French active-ingredient manufacturer Greentech has won the prestigious Podium Applied Research Award at the 36th International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC) Congress, for research that upends long-held assumptions about how age spots form. The study offers the first clear evidence that sensory neurons in the skin are not passive bystanders but active directors of pigmentation, releasing specific signaling molecules that trigger age-related spot formation locally.
For decades, whitening and anti-aging research has focused on the dialogue between melanocytes and keratinocytes. Greentech, working with LabSkin Creations, took a different route: the team engineered a novel “innervated” 3D human skin model a tissue construct complete with functioning sensory neurons. Using this model, researchers identified a neuronal molecule called RGMB. Data showed that RGMB released by sensory neurons acts directly on the pigmentation unit, promoting melanocyte dendrite extension and accelerating the transfer and deposition of melanosomes into the epidermis a process significantly amplified under UV exposure.
The discovery has direct commercial implications. Building on its understanding of the RGMB pathway, Greentech simultaneously launched Ilumys, a natural active ingredient. Unlike conventional actives that target tyrosinase or already-formed melanin, Ilumys works upstream: it aims to “soothe” the neuronal communication before the stimulating signal is ever sent, thereby suppressing overactivation of the pigmentation unit at its source. The ingredient was also shown to target lipofuscin spots an aging marker largely overlooked by traditional brightening actives potentially filling a gap in the market for complex pigmentation concerns.
Greentech said the IFSCC recognition arrives as the company marks its 34th anniversary, making it a particularly meaningful milestone. In the emerging field of neuro-cosmetics, where sensory experience and efficacy converge, the award not only gives Greentech international academic validation but also sends a clear signal to the industry: competition in anti-aging and spot correction is shifting from enzyme inhibition at the epidermal level toward deeper regulation of neuron-skin communication.
