SkinCharge CLR™: Addressing skin aging in the digital era

#1. How does CLR Berlin generate new ideas for new product development? 

It essentially starts with the following realization: we make cosmetic active ingredients for the benefit of the consumer. This means that we need to understand their needs and concerns in detail. This is a big challenge as the consumer is, first and foremost, an emotional being who does not necessarily think rationally about her or his needs. 

Translating the consumers’ needs into scientific goals which the new active ingredient needs to achieve is the first step in our New Product Development (NPD) processes. These scientific goals encompass the cell biology and biochemistry of skin and the design of relevant in vitro and ex vivo studies. They ensure relevance for the consumer we are developing the active ingredient for. The same goes for the in vivo, i.e., clinical studies we perform on people.

#2. Can you give us an example?  

We are launching our new product, SkinCharge CLR™, at in-cosmetics global this year. This product addresses skin aging and skin longevity in totally new ways. It addresses an important consumer need which the cosmetics industry has not seriously addressed yet. Most of us spend more time behind a screen like, a computer screen, a tablet or mobile phone, than we spend sleeping. 

Consumers understand that there are many negative aspects to the vast amount of screen time they have, we all have. They see this as a concern, but a concern they cannot do much about. Screen time is simply part of our daily life. Everybody is aware of our eyes drying out when looking at a screen for a long time (“digital eye strain”), or the impact it has on the quality of sleep. Consumers understand that our daily use of screens has negative impacts on our body and skin in a holistic way. They are beyond accepting that blue light from screens directly impacts their skin. At best, this is only part of the bigger picture.

#3. Can you elaborate a bit more on how screen time is connected with skin aging?  

The concerns of the consumer are, importantly real and relevant. There is a clear correlation between the amount of screen time people have and skin aging features. These can be linked through digital eye strain and the reduced quality of sleep, both of which are described to have an important negative impact on skin which leads to the acceleration of skin aging. 

Sedentary lifestyles, where physical activity is strongly below what is deemed to be healthy, are also clearly linked with increased screen time. And it is well known that sedentary lifestyles have an impact on skin, accelerating skin aging. The same goes for the social and psychological aspects correlating with increased screen time. Just think of social media. Their algorithms are designed in such a way that many of us cannot help but become “addicted” to them, further increasing screen time and further feeding psychological stress. It is a vicious circle where the acceleration of our skin aging process is simply a biological consequence. It is literally all connected.

#4. In your studies, were you able to show the correlation between elevated screen time and skin aging?  

Yes. We could clearly see correlations between the hours people spend on a screen and skin aging features. For instance, we used a validated AI-technology to determine “eye age,” which is based on “PhotoAgeClock” research, where a deep model was trained on thousands of high resolution images. “Eye age” is determined by the AI’s analysis of cropped pictures of the area around the eyes, where lines, wrinkles, pigmentation changes and microtexture are determinants for eye age. 

People with a high screen time, 8 hours or more, show a significantly higher eye age than people with a low screen time, 3 hours or less. Other skin aging parameters, determined with cutometer or AEVA-HE also showed similar results.

#5. What kind of ingredient is SkinCharge CLR™?  

SkinCharge CLR™ (proposed INCI: Vicia Faba Oligopeptides) is obtained from a careful extraction and a subsequent hydrolysis of the proteins from the beans of Vicia faba. As a plant, Vicia faba constantly adapts to daylight and darkness, which is tightly linked to photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. 

Vicia faba is a species which successfully implements active and rest phases. This is what skin which is exposed to a lot of screen time (“active phase”) also strongly requires: it needs its rest phases to be as effective as possible. Skin needs to regenerate, i.e., recharge as efficiently as possible. This is what SkinCharge CLR™ was developed for. It helps rejuvenate the skin of people with high screen time.

#6. What can you tell me about the studies you performed with SkinCharge CLR™?  

In vitro studies with SkinCharge CLR™ showed that “drained” skin cells were enabled to produce higher amounts of collagens, hyaluronic acid, and elastin. At the same time, we saw that SkinCharge CLR™ could reduce the expression of destructive proteases which break down collagens. Then, ex vivo studies were performed on explants of human skin. The results from our in vitro studies were confirmed and more than that. It was shown that SkinCharge CLR™ virtually supports skin to recharge itself. 

In our in vivo studies, the treatment with SkinCharge CLR™ showed a plethora of anti-aging, pro-longevity benefits for people with a lot of screen time. Eye age was reduced, virtually to the level of the eye age of people with a low screen time. In addition, cheek fine lines, crow’s feet wrinkles and eye bags were also reduced significantly. Skin firmness and elasticity were increased. All, for people with elevated screen time.

#7. Did you also perform consumer studies with SkinCharge CLR™ ? 

We did. We conducted a placebo-controlled 14-day study with people who spend at least 7 hours per day in front of screens. Interestingly, at the start of the study, for both groups of volunteers, the average skin feel was described as “tense.” 

After 14 days, the treatment of skin with an emulsion containing SkinCharge CLR™, the skin feel had dramatically improved and was now comfortable. This was not the case for the volunteers who used the placebo. With this new approach of behavior tracking, a link can be made to cosmetic properties and the kind of consumer that benefits from using and integrating this active in his or her personal lifestyle.

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About Harald van der Hoeven    Harald van der Hoeven holds a Master's degree in Organic Chemistry from the University Leiden, The Netherlands. He started to work in the personal care industry in 1999 where he specialized on R&D and the formulation of skincare and suncare cosmetics.  In 2006 Harald joined CLR Berlin and took over as Director R&D, then changed to the position of Technical Marketing Director between May 2013 and August 2020, where he was responsible for technical and scientific support of CLR's customers and still heavily involved with CLR's R&D department.  Harald focuses on basic science, including dermatology, cell biology, phytochemistry, biotechnology and cosmetic formulation technology and the application of this science, making it both usable for the cosmetic chemist and understandable for the consumer. Since September 2020 he has held the role of Director of Product Design and Development at CLR.

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