Protection Order

Its beginnings
Before it became a darling of the cosmetic industry, idebenone started out as a medical treatment. Developed by a Japanese pharmaceutical company in 1986, this fine orange powder was a bioengineered version of coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant we naturally produce. As idebenone was found to be very effective in curbing cell damage from free radicals and maintaining cell functions, it was used as a treatment for degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s.

Its role as an organ protector
Studies by German researchers showed that idebenone has the ability to preserve organs prior to transplant surgeries. Its ability to quench free radicals prevents oxidative damage and improves the viability of the transplant.

The crossover into cosmetics
Idebenone’s organ-saving properties led to research on its use as a topical antioxidant in skincare to counter oxidation, one of the primary causes of ageing. According to Joseph Lewis, the scientist who formulated idebenone for skincare, how much protection you get from an antioxidant can be measured by a series of five tests known as the Environmental Protection Factor, or EPF. “We tested idebenone against the best in the business – the most common antioxidants in the market like vitamins C and E. It scored 95 out of 100, the highest out of all of them,” he says.
 

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