The latest skincare fad in the Wild West is salmon sperm

This is it Mohsena weekly newsletter sent every Friday from one of the Verge’s top reviewers Victoria song Which dissects and discusses the latest tools and potions that you swear will change your life. Subscribe to Mohsen here.

While scrolling through my TikTok feed, I often find myself thinking of Elizabeth Bathory. Legend has it that Bathory, a powerful 16th-century Hungarian countess, would kill virgins and bathe in their blood to retain her youth. Historians have debated whether Bathory He was really a serial killeralthough most agree it’s more likely He didn’t do that Actually bathed in blood. However, they are what I think of anytime I see how far vanity will take us: Vampire facialssnail mucin, Bird poop treatmentsAnd now Rejuran – a Korean skincare serum containing the hottest new ingredient, PDRN. In case you weren’t aware, PDRN comes from salmon sperm.

These ads usually show people with bouncy, hydrated skin extracting a clear liquid from a silver bottle. They say this serum is Game changer. Rubbing it on your face will promote skin regeneration, elasticity and collagen production. The result is enhanced healing, improved skin texture, and reduced wrinkles, all thanks to patented science. Rejuran’s PDRN molecule is 670 times smaller than pores, which means enhanced absorption.

You can be the most skeptical person on the planet, but it’s hard to argue with the human desire to be young and beautiful.

“PDRN stands for polydeoxyribonucleotide, which is basically just a piece of DNA,” says Victoria Fu, a cosmetic chemist and one of the founders behind the project. Confessions of a chemist Skin care brand. “Very old PDRN treatments actually come from human placenta, but now salmon sperm PDRN is the industry standard.”

According to Fu, cosmetic trends like injectables often stem from the medical field. Before it became a hot skincare ingredient, PDRN was studied as an injectable therapeutic treatment for conditions like diabetic foot ulcers. some Promising studies for injectable PDRN which suggests it may be helpful in wound healing – although injectable PDRN has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States. In general, injectables are more effective for rapid, dramatic and structural changes, because they are able to deliver ingredients deeper into the skin. For example, hyaluronic acid is injected More effective In volume restoration of topical hyaluronic acid.

Online, PDRN started gaining notoriety a few years ago when skincare professionals were traveling to South Korea for salmon DNA facials. In a typical video, these beauty influencers are laughing. Come with me to get a facial with salmon semen! Typically, the doctor is shown injecting PDRN into the skin every few millimeters until the influencer’s face becomes littered with small, puffy mounds. It hurts so much! Recovery takes a long time! But just look at that glow!!!

The painful treatment exploded as soon as celebrities became popular Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Aniston Admit to incorporating salmon sperm facials into their routine. Then, about a year ago, Rejuran — the company behind the injection — announced a topical version. There are no scary needles, no need to travel to Korea, and a bottle costs around $52, while a facial can range from $500 to $700. Now, you can find PDRN in all types of skin care products from eye creams to sunscreen.

Despite writing this newsletter, I am not immune to health-related fads. I want glass skin like every other 30-something, afraid of the cruel ravages of time. I have purchased TikTok’s stupid skincare stick Which influencers say is “clinically proven” and which Hailey Bieber uses. I reviewed its clinical studies on electroporation — microcurrents that are supposed to make tiny holes in your skin to help products absorb better — and custom It was questionable (if relatively harmless).

That means I knew it was a red flag when I heard an influencer Rigorran ad Let’s say the product is “clinically proven”, but I bought a bottle anyway. I used two bottles of Rigoran topical ampoules and other skin care products to market hot new ingredients like Voluphilin, because this The power of wellness marketing adjacent to science. (Volufiline is a new plant compound marketed as a “topical filler” because it stimulates fat cell production.)

However, if you could truly replicate the results of injectables in an easily accessible serum – this Compelling claim. So I asked Fu if any of the claims about the effectiveness of topical PDRN as injected skin care treatments contain water.

“There is some early research supporting PDRN in medical and aesthetic procedures, but the evidence for topical PDRN is still very limited,” Fu says. “The serum cannot be a non-surgical alternative to the injection procedure.”

The reason is clear and straightforward. Even if there is evidence that PDRN itself can be an effective component, the method of delivery is important.

“Injectable treatments deliver substances directly to skin tissue at concentrations and depths that topical products wouldn’t be able to achieve,” Fu says.

But silly things like facts aren’t enough to stop skincare brands from jumping on experimental fads as long as they’re not technically harmful.

Just the other day, I was served Video from Mega beauty influencer Micaela Nogueira announced to her 17 million followers that she will be launching a salmon-derived PDRN face ampoule and eye serum for her cosmetics line.

“A scientifically backed duo powered by PDRN that will lift, firm and plump your skin So Much more. “Not to mention, these products are made in Korea, dermatologist tested, clinically tested, and proven to do exactly what they say they will do,” Nogueira says in the ad. She adds that she has worked with Korean cosmetic chemists, and uses phrases like “low molecular weight” and “effective” levels.

I have no doubt that Nogueira believes in PDRN products. But as I wrote in Modern Mohsen“Clinically tested” and “scientifically backed” are marketing phrases that don’t always mean what you think.

Meanwhile, other brands are advertising less risky versions of plant-derived PDRN. There are ginseng-derived PDRN products on the market, e.g VT Cosmetics PRN Essence 100and Medicube PDRN Pink Peptide Serum Derived from roses. Presumably, these brands will make you believe that plant-based PDRN is just as effective and Vegetarian alternative.

“The source of the PDRN, purity, molecular size, and stability are all important,” Fu says. “‘Plant-based PDRN’ is a marketing gray area. They may be pieces of DNA, but they are not automatically equivalent to clinical substances that have been studied in the medical literature. Two products can list PDRN and behave very differently. The good news is that we We are We’re seeing more studies emerging on these plant PDRNs, so hopefully we’ll be able to better measure these different sources soon.

All things considered, PDRN is a “relatively vanilla” skincare active that’s unlikely to irritate your skin and is good for curious skincare enthusiasts to try, Fu says. But this also means it’s not an essential part of any skincare routine. Things like sunscreen, moisturizers, and well-researched actives like retinoids are likely to lift the weight in any regimen. As with most things in health, the main hit a PDRN poses is to your wallet. Consistency and patience are key to getting real, long-term results, Fu says. (Unfortunately, these are also the two things most consumers want to skip.)

“Social media has made it possible for consumers to hear from industry insiders like us,” Fu says, referring to herself and partner Gloria Lu. In addition to running their own cosmetics brand, the two chemists also write an educational skincare science blog and host a podcast. “But the flip side is that consumers will also hear a lot of noise and contradictory information from all kinds of trends.”

The smart thing to do, Fu says, is to consider any test a brand wants to share and look for quantifiable rating metrics over consumer perception. As in, “34 percent improvement in elasticity” is a clearer claim than “90 percent of users agreed they saw an improvement in skin hydration in two weeks.” Before and after photos can also be misleading due to inconsistent lighting or facial angles, she says. If a claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

“We try to remind everyone to refrain from knee-jerk reactions and not let trends distract you from sticking to the basics of your routine,” Fu says.

Having spent the past three months slathering the Salmon Sperm Serum on my face, I honestly can’t tell you if it has improved my skin. Maybe it’s a glowing smidge. I He thinks It has helped treat a stubborn acne scar. I knew I wouldn’t see dramatic results, just as I knew the trendy voluphilin serums that skin folks claim are “filler in a bottle” wouldn’t treat my under-eye area. Is it terrible that I know better and still participate? maybe. But from a fo perspective, I’m religious about the basics — sunscreen, moisturizer, and most recently tretinoin, which I’ve incorporated after consulting a dermatologist. The point is that I did my homework and made an informed choice.

It just so happened that this time, I thought experimenting with salmon serums was harmless fun.