Better Aging in 2024: The Power of Protein Fragments for Cellasticity

The Era of Cellasticity: Tackling skin elasticity at the cellular level

Rather than fighting the inevitable and entirely natural occurrences of life – such as time passing, and our bodies and skin aging in the process – there’s been a welcome mindset shift towards embracing the uncontrollable, but still striving to age better, with all the scientific information, tools, and skincare innovations at our disposal. We can do our best to look and feel our best, at any age, without desperately trying to turn back the hands of time.

One vital factor to consider as consumers strive to age better is skin elasticity – or rather, “Cellasticity” – elasticity of the cell, as LipoTrue, a manufacturer of active personal care ingredients calls it. This refers to the capacity of the cell and stress fibers to contract and extend, like a rubber band. Aged skin naturally experiences a decline in myofibroblasts, and thus, reduced cellasticity. In addition, a decrease in collagen and elastin – two major structural proteins that give firmness and elasticity to our skin, plays a key role in the loss of natural plumpness. According to Dr. Sheila Farhang, board-certified dermatologist, “you lose approximately 1% of your collagen production each year after the age of 20, and significantly more post-menopause. Similarly, the elastin in your skin also decreases with age.” Like a rubber band that has been pulled one too many times and has lost its ability to bounce back, aged skin may start to appear saggy and crepey, leading to the formation of wrinkles and fine lines.

If we reinforce the skin’s cellasticity, the ability to stretch and bounce back, this means we can build up the skin’s resilience, to overcome the external and internal factors that occur over the course of life and the aging process. Elasticity is a big contributor to visibly firm skin and an overall youthful appearance. Helping consumers understand and nurture this key aspect of skin health can make a substantial difference in empowering them to age better, and maintain a fresh look over time.

Protein fragments as a powerful solution for boosting cellasticity

Over the last couple of years, protein fragments, or peptides, have emerged as a promising solution for enhancing elasticity. Peptides are short strings of 2-50 amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. They play a vital role in cell signaling, communicating messages between cells to regulate various physiological processes such as growth, metabolism, immune response, tissue repair, and more.

As proteins in our skin degrade over time, they release small fragments, which can kick-start skin repair, to a certain degree. Since peptides are used in the body as a response to skin damage or inflammation to support the natural repair process, it’s no surprise that peptides have been explored as a better aging solution. According to Michael Sherratt at the University of Manchester, however, these peptides are usually released at inadequate levels for actually reversing the appearance of aging skin – which means consumers could really use an added boost from their personal care products. This has led to a boom and upward trend in the use of peptides in skincare and supplements.

So, what are some of the key benefits that consumers gain by leveraging protein fragments (peptides) in their skincare products?

• Stimulating collagen production: Collagen is made of three polypeptide chains, so adding peptides can stimulate and signal to the skin to produce more collagen.
• Enhancing skin barrier function: Peptides play a significant role in strengthening the skin barrier. A robust skin barrier helps retain moisture and protects against environmental aggressors such as bacteria and pollutants.
• Anti-Inflammatory properties: Certain peptides have anti-inflammatory effects that can help soothe irritated skin and reduce redness.
• Improving hydration: Peptides can improve the skin's hydration levels by enhancing its ability to retain moisture. Well-hydrated skin appears plumper and more radiant.
• Releasing antioxidants: Some peptides act as antioxidants, protecting the skin from damage caused by free radicals. This helps prevent premature aging and supports overall skin health.
• Boosting levels of fibrillin-rich microfibrils: Last but not least, studies have shown that peptides substantially increase the levels of key protein structures called fibrillin-rich microfibrils, known to make skin more elastic.

You might be wondering about the last point – what is fibrillin microfibrils? While we’ve heard of collagen and elastin, one lesser-known structure, serving as the main component of the fibrillin microfibrils, is also heavily responsible for loss of cellasticity – Fibrillin. Fibrillin forms the scaffold for elastin deposition in elastic fibers, connecting the basal keratinocytes with the elastic fibers in the dermis. This is key for the structural integrity, flexibility, and remodeling of the skin. Fibrillin stretches and coils, triggering the skin’s TGF-beta repair (wound healing) response.

Introducing LipoTrue's Fragments Remastered line

Leveraging protein fragments that target this lesser-known Fibrillin microfibrils specifically is an innovative and highly effective way to prevent the loss of cellasticity. To spotlight one manufacturer focusing on peptides and Fibrillin, LipoTrue has recently released a new line of protein fragments called Fragments Remastered, obtained from the vertical farming of wild plants. Under their technology platform “Wild plants as biofactories,” they produce biomimetic proteins (synthetic compounds identical to amino acid sequences synthesized by humans) in these plants, through a non-GMO, transient expression technology.

Through this technology, a synthetic human gene fragment is cloned into an expression vector, transcribed in vitro into mRNA, and then inserted through the leaves into the cytoplasm of the vegetal cells. This represents an innovative plant model system for the transient expression of peptides, polypeptides, and proteins.

LipoTrue’s Fragments Remastered line consists of three ingredients for skincare formulations, all with protein-like efficacy, and with a protein booster efficacy – but all produced in plants: 

Frag-Brillin Remastered

This skincare ingredient rebuilds elastic resilience by stimulating fibrillin microfrils and the formation of elastic fibers. Ex vivo and in vitro test results showed: +30% fibrillin-1 microfibrils thickness and -47% fragmentation, +93% F-actin, +23% aSMA in stress fibers, +26% elasticity in epidermis, and 25% in dermis. In vivo, 20 female volunteers between 50-60 years old showed improved firmness and elasticity in the face and body, and -14% reduced wrinkle depth in just one hour.

COL-Frag Remastered

Col-Frag remastered acts as a building block for collagen synthesis, boosting collagen production and tightening the skin while preventing senescence. In vitro and ex vivo testing focused on epidermal compactness, collagen building, and reinforcement of the binding sites of collagen-fibroblasts, showing +53% epidermal adhesion and +150% procollagen I. In vivo, female volunteers between 47-62 years old illustrated that this ingredient has a synergistic effect and higher efficacy than Ascorbyl Glucoside in reducing wrinkles, delivering a facelift effect, and enhancing skin brightness. They saw a reduction of wrinkle depth of -19% in 30 minutes, and a -2.54 mm lift in 85% of the volunteers after 28 days.

COL-4-Frag Remastered

Col-4-Frag also focuses on collagen, weaving the collagen IV net, reinforcing the strength of the dermo-epidermal junction, and promoting the nourishment and tightness of dermis and epidermis, particularly on the neckline. Ex vivo test results showed: +60% collagen IV vs. non treated explants. The in vivo test performed on 43 females between 44-80 years old, showed a -21% neck wrinkle volume in 56 days, and +15% décolleté firmness in 7 days.

Peptides from wild plants: meeting consumer demands for high performance and sustainability

The main reason protein fragments are so effective in our skincare products and supplements, is that they are key to our natural bodily processes and functions. The issue with this, however, is that these proteins traditionally must come from humans or animals, which is a chicken-egg problem. Due to potential ethical reasons and the anticipated shortage of animal proteins, which have a high carbon footprint, the personal care industry has looked elsewhere for sustainable sources.

LipoTrue’s innovative method of obtaining their ingredients through vertically-farmed wild plants presents a world of advantages when it comes to sustainability – without compromising on the effectiveness of proteins obtained from organisms. While being biomimetic to human protein fragments, these ingredients are all non-GMO, vegan-certified, endotoxin-free, and use sustainable technology throughout the entire process.

For example, the vertical farming of these wild plants, in a closed and protected environment, is inherently sustainable in that pesticides are not used, and the conditions are all controlled and optimized (in terms of water, energy, space, temperature, light, and ventilation). Furthermore, LipoTrue uses biodegradable plant pots and recycles used soil.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the power of protein fragments in skincare is revolutionizing the way we tackle skin elasticity. The latest innovations, such as the Fragments Remastered line by LipoTrue, are not only enhancing the efficacy of these products at the cellular level, tackling fibrillin and stress fibers to promote firmer and more resilient skin, but are also driving a more sustainable approach by sourcing ingredients from wild plants. This dual focus on advanced science and environmental stewardship offers consumers effective and eco-friendly solutions for aging better in 2024 and beyond. As we continue to harness the potential of protein fragments, the future of skincare looks both promising and sustainable.

👉Join the fragments revolution by exploring LipoTrue’s Fragments Remastered line on Covalo!