Kluless is curious: I was watching the largest shopping channel this morning and they were selling Algenist skin care – both the serum and moisturizer. Apparently Dr. Oz was so impressed with the serum that there was a run on the product and they sold out immediately. This stuff is NOT cheap and before plunking down almost $100 (but available on 3 easy pay and no s/h!!!!!!), I would like to know if it really works. The reviews for the serum was mixed but the moisturizer got pretty decent feedback. Would the moisturizer work as well as the serum based on the ingredients?
The Right Brain responds:
We watched the Dr. Oz clip to understand what was said about this product and found that there were two key claims that were discussed.
Does Algenist reduce wrinkles?
The first claim is about the product’s performance on wrinkles, specifically on the forehead wrinkles. Here’s what was said on the show: it “decreases the length and depth of wrinkles over time so that by day 10 you actually have 25% fewer deep wrinkles.” This is not an unusual claim considering that MOST anti-aging products feature numerical claims about reducing the appearance of wrinkles. Certainly nothing new here!
Does Algenist contain exclusive Alguronic Acid?
The second claim was related to the product having an ingredient that no other product on the market has: alguronic acid made from algae. Looking at the ingredient list for the product we see the following:
Water/Eau (Aqua), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Butylene Glycol, Dimethicone, Pentylene Glycol, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Sorbitan Stearate, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, DI-C12-15 Alkyl Fumarate, Algae Exopolysaccharides, Malus Domestica Fruit (Apple) Cell Culture Extract, Bambusa Vulgaris (Bamboo) Leaf/Stem Extract, Tetrapeptide-21, Pisum Sativum (Pea) Extract, Enantia Chlorantha Bark Extract, Alaria Esculenta Extract, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Biotin, Glucosamine HCL, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil, Ergothioneine, Oleanolic Acid, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone/PEG-10/15 Crosspolymer, Stearic Acid, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Mannitol, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Disodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Aminomethyl Propanol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol.
The LOI reveals the true name of the algae ingredient as Algae Exopolysaccharides. Algurinoc acid is a made up name, by the way. Probably because it sounds like hyaluronic acid. Or maybe because they liked the book Flowers For Algernon. Anyway, the reason this algae stuff is exclusive to this product is that Algenist is owned by the company that makes the algae extract: Solazyme. If that name is familar it’s because Solazyme has been in the news ever since President Obama showed interest in using the algae extract that Solazyme produces as a replacement for fossil fuels. But we’ll stay out of the politics on this one and get back to the question: Is this product worth it? We think that our old friend the Cosmetic Cop said it best in her review of this product: ”the key ingredient alguronic acid isn’t proven, nor is it a better anti-aging ingredient than countless others.” ‘Nuff said.
Final note: the press release cited above says there have been studies comparing Algenist to other anti-aging products. We couldn’t find that data anywhere on their website, but if someone can point us toward it we’d be glad to review their comparison.
Image credit: nationalalgaeassociation.com
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
In the qoute from the show in the first section nothing is said about appearance, they claim that there is an actuall effect? (“decreases the length and depth of wrinkles over time so that by day 10 you actually have 25% fewer deep wrinkles.”)
Isn’t that a little bit different then claiming a reduction of appearance of wrinkles?
@Jenny: Yes, you’re correct about the exact quote from the show. But that was the editor from a beauty magazine speaking, not a direct representative of Algenist. The exact claim from Algenist’s website is: “The appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and pores is minimized.”