At this weekend's FACE 2015 (the leading aesthetic conference) a breakthrough way of aiding the penetration of skincare actives was unveiled and I think it's going to be a genuine game-changer and have a massive impact in the skincare market.
Innoture Aesthetics revealed patches that are embedded with polymer 'needles' which are applied to the skin to create micro channels for the transdermal delivery of actives. The actual delivery method used is similar to mirco-needling but the patches are a less invasive and more consumer friendly technique.
This information is so hot of the press that the product name and packaging hasn't even been finalised. What I do know is that the first launch is for patches to treat the lines around the eyes (crows feet) and they will have polymer 'needles' of 0.04mm in length. If you consider that the shortest needle length in derma-rollers tends to be 0.2mm, you can get an idea of how short these polymer 'needles' will be. In fact, they're going to be so short they'll be difficult to see and it's unlikely you'll feel them on the skin. This means no pain and no down time.
The expected directions for using the patches are that you place them on the outer edges of the eye area, leave them on for a few minutes, take them off and apply your skincare active and then replace the patches for another 5 minutes. The patches have been tested with a Hyaluronic Acid (HA) serum and an independent trial showed significantly improved performance compared to when the serum was used alone. The acutal results were a 46% patient benefit across 4 treatment criteria.
Though HA was used for testing, it will be possible to use other actives in combination with the patches. What's also exciting is that the crow's feet patches are just the first in the pipeline and we can expect a raft of products that will be taking advantage of this transdermal delivery system. It's possible for the patches to be made into any shape and size and for the polymer 'needles' to be of any width and length. For example, this means that they can be made for the forehead or areas of the body. Other cosmetic uses are likely to be for lightening darks circles or pigmentation and for the treatment of scars.
More importantly, though not so relevant on a beauty blog, the patches will have plenty of healthcare uses such as for pain relief and diabetes.
I actually read at the end of last year that skin delivery patches were in development in Singapore and the US and I made a mental note to keep look out for more news on them because of the obvious potential. However, I'm delighted that it's going to be a British company that's going to be first in making them commercially available.
I will update nearer the time but expect to see Innoture's micro-channelling patches available from September/October in beauty salons and clinics.
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