The plant pill that can help to reduce wrinkles: £35-a-month product that zeroes in on crow's feet

  • Scientists said the plant based pill reduced the depth of crow's feet by 10%
  • The pills contained a mixture of soy isoflavones, vitamins and omega 3
  • Also contained a substance called lycopene which is found in tomatoes

By Daily Mail Reporter


A pill made from plants has been shown to reduce wrinkles by 10 per cent, scientists say.

It has also been found to prevent ‘crow’s feet’ by making the body produce more collagen, which keeps skin youthful.

Researchers say the product, which costs £35 for a month’s supply, is so successful it should be used as an alternative to Botox.

Solution? Scientists say the new pill reduced the depth of crow's feet by an impressive 10 per cent


They studied the effectiveness of the Dove Spa Strength Within supplement in a trial involving 166 women with an average age of 61.

The women were divided into three groups. The first were given a low dose, the second a slightly higher dose and the third a dummy pill.

After 14 weeks, the scientists examined their skin and wrinkles by taking moulds of their crows’ feet and looking at very small samples of tissue. The depth of wrinkles among women given either of the real pills shrank by an average of 10 per cent.

Those given the higher dose were found to have produced more collagen.

The study, published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, was funded by Unilever, Dove’s parent company.

Dove Spa Strength Within, which is already on sale, contains soy isoflavones, chemicals found in plants, the antioxidant lycopene, vitamin C, vitamin E and omega-3 fish oils.

The pills contain a mixture of plant extracts and vitamins
Skin saver: Lycopene, a compound found in tomatoes, is known to help battle ageing

Skin saver: The pills contained a mix of plant extracts, vitamins and lycopene which is found in tomatoes

Professor John Casey, vice-president for biological sciences at Unilever, said that while the tests had been conducted on women, there was anecdotal evidence that the pill worked on men too. He said: ‘It shows there is a link between dietary ingredients and the quality and the ageing rate of skin. We find it works better on deeper wrinkles.’

When women get older and reach the menopause, levels of the hormone oestrogen fall and their skin produces less collagen, which is what makes it smooth and elastic. Most anti-wrinkle creams work on the top layer of the skin, the epidermis, and as such only have a minimal effect.

But the scientists behind this pill claim the ingredients prompt the body to make more oestrogen and therefore collagen.

This reduces the deeper wrinkles and also helps prevent new lines from forming. Previous studies by the same group of scientists have shown that after three months the pills reduced wrinkles by almost a third.

Research involving 110 women published in 2011 also showed that their crows’ feet shrunk by an average of 10 per cent, although for some it was 30 per cent.

At the time Professor Casey said there was no other product that worked in the same way.

