Estee Lauder’s new Time Zone Line & Wrinkle Reducing Lotion SPF 15 ($58.00 MSRP, Amazon.com) promises to preserve your skin’s youthful firmness with its inclusion of sirtuins.  Sirtuins work by prolonging the life of fibroblasts,  the cells that make collagen, by turning off their unnecessary gene expression (i.e., when the fibroblasts aren’t expending more energy than they need to on unnecessary tasks, they will last longer).  This means that sirtuins theoretically should prolong the life of the fibroblasts in your skin, enabling you to make collagen naturally for more years than if you did not treat your skin with sirtuins.

There are currently seven known human sirtuins, all of which essentially act as “energy policemen” in the cell, arresting unnecessary processes in the body by removing acetyl groups from involved proteins. For example, exciting research by the Joslin Diabetes Research Center in 2005 found that increasing Sirt2 (a type of Sirtuin) levels in the cell would block the cell’s ability to undergo differentiation and store fat, demonstrating an instance of how sirtuins can decrease activities in the body. Conversely, the study also found that reducing Sirt2 would promote adiopogenesis, or fat production.  There is also additional proof that red wine, grapes, plums, peanuts, and other plant products containing resveratrol may promote sirtuin activity. When the body wants to keep processes going, it produces additional quantities of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a natural electron carrier that binds to sirtuins and inhibits sirtuin activity. When NAD comes in and attempts to bind to sirtuin, resveratrol has been shown by Howitz. et al in 2004 to inhibit this interaction.  Hence resveratrol is considered to be an effective anti-ager because it inhibits sirtuin inhibitors, effectively keeping the anti-aging properties of sirtuins at play.

Unfortunately, at this point in time, the extent to which sirtuins affect aging (including skin aging) remains debatable within the scientific community.  In one of the best papers I have ever read on the subject (published in Cell Metabolism in 2008), Dr. Matt Kaeberlin, Ph.D. of the University of Washington points out that there are “many complexities and inconsistencies in our understanding of sirtuin biology as it relates to aging.”  For instance, Dr. Kaeberlin points out how, in yeast, Sir2 overexpression increases replicative life span, but shortens chronological life span.  In addition, Kaeberlin notes that, although Sir2 orthologs promote longevity in yeast (replicative), worms, and flies, the currently available data suggest that they do so via different molecular mechanisms in each of these organisms.  As such, based upon the current evidence, it seems difficutl to ascertain the true extent to which sirtuins are beneficial for the skin at this point.

A second major anti-aging ingredient in fair concentration in Time Zone Line & Wrinkle Reducing Lotion SPF 15 is pomegranate.  Pomegranates have been found to protect against UV-induced damage in human keratinocytes, both from UVA and UVB light, in two separate studies published in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology.  Pomegranates may also promote cell turnover, like peptides and retinoids (though without stimulating collagen production, sorry guys):  In this 2005 study from the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, it was found that pomegranate stimulates keratinocyte (skin cell) proliferation in monolayer culture, and mildly thickens the epidermis without loss of ordered function in skin organ culture.   Other studies suggest that pomegranates may lighten skin, resulting in more even tone:  This 2005 study in the Journal of Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry  found that the skin-whitening effect when orally ingesting pomegranate extract as 90% ellagic acid (100 or 1000 mg/kg/day diluted in water with 10 mg/mL or 100 mg/mL, respectively) was similar to when ingesting vitamin C as L-ascorbic acid (600 mg/kg/day diluted in water with 60 mg/mL), and the results of this Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry study suggest that the skin-whitening effect of PE is likely due to inhibition of the proliferation of melanocytes and melanin synthesis by tyrosinase in melanocytes.

Like so many other Estee Lauder products, there are a good number of other proven ingredients, but these are found in too low of concentrations to really ascertain if they have the intended effects or not.  These include glucosamine, which has been shown to be effective in increasing skin brightness when applied in fair concentration to skin, acetyl hexapeptide-8 for increased collagen production/skin firmness, fatty acids linoleic acid and linolenic acid for improved barrier function, and caffeine for anti-aging.  Unfortunately, it’s hard to tell if trace amounts of these ingredients do what the literature states higher amounts of these ingredients do.  Overall, I give this one a 6/10.  Product Rating: Fair.  6/10 (High concentration of proven ingredients: 2/3.  New technology or unique formulation: 1.5/3.  Value for the money:  1.5/3.  Sunscreen: 1/1).

Ingredients in Estee Lauder Time Zone Line & Wrinkle Reducing Lotion

Active Ingredients: Octinoxate 7.50%, Avobenzone 3.00 %, Octisalate 5.00%.

Water/Aqua/Eau, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Neopentyl Glycol Diheptanoate, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Steareth-21, Steareth-2, Yeast Extract/Faex/Extrait de Levure, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Centaurium Erythraea (Centaury) Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat Bran) Extract, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract/Extrait d’Orge, Hydrolyzed Rice Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Juice Extract, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Peel Extract, Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul’s Wort) Extract, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Larix Sibirica Wood Extract, VitisVinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Selaginella Tamariscina (Spike Moss) Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Argania Spinosa Leaf Extract, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Tamarindus Indica Seed Extract, Padina Pavonica Thallus Extract, Linolenic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Polyethylene, Cholesterol, Pentylene Glycol, Creatine, Caffeine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Polysilicone-11, Glycerin, Sucrose, Acetyl Glucosamine, Phytantriol, PVP/Hexadecene Copolymer, Trehalose, Acrylamide/Sodium Acryloyldimethyltaurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate, Sodium PCA, Ethylhexylglycerin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Timethylsiloxysilicate, AcrylatesC/10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polysorbate-80, Tromethamine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hyaluronic Acid, Potassium Sulfate, Adenosine Phosphate, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid, Cyclodextrin, Silica, Fragrance (Parfum), Ethylbisiminomethylguaiacol Manganese Chloride, Disodium EDTA, Sorbic Acid, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol.