Immanence Integral Dermo Correction

I recently had a rare find: an anti-aging skin care line based on comprehensive mechanisms of aging, developed through research, and validated in several published articles.
Causes of skin aging often get simplified.  Many companies address two or three underlying mechanisms and then claim that the product provides a comprehensive solution.  I have been trying to delve into the science of skin aging, but I had never come across a truly comprehensive overview of skin aging (or its solutions) until reading a journal article authored by by Dupont, Gomez, Leveille, and Bioldeau (2010) outlining the comprehensive mechanisms involved in skin aging. Better yet, these researchers devised a product line with actives to combat each of the mechanisms behind skin aging: Integral Dermo Correction, known as Integrale Dermo Correction (IDC) in Quebec, where the line is frequently the best-selling anti-aging line.  For IDC, Dr. Dupont and other researchers and dermatologists devoted over 5 years of research to the development of the Regen-16, a molecule complex targeting what they have defined as the 16 main mechanisms of skin aging. Dupont and colleagues’ detailed outline of the mechanisms involved in skin aging is summarized below.

EPIDERMIS

• Hydration--reduced with skin aging, which leads to changes in structural and mechanical properties of skin; strateum corneum drying out precipitates wrinkle formation
• Barrier function--poorer hydration leaves barrier more vulnerable to: stress, irritation, and inflammation
• Oxidation--skin's natural antioxidant defenses decrease with age and sun exposure, leading to more free radical cellular damage with age and sun exposure
• DNA Damage and Repair--reactive oxygen species (ROS) can generate DNA damage that prevents proper replication and precipitates aging
• Energy Production--ROS damage accumulated with aging alters mitochondrial funtion and cell metabolism, contibuting to cell senesence (i.e., diploid cells cease to divide)
• Oxygenation--skin oxygenation reduces with aging, negatively impacting the complexion
• Immunity--skin can become immunosuppressed with aging and sun exposure, leading to increased susceptibility to viral infections and skin cancer
• Pigmentation--skin aging and photoaging tend to lead to irregular pigmentation characterized by hypopigmented areas adjacent to hyperpigmentation (e.g., age spots)
• Keratinization--the process through which the epidermis forms its outermost layer, the stratum corneum; with aging, keratinocytes become more rigid as well as more fragile

 DERMAL-EPIDERMAL LEVEL

• Skin cohesion--anchors the epidermis to the dermis; the collagen IV here is key for the mechanical stability of skin, and it decreases with age, leading to weaker skin and, in turn, more wrinkle formation

 DERMIS

• Cell anchorage--with aging the extracellular matrix (ECM) becomes disorganized, contributing to wrinkle formation
• Protein modification--with aging, proteins of the ECM become more vulnerable to post-translational modifications affecting their structures and functions (modifications such as glycation)
• ECM turnover and integrity--aging leads to a reduced number of fibroblasts with a reduced capacity to produce collagen and elastin fibers; also with aging, both collagen and elastin fibers become more fragmented due to increased activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and neutrophil elastase, respectively
• Inflammation--MMPs and elastase and degradation of collagen and elastin all lead to inflammation
• Microcirculation--skin aging alters microcapillaries,contributing to vasodilation and increased vessel permeability, which in turn leaves skin more susceptible to edema and dark circles

If you are anything like me, you get through reading all of the above and feel even more hopeless about the state of your aging skin, but do not despair.  These authors did not stop at outlining all these mechanisms; they dedicated years to develop a comprehensive, empirically-supported integral anti-aging formula with actives to address each outlined mechanism behind skin aging.  This special comprehensive blend of actives, Regen-16, is featured in Immanence Integral Dermo Correction (IDC) products.  To see a list of actives featured in Regen-16 and how they correspond to mechanisms of aging, I highly encourage you to take a look at Table 1 in this article.

The individuals behind IDC were kind enough to send me products for review.  Coming soon, I will report on my own trial with the complete Integral Dermo Correction System.

Citation

Dupont, E., Gomez, J., Leveille, C., & Bilodeau, D. (2010, March). From hydration to cell turnover: An integral approach to antiaging. Cosmetics and Toiletries, 125(3), 50-62.