There are always new substances being promoted as the true fountain of youth. We can all likely think of a handful we’ve heard of over the years that have been good for little more than casual amusement at people trying them. This quest to defy aging is something that can become an obsession, but most of us manage to strike a good line between watching for any real benefit and simply passing on what is obviously a trend. Trendy ingredients frequently take the form of exotic ingredients that most people have either never heard of or that no one would really think to check in the first place. Exoticism sells well regardless of the substance behind the pitch. The latest ingredient to potentially be a secret to anti aging is allantoin, a common ingredient in moisturizers and cleansers. Let’s take a closer look to see what truth we can.

The Research
Anti-aging research has taken some… interesting routes over the years in the quest to find out the secrets of aging. One of these routes lead to the discovery that the body actually benefits in longevity and overall health from a calorie restrictive diet. This means a diet where you’re getting just enough to survive without actually damaging your overall nutrition. It even appears to work in most cases. The downside here is that people on calorie restrictive diets can generally be summarized with two words: cold and hungry. The diets tend to be unpleasant for those trying them and the lessened body mass means their body isn’t able to retain heat as well. These combined miseries mean that most people aren’t interest in such diets. This recent research may have provided insight in how to get past this problem though. Allantoin, when applied properly, may actually mimic the biological changes that make calorie restrictive diets boost health and longevity. With all the benefits and none of the drawbacks, this seems like it must be the key, right?

A Closer Look
What you’re not likely to see much of in the media rush is that the research was conducted on nemotodes, a kind of roundworm. The fact that an animal model was used isn’t what makes this research less than useful to us though. Nemotodes are a fairly common and basic animal model for testing the basic premise of particular drugs. We encounter problems with the more extravagant claims for allantoin because the only research that has been done is on this basic animal model. It does appear to give benefits to nemotodes, but the lack of mammalian animal model testing means that the research isn’t immediately practical. It is a window into a potential avenue for future research rather than the “secret” that people are already promoting it as on various sites. However, this doesn’t mean that allantoin isn’t actually useful in anti-aging products. It is actually useful in comparatively mundane, but still readily apparent ways.

Allantoin and You
Interestingly enough, allantoin is highly useful for promoting overall skin health. That leads it to be used in a variety of topical products. The most common uses for the compound involve moisturizers and cleansers. The moisturizing effect is centered on actually promoting moisture retention at the cellular level. Your skin benefits from this as it help keep the individual cells health and ready to deal with any damage from sun exposure or other sources. Additionally, allantoin appears to help encourage the skin’s natural shedding process. This makes it uses in scrubs or chemical exfoliants that help accelerate the process to manage fine lines and and potential skin dullness. All of these are highly practical uses for anyone looking to help manage the signs of aging. They just aren’t any more a secret to immortality than topical vitamin C products or eating a good diet. A good skincare routine including allantoin will go a long way towards helping you look your best for years to come though.

It is impossible to genuinely embrace the research into allantoin as a secret of immortality. The research is in its infancy and there is much left to do to even properly validate the findings. It will be years before we determine anything further from this avenue of research. You do want to look for it in your products though as it is a well-known and established ingredient with clear benefits when used appropriately.