Old age is not avoidable. We are all going to get old – the trick is to do it gracefully! Just to be very clear – we aren’t ageist. We just want to help people retain their youthful glow for longer.
EVOLUTION MEETS MODERN SCIENCE
Esse takes long-term skin health very seriously, and ageing is a long-term process. Our approach has roots in evolutionary first principles, but we use modern science, employing advances in biotechnology, to help us mimic the conditions we evolved for.
Humans evolved as hunter-gatherers, so we must consider the conditions of this lifestyle as most natural for our bodies. Studies on hunter-gatherer communities have consistently indicated that they are happier and healthier than modern humans. There are elements of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that we have lost in the modern world. It is well-established that many of the changes brought by modernisation have resulted in detrimental health outcomes.
THE REWILDING JOURNEY
This is why we want to rewild the skin – return it to the microbially rich and diverse state for which it evolved. Unfortunately, we can’t return to this state in a hunter-gatherer context. There is simply not enough left of the natural environments in which our ancestors thrived. However, with recent advances in biotechnology, we can mimic these conditions, providing skin with exposure to beneficial microbes and building the diversity of our microbiomes.
We believe that there are many aspects and challenges of modern life that have resulted in accelerated ageing. We seek to bring a truly natural solution to this problem, bringing the wild back to clients, even those in the heart of city life. To do this, we use biotechnology, offering skincare that is effective in the short-term, as well as in the long-term.
Esse is driven by sustainability in all its facets, including sustainability for the client. We want people to address the root causes of accelerated ageing, really improving the state of their skin to look their very best in old age. We don’t sacrifice long-term skin health for short-term results.
UNDERSTANDING THE SKIN AGEING PROCESS
To fully understand how our products improve ageing outcomes, we need to unravel the fundamentals of skin ageing – we need to understand the problems we’re trying to solve. We pay careful attention and explore the concepts of skin ageing by looking at the effects of four major aspects:
- Skin physiology
- Inflammation
- Barrier function, and
- The skin microbiome
We look at ways in which these four aspects impact each other, and we create complex products using biotechnology to assist skin in achieving this natural balance which has been disrupted by modern lifestyles.
ANTI-AGEING HEROES
Whilst the entire Esse range is formulated and geared for reducing the effects of ageing, we want to highlight two of our ageing heroes and how this approach is proving to be highly effective in treating skin.
1. Probiotic Serum
The Probiotic Serum delivers its most notable benefits with three species of live Lactobacillus probiotics. These are stabilised in a Jojoba Oil base and are activated when exposed to the water on the skin’s surface.
Jojoba Oil contains fatty acids and wax esters that mimic sebum composition and provide a nutrient source for beneficial skin microbes. All three Lactobacillus species in the Serum have been shown to:
- Improve barrier function by increasing the quantity and quality of tight-junctions;
- Protect from pathogens by secreting antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and by competitive exclusion; and
- Attenuate inflammatory responses by reducing production of inflammatory cytokines, and/or by downregulating the expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).
During independent studies, the Probiotic Serum has been tested for skin firmness and skin elasticity to show its effects on anti-ageing. Results show:
- An increase in skin firmness by 16% in 28 days.
- An increase in skin elasticity by 9% in 28 days.
2. Resurrect Serum
This multi award-winning serum is the anti-ageing solution for sensitive skins. The Resurrect Serum makes use of an extract of Myrothamnus flabellifolia, the ‘resurrection plant’, wild harvested in Namibia.
This plant can survive long periods of drought and will revive when water becomes available again. To avoid DNA damage during these desiccation periods, the plant employs a high level of antioxidant protection. The population of Myrothamnus used by Esse has an extremely high content of the polyphenol 3,4,5-tri-O-galloylquinic Acid, which provides this antioxidant activity.
Also included in the formulation is Hyaluronic Acid which provides hydration, reduces inflammation, and improves delivery of other actives. Bakuchiol offers anti-inflammatory activity and reduces collagen degradation. Gamma-aminobutyric Acid (GABA) relaxes the muscles under the skin to reduce wrinkles.
During independent studies the Resurrect Serum has been tested for wrinkle depth to show its effects on anti-ageing. Results show a reduction in wrinkle depth of 13% in 28 days.
Discover these two products and the entire Esse Range here
