmetic ingredient freely available without a prescription. Retinoic acid (tretenoin), also known as vitamin A acid, is a medicine for acne, also used by many as the ultimate wrinkle buster. It is extremely effective but irritates even the hardiest of skins.
By combining these two virtually identical actives into one new hybrid molecule, retinyl retinoate seems to exhibit features of both. It is clinically proven to be up to eight times better than retinol but without the irritation. Aside from irritation, another drawback of retinol is its light (UV) instability. It becomes inactive when in sunlight which is why many retinol brands say to only use it at night. rRetinoate can be used during the day giving further benefits such as protecting collagen from UV destruction.
The rRetinoate formula is a light cream serum texture, fast absorbing and moisturising and uses only encapsulated retinyl retinoate which, like its unencapsulated sister, is patented around the world. Aspublished, the encapsulated form however works four times faster with results visible after only four weeks of use and it has multiple other benefits.
The science behind retinyl retinoate has been published in several peer reviewed journals including a clinical study in the British Journal of Dermatology. Within this study a pair of invivo trials showed that retinyl retinoate applied twice daily led to results significantly more effective than the placebo or higher strength Retinol in treating periorbital wrinkles. Importantly, no severe side effects were observed. In the doubleblind trial, wrinkles were evaluated by two dermatologists based on a global photodamage score. After 12 weeks the average photodamage score improved for all patients on the retinyl retinoate treated side, compared with the placebo treated side. Further, after only eight weeks, 86% of the patients had decreased photodamage scores with retinyl retinoate treatment, in contrast to 59% of those using retinol.
References
1 Kim H et. al. Retinyl retinoate, a novel hybrid vitamin derivative improves photoaged skin: a doubleblind randomized controlled trial Skin Research and Technology 2011; 17: 380–385
2 Hubbard et al. Reversal of Skin Aging with Topical Retinoids Plast. Reconstr. Surg. 133: 481e, 2014.
3 H. Kim et al. Synthesis and in vitro biological activity of retinyl retinoate, a novel hybrid retinoid derivative Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry 16 (2008) 6387–6393
4 Kim et al. Improvement in skin wrinkles from the use of photostable retinyl retinoate: a randomized controlled trial British Journal of Dermatology 2010 162, pp 497–502 497
5 Fisher Molecular mechanisms of retinoid actions in skin FASER Journal
6 Fisher Molecular basis of sun induced premature skin ageing and retinoid antagonism Nature Vol 379 p335
7 Kim H et. al. Novel anti wrinkle effect of cosmeceutical product with new retinyl retinoate microsphere using biodegradable polymer Skin Research and Technology 2012; 18: 70–76
