COMING UP ROSES

One of the oldest flowers around, the rose has long been prized for its skin-loving properties, not least of which its exceptional anti-inflammatory and regenerative prowess. Seeking to harness that, Dior researchers spent a decade breeding a unique hybrid that amplifies all its original’s wondrous benefits and then some. A conversation with Édouard Mauvais-Jarvis, Dior’s Environmental and Scientific Communication Director, sheds light on It basically refers to a chronic, low-grade inflammation of the skin. Inflammation is a complex process involving different phases. In the pre-inflammation stage, the skin reacts to the environment to tell us something’s up—this typically manifests as heightened sensitivity and a lowered threshold for external aggressors. Next is the inflammation stage, where the immune system kicks in, launching a general attack on possibly harmful invaders—this can damage healthy cells in the process—and activating certain enzymes that help counter or neutralise foreign bodies. Lastly, there’s the inflammation resolution stage—the repair of damaged areas triggered by tissue injury. In the case of inflamm-ageing, the skin undergoes repeated cycles of the first two stages, but never settles into the last one. This loop ends up triggering a gradual, progressive destruction of skin structures, thus accelerating skin ageing. We went through seven generations of cross-breeding and over 40,000 varieties before arriving at the Rose de Granville, the first rose specifically created and cultivated for skincare by Dior. We started with a wild rose that is exceptionally resilient—not just to harsh environmental conditions such as strong winds, low salinity and cool temperatures, but also to disease. It has incredible vitality, propagating quickly on the cliffs of Granville, and grows faster than other roses. We [took that and developed] a hybrid that not just keeps the original’s properties, but also enhances them, while boasting more domesticated properties such as the ability to produce more flowers and larger blooms, and the power to blossom more than once a year. The Rose de Granville also has eight essential molecules no other rose possesses, making it truly unique. Its extracts—not less than five different ones can be taken from the same plant—have been proven to act on all the main messengers involved in the chronic inflammation of the skin, which makes it a huge asset in fighting [inflamm-ageing]. The research on the Rose de Granville is an ongoing process, dedicated to the assessment and exploration of the [effects] of these extracts on the skin as well as their incorporation into breakthrough textures that help realise their full potential. Dior Science has been developing products based on the Rose de Granville for 20 years. We discovered that micronutritional deficiencies have an impact on not just energy, nutrition and cutaneous radiance, but also cellular renewal and regeneration. Thanks to a breakthrough in extraction techniques, we’re now able to extract the sap of the rose (which is rich in micronutrients). [So we reformulated the serum, combining that] with extracts of its flower (which has 22 micronutrients) for a product that’s much more concentrated in Rose de Granville micronutrients—all the better to nourish the skin to restore its functions, amplify its innate regenerative powers and protect against inflamm-ageing. The serum specifically targets the pre-inflammation stage, helping to boost the skin’s resilience against environmental aggressors and, in a way, help sensitive skin be less reactive when faced with triggers.