How does it do that? Ole Henriksen Truth Revealed.

When I saw this product I had to laugh  because I have never heard of an ingredient called ‘happiness concentrate’ (Omega 3 Happiness concentrate is one of the key actives) and thought that it must be some kind of joke. Anyway, judging by my reaction I guess they are right – it does make you happy!  Let’s just say that it got my attention and made me stop, pick a jar off the shelf and study it a little more closely.  Before long I was saying “OMG, it can do all of THAT….. Show me how?”  It’s research time. 

Ole Henriksen Truth Revealed

 

Not only will this fancy pants moisturiser make you happy it will also tighten and firm your skin, stimulate collagen synthesis, fight free radicals and protect you from the sun.  Well that impressive list of claims is possible due to the following inclusions – here we go…. 

Sunscreen Agents. 

Avobenzone, Oxybenzone (benzophenone-3), Octinoxate (Octyl methoxycinnamate)  –  Commonly used chemical UV absorbers that are a little old-fashioned these days but still do the job and is one of the only options open to US companies. The blend offers broad-spectrum protection. 

Octocrylene – Stabiliser and efficacy booster for avobenzone which helps to prevent the actives becoming unstable due to light exposure. 

Wrinkle Buster 

Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5  (Syn-Coll from Pentapharm (DSM) that used to be called tripeptide-3 just to confuse us all) – This is also known as synthetic collagen due to its ability to boost collagen synthesis and plump up the skin.  

Sodium Hyaluronate is also present and will help to fortify the skin’s structure as this is a tissue lubricant and a component of the extracellular matrix. Building this up improves skin elasticity and firmness. 

Free Radical Fighting Power. 

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate – This super sonic vitamin C derivative is oil soluble and has better stability than many other vitamin C derivatives. This helps to mop up free radicals and will also brighten a dull complexion by its slight whitening action. 

Calcium Ascorbate – Another Vitamin C derivative that is often used in food to boost the anti-oxidant powers of the product. 

Tighten your face. 

Algae is the key active here or to be more specific it is the Pullulan (another Pentapharm active Pepha-Tight). This forms a thin layer on the skin which tightens it and leaves it visibly smoother. It’s ability to form a film over the skin also helps it to protect the skin from environmental pollution. 

Happy face, happy life! 

Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil, Schinus Terebinthifolius Seed Extract help to repair and maintain the skins natural barrier function due to their high concentration of essential fatty acids. It is this ingredient (from Laboratories Serbiologique – Euphoryl) that helps keep you smiling. Apparently this active stimulates the production of dopamine, the happiness molecule to make you feel all loved-up.  The guys who manufactured this active tested its effects in a laboratory on neuronal cells. They found that adding a little of this to a test solution had a significant positive effect on dopamine production. Tests were then carried out on people to see if the extract had an effect on the skin.  This test showed a boost to the skins microcirculation proving that it is doing something! 

The Verdict. 

I have to admit to not having tried this personally yet (the $65 for 50g price tag is a little steep for an every-day purchase) but on paper this looks good. The rest of the formulation consists of a few more antioxidants, some natural extracts and a few structural components to keep the cream creamy, all of which look OK.   This would have been a difficult product to pull off as it has ingredients that need to be active on the surface (sunscreens), actives that have to get right into the skin (antioxidants and skin-rebuilders) and then actives that have to form a film on the skin (tighteners) therefore this would have to be a multiple layer emulsion to work well.  

All of these actives have the potential to do good things but like any cosmetic, the trick is in getting the correct dose to the correct site in a form that the skin cells can use. That is the million dollar problem. 

Would I give it a go?  Of course, who can resist a bit of happiness in a jar?  Sounds delightful (and orange is one of my favourite colours).