- July 3, 2026
- Other News
Have you ever experienced this—working late into the night, only to wake up the next day to find several spots on your face; spending a whole week racing to meet a project deadline, only to look in the mirror and feel as though your face has sagged; or maintaining a regular sleep pattern, yet still finding your skin dull, sallow and lacking in radiance…
If so, you may be experiencing a type of ageing that is often overlooked by many—‘stress- or fatigue-induced ageing’.
I. The Skin: A ‘Barometer’ of Emotions
In 2004, Professor Misery, a neurobiologist specialising in dermatology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Brittany, France, first proposed the concept of ‘neurocosmetics’. He discovered that both the skin and the nervous system originate from the embryonic ectoderm, meaning they share the same ‘embryonic origin’.
What does this mean?
Put simply: the stress your brain feels is also felt by your skin.
Scientific research confirms that people under prolonged high-stress conditions will experience a range of skin issues:
Impaired barrier function, leading to sensitivity and fragility
Abnormal sebum secretion, resulting in excess oil and breakouts
Accelerated collagen loss, causing premature wrinkles
Dull, sallow complexion, losing its radiance
The culprit behind all this is a hormone called cortisol.
II. Cortisol: How does the ‘stress hormone’ ‘ruin one’s appearance’?
Cortisol is known as the ‘stress hormone’; it helps us cope with emergencies in the short term—which is a good thing. The problem, however, is that modern people are under chronic stress for extended periods, and when cortisol levels remain persistently high, it becomes a ‘chronic poison’ for the skin.
An authoritative study published in *Psychoneuroendocrinology* reached a startling conclusion: for every 0.1 μmol/L increase in cortisol levels, perceived age increases by 0.81 years.
Cortisol damages the skin in multiple ways:
What is even more alarming is that the ‘production line’ for cortisol lies within the skin itself. The skin contains an enzyme called 11β-HSD1, which is responsible for converting inactive corticosterone into active cortisol. The greater the stress, the more active 11β-HSD1 becomes, and the higher the cortisol output—creating a vicious cycle.
III. The Underlying Logic of Emotional Skincare: Addressing the ‘Nervous System’ to Combat Ageing at its ‘Root’
Since the root cause of stress- and fatigue-induced ageing lies in the neuro-endocrine-skin interaction pathway, the key to resolving the issue does not lie in simply ‘hydrating’ or ‘antioxidising’ the skin, but in breaking this vicious cycle at the level of neural signalling.
This is precisely the core concept of neurocosmetics—achieving ‘inside-out’ skin conditioning by acting on neurotransmitters, hormone receptors and intracellular energy metabolism pathways.
Based on this approach, Nanohealth utilized its proprietary MolFunnel™
AI molecular funnel screening platform to identify, from over 20,000 targets, the three core targets most closely associated with ‘stress- and fatigue-induced ageing’:
11β-HSD1 — the ‘production line’ for cortisol; inhibiting it reduces cortisol levels
5α-reductase I — the ‘catalyst’ for sebum secretion; inhibiting it regulates sebum production
AMPK — the ‘master switch’ for cellular energy; activating it revitalises and combats ageing
Following validation through AI molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, we ultimately identified a remarkable compound derived from mullein—Verbascoside.
IV. VerbasCalm™: An emotional anti-ageing ingredient specifically formulated for ‘stress-prone skin’
Mullein (Verbascum thapsus), a golden plant that blooms in barren lands. Regarded as a ‘protective plant’ in European tradition, it is used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to clear heat and detoxify. Its key active ingredient—Verbascoside—accounts for as much as 35.46%, making it the most abundant active component in mullein extract.
VerbasCalm™, launched by Nanohealth, is an ingredient with emotional anti-ageing benefits, developed based on neurocosmetology and screened via the MolFunnel™ AI platform.
Core Targets and Efficacy Data
1. Inhibits 11β-HSD1, reducing cortisol at source
Cell experiments show that 0.156% VerbascalmTM downregulates 11β-HSD1 gene expression by 32% (p<0.001)
2. Inhibits 5α-reductase I, controlling oil and combating acne
3. Activates AMPK to revitalise and combat ageing
Cell experiments show that 0.156% VerbascalmTM upregulates AMPK phosphorylation levels by 35% (p<0.01)
AMPK is known as the ‘master switch of cellular activity’; activating it means that cellular energy metabolism is stimulated and anti-ageing pathways are activated
4. Promotes ATP production, ‘recharging’ cells
Cell experiments show that 0.156% VerbascalmTM increases ATP levels by 23% (p<0.001)
ATP is the cell’s “energy currency”; sufficient ATP means the cell has enough energy for repair and regeneration
5. Inhibits MDA, improving dullness
MDA is a by-product of lipid peroxidation; inhibiting it leads to an improvement in the skin’s yellowish tinge and dullness
6. Inhibiting β-galactosidase to delay cellular ageing
Cell experiments show that 0.156% VerbascalmTM reduces the proportion of SA-β-gal-positive cells by 65%
SA-β-gal is the gold standard marker for cellular ageing; its reduction indicates a significant decrease in ageing cells
Conclusion
In this era where ‘stress levels are sky-high for everyone’, the logic behind skincare is undergoing a profound shift.
In the past, we believed skincare was about ‘what to apply’; now, we realise that skincare is first and foremost about ‘what to regulate’—regulating neural signals, regulating hormone levels, and regulating cellular energy metabolism.
The creation of VerbasCalm™ is a direct response to this new approach. It is not merely an ingredient, but a philosophy: true anti-ageing begins with ‘stress relief’.
When your skin learns to ‘relax’, it will naturally reward you – with less shine, less dullness, fewer wrinkles, and greater radiance and elasticity.