Patented Age Clock Technology: Eucerin can now reverse the skin's biological age

The development of the epigenetic clock, specifically Dr. Steve Horvath's Horvath's Clock, was a significant milestone in ageing research.

The Horvath Epigenetic Clock is an innovative bioinformatic, AI-based model. When your skin cells age, epigenetic patterns form, meaning your cells’ pattern of DNA methylation changes (Bocklandt et al. 2011).

The Horvath Clock works by analysing specific sites on the DNA where methyl groups are added or removed as you age. This advanced statistical model makes predicting your biological age compared to your chronological age accurate (Horvath 2013).

We mentioned the concept of biological and chronological age when we introduced the epigenetic clock. Let us unpack why this concept can help you take charge of how old your skin looks.

While the chronological age is based on your birth year, the biological age describes your physical condition, and in the context of skin health, the age of your skin cells. Depending on your lifestyle choices, this biological age can differ significantly from your actual age. But why is that?

Lifestyle factors such as diet, sun exposure, or lack of exercise can impact your skin by leading to blockages on your skin code. This creates the aforementioned epigenetic pattern unique to your skin, which determines how young or old your skin acts impacting how young or old it looks. This means if someone looks comparatively young for their age, their biological age might be lower than their chronological age.

Paying attention to your lifestyle directly affects how old your skin looks: An anti-ageing skincare routine, a balanced diet, and exercise can help maintain a youthful appearance. But what if you want to go beyond this and reverse visible signs of ageing? This very question has led our scientists at Eucerin to develop an innovative technology that will revolutionise anti-ageing skin science.

Since 2008, Eucerin scientists have been conducting extensive epigenetic research, becoming one of the leading experts in the field. Our groundbreaking discoveries include identifying comprehensive epigenetic changes during skin ageing in 2010, investigating the impact of age-related epigenetic changes on skin gene expression using transcriptome sequencing in 2013, and developing our first skin age clock in 2016, which was patented in 2021. We proudly call this innovation ‘Age Clock Technology’. But how is our Age Clock Technology unique from other epigenetic clocks like the Horvath Clock and how can it help you turn back time on skin ageing?

While other epigenetic clocks like the Horvath Clock are trained on diverse input materials like blood and skin, the algorithm behind our technology focuses specifically on skin samples. Up to now, we have collected samples from more than 1,000 volunteers, and measured 850,000 methylation points to correlate these with methylation points specific to skin ageing. In doing so, we can determine which epigenetic changes are associated with skin age.

Using Eucerin’s patented Age Clock Technology, our scientists can not only precisely predict your skin's age by reading its epigenetic pattern but identify active ingredients that impact the skin's epigenetic pattern and reverse its biological age. To stay ahead of ageing, we are also continuously optimising our technology through advanced algorithmic training. Stay tuned for our soon-to-launch product that was developed using patented Age Clock Technology and features a groundbreaking active ingredient that will help you look younger than your age.

Bocklandt, S., Lin, W., Sehl, M. E., Sánchez, F. J., Sinsheimer, J. S., Horvath, S., & Vilain, E. (2011). Epigenetic predictor of age. PloS one, 6(6), e14821. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0014821

Bormann, F., et al.: Reduced DNA methylation patterning and transcriptional connectivity define human skin aging. Aging Cell. 2016 Jun;15(3):563-71. doi: 10.1111/acel.12470. Epub 2016 Mar 23. PMID: 27004597; PMCID: PMC4854925.

Gensous, N., Sala, C., Pirazzini, C., Ravaioli, F., Milazzo, M., Kwiatkowska, K. M., Marasco, E., De Fanti, S., Giuliani, C., Pellegrini, C., Santoro, A., Capri, M., Salvioli, S., Monti, D., Castellani, G., Franceschi, C., Bacalini, M. G., & Garagnani, P. (2022). A Targeted Epigenetic Clock for the Prediction of Biological Age. Cells, 11(24), 4044. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11244044

Horvath S. (2013). DNA methylation age of human tissues and cell types. Genome biology, 14(10), R115. https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2013-14-10-r115 

Levine M. E. (2020). Assessment of Epigenetic Clocks as Biomarkers of Aging in Basic and Population Research. The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences, 75(3), 463–465. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glaa021

Palmer R. D. (2022). Aging clocks & mortality timers, methylation, glycomic, telomeric and more. A window to measuring biological age. Aging medicine (Milton (N.S.W)), 5(2), 120– 125. https://doi.org/10.1002/agm2.12197 

https://www.nm.org/healthbeat/medical-advances/science-and-research/What-is-Your-Actual-Age

https://www.age.mpg.de/what-is-the-epigenetic-clock