Study: High-street cream really does improve wrinkles

AN anti-ageing cream sold on the high street is clinically proven to improve wrinkles, scientists said last night.

The Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum can improve the appearance of skin damaged by everyday exposure to sunlight, according to a year-long clinical study published in the British Journal of Dermatology.

The serum is the “more intense” sister product of a wildly popular anti-ageing cream which sparked a rush on the chemist chain two years ago.

The reputation of the original cream — the No7 Protect & Perfect Beauty Serum — received a boost when the BBC TV programme Horizon highlighted a study showing it stimulated production of fibrillin, a protein promoting the skin’s elasticity.

Stocks of the product immediately sold out after the March 2007 broadcast and 50,000 British women subsequently signed up to waiting lists for the serum.

Scientists at the University of Manchester, who carried out the study on the original serum, then went on to look at whether its sister product — previously No7 Refine & Rewind, now called No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum — could stand up to scrutiny of its performance in the long-term.

Researchers in the dermatology department conducted a clinical trial involving 60 volunteers which showed that the second cream produced a significant improvement in facial wrinkles after 12 months of use.

Some 70% of the volunteers using the product showed a marked improvement in the appearance of sun-aged skin over the test period, with significantly fewer wrinkles after a year of use compared to those using a placebo.

The product’s effect on the skin was also demonstrated by changes in the levels of fibrillin, which is damaged by the effects of the sun and ageing.

The study showed skin treated by the product underwent similar structural changes to those seen following treatment with retinoic acid, which is known to repair the signs of photo-ageing.

The trial, funded by Boots, was carried out in the same way a medicine would be tested, with those conducting the research “blind” to what the products were. The University of Manchester said that results would have been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal regardless of the outcome.

Dermatology professor Chris Griffiths, who led the research, said: “This trial was conducted to the very highest of scientific standards.

“The results show that, when used long-term, the product produces a clinically discernable improvement in wrinkles in photo-aged skin. This test paves the way for larger studies with more statistical power.”