The Elements for Men range contains two of the newest designer peptides, manufactured by Spanish pharmaceutical innovator Lipotech, as well as one of the oldest and time proven skin protectants known to man - shark liver oil.
"We originally went into business with the idea of developing a new anti-aging skin care line for women," says Bio-Vel CEO Gina Gaede. "But when we saw how the market was completely inundated with women's products and how the expanding male market was virtually untapped, we re-focused our sights on developing a line of products exclusively for men."
After a year of scouring the market for the ingredients to develop a line of skin care products to control aging, Bio-Vel selected two new active ingredients, Argireline (acetyl hexapeptide-3) and Aldenine (Tripeptide-1).
These newly developed, designer peptides were developed through clinical trials, with twice daily use of a 10 per cent concentration of Argireline - the active ingredient in Bio-Vel's Erase line control serum), applied topically - said to significantly reduce the appearance of wrinkles and the signs of aging in the test subjects in as little as 15 days.
Aldenine, which is the active ingredient in Bio-Vel's Enforce Re-generate, boasts intense anti-aging claims as well, which according to clinical research, has been proven to increase collagen III levels in the skin by nearly 300 per cent in only 7 days, the company claims.
To provide the optimum benefit to control and reverse the signs of aging in a man's more rugged, less-sensitive skin, the Bio-Vel team increased the concentration of Argireline in its line control serum to 16 per cent, the highest concentration available on today's market in the men's skin care segment, and included proven vitamins A, C, and E to further 'power-up' its' Re-generate.
Bio-Vel a renowned ingredient that is infrequently used in the west into its formulation for the range - shark liver oil.
"Shark liver oil has been used for centuries as a healing agent in Japan. It is also believed, in to possess abilities to fight off skin cancers. The Japanese call it Samedawa, or 'cure all'," says CEO Gaede.
The group then decided on a basic, 3-step system for their product line. "In our early field research we walked the floors of a lot of department stores and browsed their cosmetics counters," explained marketing director, David Gaede.
"It was daunting, not just the number of women's products that are flooding the market, but then the sheer volume of choices and sub-choices you have to make once you finally decide on a brand name. For example, you have to decide if you need a facial scrub, an exfoliant, a toner, an astringent, a moisturizer, an eye cream, day cream or night cream, and on and on and on. It is all just overwhelming, especially for men. We're not used to making all of those choices and options. Men like things simple and no-nonsense."
Given all factors involved, Bio-Vel decided on a, 3 step skin care line: facial scrub, line control, and re-generating moisturizer, under the brand names Eliminate, Erase, and Enforce for the 3 products.
"Our products are unique because they have been developed from the ground up exclusively for a man," Gaede concluded, "even the packaging. The Elements4Men System is handsomely packaged in silver foil tubes with black logos and clearly labeled as Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3. It can be placed out as inconspicuously at home as at the gym or health club, passing the all important 'locker room test' for men's products. That's very important to men."
The new line is muscling in on a market that is constantly growing and evolving. In Europe L'Oreal recently launched a men's skincare range which also markets a number of anti-wrinkle products - Expert. This line is also about to be launched onto the US market, no doubt proving to be compeitions for Bio Vel's range.
"There are signs everywhere that men are concentrating more on their appearance," says business bible The Wall Street Journal in a recent article. The International Spa Association reports that the fastest growing group of spa customers is now males, who made up 29 per cent of their business in 2004.
And male grooming products sales are predicted to increase at twice the rate of women's products in the next three years, up 67 per cent to a total of $20 billion, according to a EuroMonitor International 2004 report - suggesting that this could be the first of a plethora of launches aimed at anti-aging.