Why we made our Age Confidence™ serum

“There are times in a business when a product opportunity and need just presents itself so emphatically, that it becomes impossible to ignore,” says our founder, Sarah, of our latest launch, the Age Confidence™ NAD+ and TriPeptide serum. 

It’s one of our core values as a sustainable brand: to only create a product when it’s truly bringing something new to the table. That’s why we’ve never had a serum for mature, ageing skin in our collection – until now. 

“Our Age Confidence™ capsule has had a serum-shaped hole in it for so many years. We always wanted to fill this need for our customers, but it had to justify its existence,” says Sarah. 

“We don’t ever believe in making a product for the sake of it. It has to be bringing something to the skin party that is unique or better than anything else out there, or what’s the point? The world does not need another serum.”

A leap forward for skin longevity 

So why now? Over the past few years, there’s one word that has been pushing its way to the forefront of the wellness space: longevity. A fresh name for an age-old concept, longevity science is essentially about prevention rather than cure – the focus being on increasing healthspan (years lived in good health) alongside lifespan (total years lived). 

Instead of tackling age-related issues as they come, experts are working on how to optimise health in the first place in order to age well and improve quality of life. 

It’s no wonder, then, that skin quickly entered the longevity chat. After all, what better way to read how well your body is functioning than its biggest, most visible organ? Your skin tells tales, making skin health an essential part of the picture. And it soon became clear that the same principles of promoting long term health could apply to skincare – giving us a whole new approach to ageing. 

“Three years ago I was sitting in a friend’s kitchen having dinner with her and a visiting friend from New York. That friend happened to be the Global Head Of Consumer Trends at EY, and she was telling us about a landmark new supplement that promised to turn the dial on ageing and deterioration in cell health,” recalls Sarah. 

“By the time I reached the end of my glass of wine I was already thinking about how this could be applied to skin. The next morning we went to work.”

NAD+ = the next generation of skincare  

The ingredient in question? NAD+ (full name Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide), a co-enzyme believed to be the key to slowing down ageing. In a nutshell, NAD+ is necessary to energise every cell in your skin and body so that they can function properly.

Your body produces it naturally, but as you age those levels decline – which is a little like your cells’ batteries going flat. Leading to all the changes in your skin that you’d expect with age. 

As we thought about our next formula through the lens of longevity, the question was - how do we boost NAD+ to keep skin cells healthier for longer? 

Along came Sunflower Sprout Extract – a new biotech ingredient that was presented to our cosmetic chemists just two years ago. They knew you couldn’t apply NAD+ itself to the skin, but this COSMOS-approved active was proven to stimulate NAD+ production – recharging the skin at a cellular level to slow the signs of ageing. 

"Every function in your cells requires energy, and NAD+ is critical in order to create ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate), which helps boost that energy," explains John, our lead cosmetic chemist and Head of R&D.

"What's exciting is that this isn't about targeting one sign of ageing, such as fine lines. This is about optimising the health of skin cells, so that they're fully functioning like they do when you're younger – delaying the ageing process in a way we've never seen before."

And this was the reason we needed to make the serum our range had been missing. “It is my belief that this is the ingredient that is going to change the face of skincare and be the next Hyaluronic Acid, Retinoid or Peptide, in terms of its ubiquitousness and provable benefits,” says Sarah.

“In fact I believe it beats all of these ingredients hands down.” 

Making it our own 

Groundbreaking ingredient found, it was time to formulate our first ever serum for ageing skin. And thanks to biotechnology our chemists had plenty to play with. Seventeen formulations later, they landed on a combination of Sunflower Sprout Extract, a TriPeptide Complex, Centella Asiatica (Cica), broad spectrum Hyaluronic Acid and prebiotic Inulin. A rich variety of actives that support the skin’s health and structure at every level. 

With such a unique ingredient profile, we wanted the serum to feel different too – to reflect the serious step up in science that got us here. And this posed its problems.

“For a natural cosmetic, creating a soft, transparent, lightweight gel is a significant challenge. While this is easily achieved with synthetic ingredients (acrylates), natural gelling agents— primarily gums — don't provide the desired aesthetic,” says John. 

“We found that most natural gums either offer good clarity but lack the right viscosity, or they create a tacky, jelly-like feel instead of a smooth flow; some give good viscosity but become translucent. We had to extensively test various combinations of natural gums to overcome these limitations.”

It resulted in our most lightweight serum yet – with a clear, gel-like texture that sinks into the skin fast without leaving a tacky residue. 

Redefining ageing 

The excitement for this launch has been bubbling for months – but while the innovation was about slowing down ageing, we stand by our ethos that age is not something to be fought. Which, in a competitive industry, is a tricky stance to take. We needed the name to be true to our values, and already had an Age Confidence™ collection – but we questioned whether it was still the right message. 

“We thought long and hard about renaming it to 'bring it up to date', but then realised we were tinkering where we just didn’t need to. Age Confidence does what it says on the tin,” explains Sarah. 

“We want to help people feel bloody great in their skin, and boost their inner confidence as a result. Arming them to feel that they can show up feeling their most formidable. And only the positive sense of that big word and its big meaning - being impressively bold, large, powerful and capable.

"Because so many of us don’t, so much of the time. Often because self consciousness about how we look is robbing our attention away from the things that matter, and that will bring us true joy and a sense of personal fulfilment.”

Shop our Age Confidence™ NAD+ and TriPeptide Renewal Serum here