Does Avon ANEW Clinical Pro Line Eraser Really Work?

FK1221 asks…What is A-F33? According to AVON “It’s unlike AHA. Unlike Retinol. It works to deactivate collagen blocking ( what does ‘deactivate collagen blocking’ mean?) and help effectively boost collagen production in just 3 days. The look of deep wrinkles begin to fade in just one week.” What part does the ingredient Acetyl Tyrosinamide play in the formulation?

The Right Brain responds:

The product you’re referring to is officially known as Avon ANEW Clinical Pro Line Eraser and is new to the market as of September 2012. The magic ingredient Amino-Fill 33 is actually the Acetyl Tyrosinamide that you asked about.

What does “decrease collagen blocking” mean?

Our skin contains an enzyme called PLOD-2 that is partially responsible for ensuring our skin has an adequate amount of healthy collagen. As we age the production of this enzyme drops which causes collagen production to decrease. Less collagen means more lines and wrinkles. Supposedly, A-F 33 works to increase the levels of this enzyme so collagen production remains that youthfully high levels. In other words, the ingredient decreases the chemical that stops new collagen from being created.

Does it really work?

As always, it can be tough to separate the science from the marketing spin when it comes to anti-aging products. We haven’t been able to track down anything on this ingredient that was published in the peer-reviewed technical literature but we did find information from Avon about a poster session presented by one of their researchers at the Academy of American Dermatologists. Here is a summary of some of the key points along with our comments.

In vivo testing showed that the formulation “increased the thickness of the stratum corneum…and compressional elasticity of skin.”

Without being able to review the actual data it’s unclear whether the skin thickening was the result of plumping from moisturization or a more fundamental long-term structural change. It’s also impossible to tell the magnitude of the result. While the researcher noted that the results are statistically significant there is no indication of how large the improvement was. Therefore it’s impossible to tell if this product causes enough improvement to be noticeable to the average person.

In vitro research showed A- F33 was shown to stimulate the production of both collagen and elastin.

In vitro essentially means the testing was done on cells in a test tube not on “complete” skin on a real person. Chemicals applied directly to a solution of living cells have the opportunity to interact with those cells in ways that are much different than a product that is applied to the top of your skin. Therefore this kind of testing is directional at best. Plus, you’ll notice that the ingredient A-F33 was tested, not the finished product. So even if A-F33 works we have no way of knowing if the finished product contains enough of the ingredient to be effective.

ANEW Clinical Pro Line Eraser improved “fine wrinkling, pigmentation and skin texture better than the commercial treatment.”

The study notes that the ANEW product works better than a ”commercial anti-aging wrinkle treatment.” Unfortunately the reference does not disclose which anti-aging product was tested. If this product works better than a retinol containing product we might be impressed. However if the other anti-wrinkle product was simply a moisturizing lotion the results would be less meaningful. There’s no way to tell without access to the full study.

The Beauty Brains bottom line

We haven’t seen strong enough evidence to convince us that this product is worth its high price tag. It was would be really helpful if Avon was a little more forthcoming in the details of their testing or if they published the results in a peer-reviewed journal. Nonetheless we are a little more optimistic than all Paula Begoun’s BeautyPedia site which cranked out a scathing review of this product. Unlike many other products there seems to be at least a nugget of science behind this treatment. Try it at your own list.

Reference: Avon data

Clinical Pro Line Eraser Ingredients

WATER/EAU

GLYCERIN

ETHYLHEXYL ISONONANOATE

OCTYLDODECANOL

DIMETHICONE

BUTYLENE GLYCOL

POLYMETHYL METHACRYLATE

TRISILOXANE

HYDROXYETHYL ACRYLATE/SODIUM ACRYLOYLDIMETHYL TAURATE COPOLYMER

ISOHEXADECANE

ACETYL TYROSINAMIDE

DIMETHICONOL

PEG-100 STEARATE

LAURETH-4

POLYSORBATE 60

POLYSORBATE 20

ASCORBIC ACID

BHT

SODIUM HYDROXIDE

DISODIUM EDTA

RETINOL

PHENOXYETHANOL

METHYLPARABEN

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