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Daily Express
Anti-ageing products which aim to mimic Botox.
THE beauty world has been buzzing about the newly-launched Lift BTX Serum by Oxynergy Paris, £59 (0845 299 7662). The product claims that rather than having your muscles frozen by injection you can achieve a similar anti-ageing effect applying the serum from the comfort of your own bathroom.
However, before you dash to the beauty counter, consider this: there are many creams and serums which claim to freeze muscles and restore the face to a magically unlined state.
A common factor is that the name tends to sound like Botox. Pretox, Boxin and Cosmetox are just some to watch out for. So do they work?
“No cream can exactly copy Botox because it won’t penetrate through the skin’s top layer to the muscle,” says cosmetic doctor Dr Michael Prager. “There may be some effect but it’s unlikely a cream can emulate an injection.”
He suggests looking out for two ingredients, both amino acid peptides. “Argireline is often referred to as the ‘freeze’ ingredient. It is considered a safe alternative to Botox and shows a reduction of wrinkle depth of up to 30 per cent if you use a cream containing 10 per cent argireline.”
The second ingredient is matrixyl. “Some research shows that products containing three per cent temporarily produce a significant reduction in wrinkles.” Concentrations of such active ingredients are likely to be very small so check.
Lift BTX Serum infuses the skin with such Botox-like peptides. It contains a new ingredient, acetyl octapeptide- 3, which claims to be 30 per cent more active than argireline.
Alternatives include Medik8 Pretox 20, £50 (beautyisskin deep.com), which contains the peptides.
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