Should You Use Kinerase as an Anti-Aging Skin Treatment?

An anti-aging cream that’s received a great deal of attention in the last few years is Kinerase. Kinerase is a topical agent applied topically to the skin that’s being touted for its ability to reduce the visible signs of skin aging. It’s available without a prescription and is currently being marketed as a wrinkle reduction cream through physician offices, medical spas, and online. It’s claimed that kinerase gives similar skin anti-aging effects to the prescription retinoids without the side effects frequently seen with retinoids such as skin redness and peeling. Does kinerase really live up to the marketing claims?

What exactly is Kinerase and what gives it the ability to function as an anti-aging cream? The active ingredient in kinerase is a plant component known as kinetin. Kinetin is a plant derived component that functions in the plant as a growth hormone like substance to help retard aging of the plant. Because kinetin has shown the ability to slow down plant aging, it’s thought to have some anti-aging properties when applied topically to human skin. Kinetin has also been shown to have antioxidant properties which may help to reduce the effects of free radicals on human skin cells. Another important property of kinectin is that it’s been shown to aid in repair of DNA , the genetic material found in every cell in the body, including skin cells.

A study carried out at the University of California in Irvine looked at different strengths of Kinerase and their effects on human skin over a 48 week period. The groups receiving the Kinerase showed significant improvement in the texture of the skin, the appearance of fine wrinkles, and hyperpigmentation. Although the results of this study show support for the topical anti-aging effects of Kinerase, double blind, placebo-controlled studies are still absent and it may be premature to say that Kinerase is as effective as the well studied, time tested topical retinoids.

Although Kinerase needs further study in order to be recommended as an alternative to prescription strength retinoid preparations, patient reviews of this product have been favorable. The preponderance of patients using Kinerase as an anti-aging cream report improvement in skin roughness, uneven skin pigmentation, and improvement in the appearance of fine wrinkles. Plus, its antioxidant effects and its ability to repair DNA make it likely that it would have some anti-aging benefits for aging skin.

Should you consider using Kinerase as an anti-aging skin treatment? If you make this choice, it won’t come cheaply. A half ounce of Kinerase based cream can cost over a hundred dollars. If you are unable to tolerate use of prescription strength retinoids due to skin irritation and redness, Kinerase may be a reasonable alternative. If you’re currently on prescription strength retinoids and are tolerating them well, Kinerase may not offer any additional advantages for you and it may be best to wait until studies comparing the effectiveness of retinoids versus Kinerase are completed before jumping on the Kinerase bandwagon.