Snake venom-based anti-ageing cream launched in UK

The Kent-based company is expecting the launch will piggyback the hugely popular Botox trend, but will be more competitively priced.

An average Botox treatment costs about £100-plus (€140), while the paraben-free skin care cream, which also contains vitamin E, jojoba, and calendual oil, will retail for £45.

Caroline Clapperton, director of Planet Skincare, says she believes that the pricing, together with the product's efficacy, should serve to make it "one of the hottest selling anti-ageing daily moisturisers available on today's skincare market."

The active ingredient in the product is said to work in a similar way to Botox, by blocking the neuromuscular contractions which cause facial tension, and ultimately wrinkles.

In preventing the neuromuscular contractions, the ingredient visibly reduces wrinkles - a fact that is said to have been proved through clinical trials.

Syn-ake is an active ingredient based on a synthetic tripeptide that mimics the effect of wagerlin1, a peptide that is found in the venom of the Temple Viper snake.

In vitro tests showed that, when used with a 0.5nm concentration, the Syn-ake tripetide reduced muscle cell contraction, while in vivo tests showed that a 4 per cent dose of the ingredient had a significant smoothing effect on the skin.

In detail, the clinical tests showed that a smoothing effect was measured in 80 per cent of volunteers, while an anti-wrinkle effect was demonstrated in 73 per cent of the volunteers over a 28 day period.

The ingredient won the 2006 Swiss Technology Awards for its innovation and technical capabilities.