In a recent edition of US Vogue it was revealed that Michelle Obama is a fan of the 3Lab collection of anti-ageing creams and serums, a high-end product range that uses Mibelle’s PhytoCellTec Malus Domestica.
Ever since the article was published, the Michelle Obama ‘effect’ has led to a snowball of media coverage quickly spreading worldwide, centering both on the skin care range and the Mibelle ingredient.
A-list stars feed media frenzy
In turn other A-list stars have revealed that they are also fans of the apple extract ingredient, including Jennifer Lopez and Helen Mirren - endorsements that have helped feed the media frenzy.
First American national newspapers and magazines picked up on the story, and then it spread to Europe, with British newspapers The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Mail both running feature articles about the ingredient and its anti-ageing properties.
The active ingredient is based on an extremely rare form of apple stem cells and was launched by Mibelle Biochemistry in February 2008, promising to protect skin stem cells and slow the senescence of hair follicles.
Anti-ageing for hair and skin
Mibelle says that In vitro and in vivo tests performed by Mibelle suggest that the ingredient, PhytoCellTec Malus Domestica, boosts the production of human stem cells, protects human stem cells from stress and decreases wrinkles.
In vitro the extract was applied to human stem cells from umbilical cords and was found to increase the number of the stem cells in culture. Furthermore, the addition of the ingredient to umbilical cord stem cells appeared to protect the cells from environmental stress such as UV light.
Another interesting finding was the ability of the ingredient to delay the ageing of hair follicles, suggesting a possible use in anti-ageing hair preparations