*The vowel shift in New Zealand English alters the pronunciation that makes “fish” sound like “fush”.
New Zealand businesses, Sanford Fisheries and Revolution Fibres have joined forces to create a high-tech nanofibre face mask made from sustainably caught hoki fish skins which were originally used for fish meal and pet food. The product, ActivLayr, has taken almost 10 years to make and the companies hope that the same high-tech fibres could be used in the future. They’re anticipating to provide not only skincare, but topical medicines for burns, skin lesions, acne and other skin conditions.
THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND IT
The collagen in hoki skin is unique because it has a relatively low melt point and is water soluble. This means that when it’s put on the skin it can dissolve entirely, release the nutrients deep into the skin and be soaked up in a means that collagen from other animals cannot.
The anti-wrinkle face mask is created by taking the structural protein collagen from the fish skins and using Revolution Fibres’ proprietary “Sonic Electrospinning” process to make an extremely-thin, exceptionally light nano-material. Throughout the spinning procedure, numerous “bioactive” products such as fruit extracts and the moisturising compound hyaluronic acid are fused to the collagen fibre.
What’s more, Revolution Fibres CEO Iain Hosie said third-party tests demonstrate that the face mask can lessen wrinkles by up to 31.5 percent.
The collagen electrospinning technology has its origins in Crown Institute Plant & Food Research, but it was Hosie's firm that made it a commercial reality.
SUSTAINABILITY AND FUTURE ENDEAVOURS
Because the hoki skins are natural, sustainable, ethically-sourced and made in New Zealand, the product is very attractive and powerful especially with overseas markets like China. The nanofibre sheets, under the brand ActivLayr launched in China in May this year. An exclusive run of 1000 boxes of a 7-day under-eye patches set has been released through the ActivLayr website for the Australasian region due to the demand for the product.
It's an exciting time for ActivLayr as there’s a need for diverse ways to release natural extracts and drug products into the skin, with the nanofibre sheets potentially being the perfect alternative. This is mainly due to the capability of drug compounds or medicines to be added to the ActivLayr formula, that will allow a regulated dose to be given to a patient with certain skin conditions.
So if you want to revolutionise your beauty regime… We know a place.
