Sweetone Bio

INCI:  Schisandra Sphenanthera Fruit Extract (and) Maltodextrin

Supplier:  Expanscience Laboratoires (France)      

Evidence:  ●●●  Clinically studied

In our formulas:  The Catalyst — 0.5%

What it is

Schisandra sphenanthera is a wild climbing vine native to central and western China, long used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Expanscience extracts a peptide-rich concentrate from the berries using a patented bio-enzymatic process. The berries grow wild without pesticides or fertiliser and are hand-harvested; the Chinese supply chain is FairWild certified — the first cooperative in China to hold it — and the ingredient is certified 100% organic to COSMOS. Expanscience has also documented the traditional knowledge attached to the plant as an anti-biopiracy measure.

Why it matters for changing skin

Two of the most-reported perimenopausal skin complaints are redness that was not there before, and a complexion that has gone patchy — some areas flushed, some pigmented, the overall effect uneven. These are usually treated as separate problems with separate products. Sweetone Bio addresses both.

It reduces redness by controlling vascular and neurogenic inflammation — clinically measured as a reduction in the surface area covered by visible blood vessels. And it evens tone by reducing melanin synthesis and its spread through the epidermis, measured as a reduction in facial contrast. Lower contrast reads to the eye as a more uniform complexion.

What it does

On the label you may also see it as

Schisandra Sphenanthera Fruit Extract · Schisandra Berry Extract · Southern Schisandra · Nan Wu Wei Zi