For Expanscience, beauty and well-being must be considered holistically. This approach is perfectly in line with the market’s growing expectations for solutions combining effectiveness, emotional well-being, and environmental responsibility. With this in mind, the company’s Cosmetic Active Ingredients division has developed Epionine® Bio, an innovative active extracted from tea oil camellia (Camellia oleifera), a widespread shrub in China, highly prized for the oil extracted from its seeds.
Well-being for the body and mind
Epionine® Bio stands out for its holistic approach, which focuses on the skin-brain axis, to break the vicious circle of skin and emotional imbalances. This ingredient specifically targets skin discomfort, in particular dryness, irritation, redness and tingling. All of these symptoms impact not only the skin’s appearance but also emotional well-being.
Laboratoires Expanscience’s innovation targeted the HPA (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) axis, responsible for cortisol secretion, and the SNS (sympathetic nervous system) axis. Scientific studies have shown that excess cortisol alters the skin’s barrier function, worsening dryness, and irritation, while the sympathetic nervous system amplifies the body’s response to stress by releasing catecholamines and neuropeptides, exacerbating skin symptoms. Epionine® Bio contributes to the regulation of these mechanisms, helping to soothe the skin and associated emotions.
Holistic clinical tests
But the major innovation lies in the tests used to measure the effectiveness of the active. In addition to in vitro and ex vivo tests, which highlighted Epionine® Bio’s ability to inhibit cortisol, its anti-inflammatory action, and its benefits for reinforcing the skin barrier, Laboratoires Expanscience used an innovative set of holistic clinical evaluations.
Conducted in collaboration with a team specialising in neuro-psychology, these studies investigated not only the physical effects of the ingredient but also its psychological impact.
Firstly, the mirror test confronted subjects with their own reflection, inviting them to express their feelings. The randomised, double-blind study highlighted significant differences in the emotional comments between the Epionine® Bio test group and the placebo group. The application of Epionine® Bio was correlated with significantly improved emotional feelings. These results were backed up by objective measurements such as vocal stress load analysis and cardiac coherence, two reliable indicators of stress levels.
Measuring electrodermal response helped to assess stress-induced perspiration. Again, Epionine® Bio demonstrated its effectiveness in reducing skin over-reactions to aggression, thus helping to disrupt the negative cycle between stress and skin discomfort.
Scrapbooking and self-assessment questionnaire
As part of the evaluations, an emotional scrapbooking test was conducted. Subjects were asked to choose, instinctively and quickly standardised images reflecting their state of mind at different stages in the study. This approach was used to quantify, non-verbally, self-esteem during the use of Epionine® Bio.
Results were backed up by self-assessment questionnaires, in which subjects reported significant improvements in key areas such as quality of life, self-confidence and overall emotional state.
Holistic beauty and self-acceptance
This holistic approach to beauty and well-being, which places emotions at the heart of the assessment, alongside purely physical parameters, is central to the innovation approach of Expanscience’s cosmetic active. It is also linked to a key concept: the acceptance of ageing and the search for "well-being while ageing". The aim is not to eliminate every wrinkle but to maintain a healthy appearance, in line with true psychological well-being.
This was already the approach adopted for the launch of Calybiota® Bio, an active that cares for the skin, intimate hygiene, and sexual comfort, and which has also proven effective against body odours. It is also the aim of Gaïaline®, an active focused on protecting the skin barrier which, in addition to its eco-design, is an integral part of regenerative farming practices. Because beyond individuals, Expanscience is convinced that the well-being of individuals is intimately linked to the planet’s well-being.
"With this offering, we aim to help individuals feel good about themselves, be healthy and radiate well-being," explains Armelle Le Peniec, Director of Cosmetic Actives, at Expanscience Laboratories.
