Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme ($250.00 for 1.7 oz., EstéeLauder.com) is one of the company’s newest anti-agers, advertising fantasies such as “imagine if the appearance of aging could be postponed indefinitely”. (For a full video from the company, click here.) However, how effective is Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme? More importantly, is it worth the money?
The “Youth Molecule” – ResveratrateTM
Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme contains Resveratrate™, which, according to Estée Lauder Co., is a “more potent, stable and time released form of Resveratrol, and was shown by in vitro testing to provide 6 times more protection from environmental damage, more than doubling the survival rate of skin cells.”
Resveratrol, naturally found in red wine, grapes, plums, peanuts, and other plant products, has been shown by Howitz. et al in 2004 to bind to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). The binding of resveratrol to NAD prevents NAD from binding to sirtuins, which is the real anti-aging strategy here. Sirtuins prolong the life of the fibroblasts (skin cells) by turning off unnecessary gene expression (i.e., when the fibroblasts aren’t expending more energy than they need to, they will theoretically last longer). This means that, if the theory is correct, sirtuins should prolong the life of the fibroblasts in your skin, enabling you to make collagen naturally for more years than if you did not treat your skin with resveratrol or resveratrol-like complexes.
Are there any downsides to using ResveratrateTM?
Long-term studies on the effects of resveratrol and similar derivatives have not been conducted. However, using any product with niacinamide or nicotinic acid (vitamin B3 derivatives) in conjunction with Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme may negate the effects of Resveratrate™. This is because, unfortunately, sirtuins are inhibited by niacinamide. Therefore, your attempts to increase levels of sirtuins in your skin with a calorie restrictive diet or a cream containing sirtuins may be mostly futile if you use a moisturizer with niacinamide or nicotinic acid.
One question regarding resveratrol is that, if activating sirtuins is the key to great skin, why are niacinamide and nicotinic acid (which inhibit sirtuins) so great for the skin?
Aren’t there cheaper sources of resveratrol?
There are. Avon Ultimate Age Repair Elixir, with double-concentrated Pro-SirtuinSX, is available from Avon.com or your Avon consultant for $54.00, and the technology is also available in lesser concentration in Avon Ultimate Age Repair Night Cream for $34.00. (Full review of Avon Ultimate Age Repair Elixir here.) Although Avon’s Pro-SirtuinSX does not claim to have six times the impact of resveratrol like Estée Lauder’s Resveratrate™, 100% of reported testers on Avon.com have said that it firms the skin and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles after two weeks of use.
What about the other ingredients in Estée Lauder ReNutriv?
The other ingredients seem to be hydrating (cyclopensiloxane, glyceryl distearate, petrolatum, and butylene glycol, to name a few), with a few antioxidants (grape seed extract, tocopheryl linoleate). There are also South Sea Pearls, which give the skin a temporary iridescent sheen, and calming red & brown Algae. Still, for $250, you could buy the SPF 15 day cream of the most potent antioxidant, CoffeeBerry, Avon Ultimate Age Repair Elixir for night, and still have change towards a state-of-the-art hydrator too for night, like Atopalm MLE Cream, a new moisturizer that, according to the blog of Dr. Leslie Baumann (one of my all-time favorite derms), “includes hydrating fatty acids, ceramides, and cholesterol — the very same substances that make up most of your skin barrier.” In other words, Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme contains little more proven anti-aging ingredients than Resveratrate™, whose potency over the much less expensive Avon Pro-SirtuinSX has not yet been confirmed.
So should I buy Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Youth Creme?
It depends on how much you want to invest in the idea that activating (actually not inhibiting) sirtuins can prolong the life of your skin’s collagen-producing cells. I personally sit on the fence on this one until more research comes out, because products with niacinamide benefit the skin, even though niacinamide naturally inhibits sirtuins. At any rate, if you want to try this new development, I think Avon Ultimate Age Repair Elixir with double-concentrated Pro-SirtuinSX is probably a better buy for about one-fifth the cost, but again, without studies comparing it to Estée Lauder’s Resveratrate™, it is hard to tell. Product rating: 6/10 (very overpriced, a positive with novel technology with Resveratrate™, but few other anti-aging ingredients)
Coming up tomorrow: Product review of Estée Lauder ReNutriv Ultimate Lifting Creme (yes, that is different…)