Scientists at the Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have spent the past ten years on a secret project which could hold the key to youthful looks - a 'second skin'.
From the age old 'moisturise and drink lots of water' adage to pricey anti-wrinkle creams and surgical procedures like botox, LED Red Light Therapy and even the 'Hollywood Hand Job,' we've never been short of wrinkle-banishing options, but this 'second skin' could be the answer to all of our beauty woes - if you don't mind wearing a vaguely American Psycho layer of silicon and polymers.
The synthetic film works by mimicking your real skin and is designed to enhance skin elasticity. As the ‘second skin’ locks in your natural skin’s moisture, you can disguise everything from eye bags to wrinkles.
Although the safety regulators have not yet passed the use of a ‘second skin’, scientists hope this will be the new age of beauty.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Tamara Griffiths from the British Association of Dermatologists said that 'the results appear to be comparable to surgery, without the associated risks. Further research is needed, but this is a novel and very promising approach to a common problem.'
We’re not sure whether we’re ready to ditch our trusty anti-ageing creams for a synthetic skin just yet but firmer and healthier skin could be much easier to obtain in the next few years...
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