First Anti-Wrinkle Pills Appear Promising

Pop a pill for better skin and fewer wrinkles? It appears so according to the New Scientist, which reports the first anti-wrinkle pills appear to be effective at reducing crow’s feet in trials.

The three-a-day capsules use blends of natural foods extracts that are said to work by activating the genes that improve skin tone.

Independent researchers told the New Scientist that the preliminary results are intriguing, but stressed the need for published results in a peer-reviewed journal.

Created by Unilever in the United Kingdom, the company commissioned four studies to test the pills, and 480 post-menopausal women in Britain, France and Germany participated in the trials.

After 14 weeks of taking the capsules, crow’s feet became 10 percent shallower on average, and wrinkles diminished by 30 percent in those who responded best to the treatment. Furthermore, one study showed that one fifth of those who took the pills had more fresh collagen — a protein that gives skin its tone — in the deepest skin layer compared to those who received a placebo.

Dr. John Casey, who led the team that developed the anti-wrinkle pill, said, “We used ingredients which have been shown in the scientific literature and our own tests to combat the causes of skin aging and kick start old skin cells into behaving like young skin cells.” The pills contain compounds from soya, tomatoes and omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins C and E.

Unilever plans to launch the anti-wrinkle capsules next month in spas in the UK, Spain and Canada. No approval from these countries’ regulatory authorities is needed because the capsules’ extracts are already in use, and the company isn’t claiming that the capsules have health benefits.

How do the anti-wrinkle pills work?

As estrogen production drops in women as they age, collagen is lost more quickly than it can be replaced, resulting in more wrinkly skin. The pills help combat this by boosting the production of collagen, smoothing the skin from the inside out.

Learn more about non-surgical ways to fight wrinkles and the signs of aging.

Image: Pills by Lucy Reynell, on Flickr