Novadiol is
formulated to deal with the post-menopausal skin, or the skin of women over 50. And to
measure the extent to which older women have lost skin density, Vichy have invented a
small measuring instrument, a Densi-score, which is applied to the soft skin of the upper
arm. It allows an estimate to be given of
severity of loss of skin density.
Vichy
claims that collagen and elastin in the skin will show an improvement in general plumpness after using Novadiol on the
face and neck, morning and evening, for one month. If
Novadiol is used over six months the results should be even more striking. Novadiol
can also be used for the sensitive area around the eyes. And at £17 for a 50 ml jar the
price is not excessive.
Novadiol
can be used on its own, or over a retinol anti-wrinkle cream (be more careful of
retinol products in the eye area), and with a sun protector on top if necessary. Novadiol has only a tiny Sun Protection Factor of
5 included in its formula. In summer months,
Vichy recommend a SPF 15 cream for the face at all times, such as one of their Capital
Soleil creams or sprays.
A number of
companies are trying to bridge the gap between cosmetics
and pharmaceuticals, and name their products cosmeceuticals for instance. Vichy ,with the
same intention, prefer to call their products dermo-cosmetics and to distribute them
solely through pharmacies such as the Boots chain.
Vichy have
gone out of their way to persuade the dermatologists of the usefulness of their new
product , and their promotional literature has an introduction from Dr. Andrew Griffiths
of St Thomas Hospital, London, on the general problem of skin thinning in older women.
They then announce their new ingredient, Phyto-Flavone, made up of soya isoflavones for
cellular renewal, cinnamic acid which they claim increases collagen synthesis and
phloroglucinol trimethyl ether, which stimulates renewed cells. A six month trial on 60
women over 50 years of age, showed improved skin density
in 70 % of cases, restored plumpness in 76% of cases, and neck toning in 75 % of
cases.
The British
Association of Dermatology has written up the discovery of isoflavones as a new
addition to the ingredients already known (such as retinal) in the “correction of
hormonal skin ageing”.
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