Boots new Balancing Skin Concentrate contains the Japanese lilyturf plant and has been found to deliver healthier-looking skin in 28 days
It’s great for beds and borders and city gardens.
But it turns out Japanese lilyturf doesn’t just brighten up your home – it might help do wonders for your face.
The plant – a pretty tufted grass that provides evergreen ground cover – is the key ingredient in what is being touted as a breakthrough skin treatment.
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners have used the plant – Ophiopogon japonicas – to treat inflammation and infection for centuries.
Now, it is being harnessed by scientists at Boots as the main active ingredient in its new Balancing Skin Concentrate. An independent NHS consultant has confirmed the results of clinical trials do show it delivers healthier-looking skin in 28 days.
The new concentrate represents a bid to tap into a demand for healthy looking skin rather than chasing the fantasy of eternal youth.
Boots skincare scientific adviser Dr Mike Bell said: ‘It is very rich in homoisoflavinoids that help the skin moisturise itself.
‘We know from our studies that it turns on natural moisturising factor in the skin.’
The new products, which are part of a range of 23 under the YourGoodSkin brand, represent a massive investment for the company, which is now part of the US giant Walgreens.
The Japanese lilyturf is combined with a series of other ingredients which are designed to limit over-production of oil and work as anti-oxidants, killing off harmful chemicals that damage the skin.
The key one is sphinganine which prevents the skin producing too much sebum, the oil that clogs the pores, feeding bacteria and causing acne. A combination of green tea and Vitamin C are the main antioxidants.
The Japanese lilyturf, pictured, is combined with a series of other ingredients which are designed to limit over-production of oil and work as anti-oxidants, killing off harmful chemicals that damage the skin
Clinical trials in South Africa showed it improved the grading of skin, the smoothness and texture, and reduced the flakiness over a four week period.
Boots has satisfied advertising watchdogs that the cream does deliver healthier-looking skin in 28 days. A tube lasting 28 days costs £16.99.
Dr Tamara Griffiths said: ‘As a dermatologist who deals with patients suffering from skin disease on a daily basis, this is a novel and most welcome approach.’