Nobel Prize-winning technology is coming for your skin care

At a certain point when every influencer, heiress, and celebrity has decided to join the beauty bubble and launch a skin-care brand, one starts to wonder if products are worth the hype. What’s actually behind them, anyway? Do they exist simply to expand someone else’s personal brand? Are they worth our attention? Our expendable income? Times like these make scientific studies, Nobel prize-winning discoveries, and vetted teams willing to invest in real innovation shine a bit brighter through the clouded expanse of options. Enter Clé de Peau Beauté, which just launched one of the most innovative collections on the market that doesn’t dumb down the real issues—like skin burnout—or just think about the surface.

With seven new players including one hero (spoiler: it’s the serum) the Key Radiance Care layout is designed to tackle the effects of serious stress on your skin. “Think about when your brain is stressed–how do you look when you’re completely stressed out?” asks Jason Leong, the brand’s national training executive and formulation guru. “Skin cells are like the brain of your skin—internal and external stress lower skin intelligence. When this happens, skin cells become out of balance, which leads to visible damage and aging.” The concept led to the team’s newest innovation—a nine-ingredient illuminating complex at the heart of all their products—that uses state-of-the-art technology to give your skin a second chance.

What is autophagy and why do we want it?

To combat exactly this kind of one-two punch on your complexion, Clé de Peau’s scientists tapped a Nobel Prize-winning concept that dermatologists are quick to praise. “Internal stressors like fatigue, physical illness, and negative emotions can wreak havoc on our bodies and skin. The fact that both internal and external stressors are addressed is both novel and innovative for the skin-care space,” explains New York City-based dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD, unpacking the logic for a couple of the collection’s active ingredients: trehalose and kelplex. “Trehalose is a key ingredient that helps to activate autophagy. This is a Nobel prize-winning concept of cellular detoxifying,” Dr. Engelman notes. “When autophagy is activated, cells act younger. When cells act younger, skin looks younger—more radiant, smoother and less wrinkled.” As of right now, one of the only figures in lock-step with this autophagy epiphany is Omi Skincare’s Naomi Whittel, whose original venture, Reserveage, was a key player in bringing ingestible collagen (a now booming business) to the mainstage. It’s promising stuff.

Of course, we’ve let go of the concept of “anti-aging,” because that’s impossible, illogical, and antiquated. But the idea of letting your cells stay spry, hella active, and youthful at any age? Interested. “Kelplex, which is derived from algae, helps bolster skin regeneration,” says Dr. Engelman. What seems to be causing universal excitement about the collection is that second chance we mentioned. “It is a little-known fact that cellular damage can be corrected with the proper tools. Both the body and skin have internal repair mechanisms that can reverse previous damage,” she explains. “When these processes are bolstered by active skin-care ingredients, the net result is younger looking, healthier skin. Additionally, in skin that is not yet damaged, these formulae help protect against future injury.”

Why does skin regeneration and cell quality mean so much? There are little gatekeepers—aka ion receptors—that help keep things moving correctly, the way they did before they started to get tired, or filled with toxins, or totally freaked out by your fight-or-flight response to yet another hectic day. “Internal stress causes a reaction in our bodies that is known to destroy these gatekeepers,” says Leong. “When this happens, cells become overstressed and out of balance, signs of aging become more apparent.” For this, a little gem named Perilla Extract really shines, helping to stave off cell damage caused when our bodies are too amped up from internal stress.

“The main purpose of the Key Radiance Collection is to keep skin cells at their most intelligent state, which enables them to determine between good and bad stimuli,” Leong explains. “The Serum ($190) is the hero product within the collection—it has the ability to give instant visible results, making your skin smoother, in addition to boosting other skin-care products,” explains Leong. While the products were built to exist as a system, with the lotions, for instance, taking aim at the moisture barrier while the emulsions and creams are meant to protect and defend skin, you’ll still see results if you just opt for just one, and often they’ll be instantaneous.

“One of my favorite products that I use on both myself and my clients is the serum,” says Los Angeles-based celebrity makeup artist Monika Blunder, who’s trusted with the faces of powerhouse beauties like Jessica Alba and Amanda Seyfried. “I love the instant glow it gives. It’s so lightweight and doesn’t feel heavy—it works to really prep the skin before any makeup application.” And for a brand that still buzzes in the industry for their cult-favorite, best-selling, award-winning concealer, there’s an art to all this science.

You’re going to want to brush up on autophagy, because you’ll be hearing a whole lot more about it , and FYI your skin can get malnourished too, so load it up with good stuff.