French watchdog finds Roc most effective anti-ageing cream

A survey of 12 products sold in France found that Nivea Visage DNAge was the second most effective in the trial, despite being the cheapest, while Roc Retin-Ox-Jour, was the most effective, at double the recommended retail price of the Nivea product.

The trial saw all the products tested under laboratory conditions, with each product tested by 22 women between the ages of 30 and 70 years old for a period of 28 days under strict instructions for application.

60 Millions De Consommateurs​

According to the 60 Millions De Consommateurs scoring system, all the anti-ageing creams were awarded points and then classified as ‘Very Good’, ‘Good’, ‘Acceptable’, ‘Poor’, and ‘Very Poor’.

The classification categories included efficacy, which attributed 50 per cent of the vote, other action on the skin – 10 per cent of the vote, user tolerance – 10 per cent of the vote, ease of application - 25 per cent of the vote and product presentation – 5 per cent.

The top five products, in order, were the Roc offering with 15 points out of 20, the Nivea brand with 14.5 points, Vichy Myokine with 14points, Givenchy No Surgetics with 13 points and Nuxe Crème Marveillance, also with 13 points.

Body Shopt comes bottom​

The lowest rated anti-aging product was The Body Shop Femme Absolue Crème which scored 10 points out of 20, having rated poorly on presentation, and the effect it had on tackling wrinkles.

Beiersdorf, the makers of the Nivea brand, was quick to comment on the results, drawing attention to the fact that its products, which is the cheapest in the selection by a significant margin, provides such a high level of efficacy in relation to its pricing.

“It was categorically proven that there is no correlation between the quality of a product, its ‘anti-wrinkle power’, and it’s price,”​ the company said in a statement relating to the study.

“In fact, the cheapest product – Nivea VisageD DNAge – narrowly missed out on the top spot, while the most expensive, Lancome Renergie Morpholift, failed to show any significant anti-wrinkle action under laboratory conditions.”​

Following Boots' Protect and Perfect​

The results of the 60 Millions De Consommateurs survey are particularly significant given the impact that a BBC documentary investigating anti-aging creams had on the Boots brand Number 7 Protect and Perfect serum

The documentary revealed that under laboratory tests the Boots serum was the most effective anti-ageing skin treatment, despite being the cheapest in the range of products tested.

Thanks to the positive publicity, the serum has now gone on to be one of the market’s top selling anti-aging products, and its distribution has been extended worldwide.