CREAM OF THE FLOP
Cherry Healey reveals how pricey anti-ageing creams have NO impact on wrinkles and skin health in BBC documentary
In the UK, men and women spend £2billion a year on cosmetics that promise to improve and transform us
EXPENSIVE anti-ageing creams make no difference in eradicating wrinkles or improving skin health, a new BBC study claims.
In the UK we spend £2billion a year on cosmetics that promise to improve and transform us. Approximately 75 per cent of women and 50 per cent of men moisturise – splashing £500million on hydrating lotions annually.
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Presenter Cherry Healey, 36, told the BBC’s : “Like many of us, I spend a lot of time and money on my appearance. If a product or a beauty treatment tells me it’s going to make me look closer to how I ideally want to look, I am going to try it.”
Cherry teamed up with a group of independent scientists at the University of Sheffield and found skincare items made no difference.
She explained: “Scientific research on moisturisers tends to focus on people with clinical skin conditions, not on people with healthy skin, and not on high-street products. So, we’re running an experiment that, to our knowledge, has never been done before.”
In the trial, 25 people blind-applied one of three best-selling moisturisers from three price ranges twice a day, for three weeks, to one side of their face.
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The under £5 product was Nivea Soft (£1.60 per 100ml), in the £5 to £25 bracket was Clinque’s Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion (£24 per 100ml), and in the £25 and over category was Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentre (£43 per 100ml).
Researchers found that only two of the creams – Nivea and Clinique – increased the level of hydration in the skin.
Cherry said: “Surprisingly, the most expensive cream seemed to be the least hydrating by far. The cheaper creams performed best, adding moisture to the skin and improving the way it felt.”
The second test examined skin health, and whether the creams protected against dryness and irritation. Skin health didn’t improve with any of the products.
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In the third tests, experts were asked to judge the participant’s faces. They didn’t report any improvement to the skin’s appearance with any of the creams.
A scientist from the study commented: “These products only claim to be moisturisers, and, as I’m aware, using a moisturiser is not going to have that long-term anti-ageing effect.”
Cherry added: “We saw no change in the health or appearance of the skin in our three week study. And, any benefit we saw to hydration was temporary. We haven’t seen any evidence that using a basic moisturiser on healthy skin will improve it in the long term.”
A spokesperson for Embryolisse told the BBC the study “was conducted on a small number of people over three weeks”, and claimed “Embryolisse has performed well in many independent tests” where there was “statistically significant improvements in skin hydration”.
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Nivea said they were “pleased that the BBC study found a positive moisturising effect of their cream” and they always “recommend moisturising as a preventative measure against dryness”.
While a Clinique spokesperson said they “support all their product performance claims with the use of clinical and consumer testing”.
In the documentary, Cherry wanted to know if there are any products that will help her skin in the future.
She visited dermatologist Professor Chris Griffiths at Salford Royal Hospital. He said: “Sunlight is the key cause of wrinkles. The main thing that causes wrinkles is UVA, which penetrates glass. Sun exposure is responsible for most of the clinical features we can see in sun ageing. I’d say it’s in the order of 75 per cent responsible.”
MOST READ IN FABULOUS
The other 25 per cent is caused by smoking and pollution, with a small amount attributed to getting older.
Professor Rachel Watson says it’s important to use skin protection daily, even in the middle of winter in the UK. The sun-cream needs to have a high SPF to counter the UVB and also a five star rating to prevent against UVA.
Cherry also visited consultant dermatologist Anjali Mahato who explained the only over-the-counter anti-ageing products that are proven to reduce wrinkles is a class of drugs called Retinoids.
She said: “Retinoids are the only ingredient shown to meaningfully reduce fine lines, wrinkles and pigmentation by boosting collagen production and improving skin cell turnover. Many products simply add hydration, which temporarily smooths out the appearance of wrinkles.”
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She added: “Look for a product that has a minimum of 0.1 per cent Retinol in it. Gradually build up its use and if it’s not causing too many problems with irritation, after a few months upgrade to 0.3 or 0.5 per cent products. Let your skin get used to that and build up to a 1 per cent Retinol.”
Cherry said: “If you want to challenge the signs of ageing, it’s all about sun cream and Retinol.”
Meanwhile, Cherry also enlisted the help of a team of female volunteers and researchers at the University of Sunderland to put leading cellulite treatments to the test.
For five weeks, participants had to blind-test either caffeine cream, dry brushing or a set of toning exercises.
Those who dry brushed saw an improvement in cellulite of 26 per cent, followed by the cream at 15 per cent and exercise at 11 per cent.
In June, Supershoppers presenters Anna Richardson and Andi Osho cut through the scientific jargon often used on posh products.
The Truth About Looking Good airs on BBC1 on 8pm on Wednesday