Of the essence

Exploring the new frontier of skincare might be as simple as working with what you’ve already got, and according to French cosmetics powerhouse Lancôme, that starts with your skin’s own enzymes. By Remy Rippon.

well-versed beauty junkie has likely never spared a thought for enzymes. If they did, it probably only went so far as the fruit enzymes found in pineapple and kiwi-fruit scrubs, which indeed make neat exfoliators. Until recently, there’s been little spotlight on the vital role naturally occurring enzymes play within the skin itself, particularly their knack for maintaining overall clarity and texture when it comes to our faces. What if these tiny proteins that live in the skin’s barrier layer were the answer to a brighter, clearer complexion?

EVEN THE MOST

Lancôme stands to answer this call with its latest launch, Clarifique Refining and Brightening Dual Essence, and the whipsmart team of scientists and in-house experts it assembled to uncover how seemingly insignificant enzymes can unlock better skin. To understand just how beneficial enzymes are to skin, it pays to first scrub up on some science.

Put simply, enzymes are generally proteins that super-charge reactions in body. The skin barrier, or epidermis, contains thousands of types of them, with each specific enzyme considered the