At the heart of Abeille Royale lies an ancient remedy: honey compresses. Known for its therapeutic properties, honey has been healing human wounds since ancient times. Its legendary effectiveness, passed down from antiquity, continues to intrigue medicine, which has scientifically proven its healing power on the most challenging wounds. Honey naturally activates collagen fibers, allowing the skin’s structure to rebuild around the wound. Since 2010, Guerlain researchers have been dedicated to this topic, including Professor Descottes, the former head of the visceral surgery and transplant department at the University Hospital of Limoges, a pioneer in honey-based healing methods, and Dr. Frédéric Bonté, who demonstrated that the healing and aging signal repair processes share common tissue reconstruction mechanisms. Based on this major scientific discovery, Guerlain’s research laid the foundation for a high-performance anti-aging line centered around this gift from nature, a youth elixir: honey.
Abeille Royale was born
Honey naturally helps reinvigorate the skin’s collagen fibers, ensuring optimal skin repair. This therapeutic “treasure” performs quadruple duty in four key stages of epidermal healing, as defined by medicine with the acronym T.I.M.E:
T or Tissue Necrosis Removal
1st stage: To facilitate proper healing, dead cells must be eliminated. The osmotic power of concentrated honey removes necrotic cells and smoothes the skin.
I or Inflammation Soothing
2nd stage: When the skin is inflamed, the anti-inflammatory properties of honey’s polyphenols help restore a stable microenvironment and provide comfort.
M or Moisture Lock-In
3rd stage: After inflammation subsides, the skin must regain an optimized level of hydration. Honey’s unique viscosity maintains ideal hydration and accelerates repair.
E or Epidermisation
4th stage: The final phase of the healing process involves filling in the skin from the scar’s contours. Honey’s nutrients stimulate the repair process to provide a new, flexible, and elastic epidermis.
The two novelties in anti-aging
Based on these clinical observations, Guerlain’s research created two products in 2023 that mark a decisive breakthrough in anti-aging. These two treatments target the visible signs of collagen loss (wrinkles, lack of firmness) and draw inspiration from medical honey compresses and the T.I.M.E. clinical protocol.
Drawing on science and knowledge, the Honey Treatment day and night creams constitute Guerlain’s new anti-aging program, creating the ideal environment to reduce the visible signs of aging. The performance of this high-tech skincare duo is based on the exclusive Dynamic BlackBee Repair technology developed by the brand’s researchers.
Pioneering and inspired by neuroscience, Honey Treatment combines the most powerful active ingredients from the hive selected by Guerlain’s research: the legendary Black Bee Honey from the Island of Ouessant, an exclusive royal jelly, and three other honeys from islands with preserved environments (Corsica, Ikaria, and Åland). This composition mobilizes the skin’s collagen system and amplifies its natural self-repair mechanisms: it triples the binding capacity between epidermal nerve cells and skin cells for a 47% increased repairing efficiency in 24 hours and stimulates the synthesis of Collagen I and III by 158% and 77%, respectively, for advanced youthfulness correction.
Star ingredients: the new generations
The two dermo-expert ingredients – polyfragmented hyaluronic acid and a concentrated 2% pro-elasticity hexapeptide – form the basis of Guerlain’s two new skincare products. Polyfragmented hyaluronic acid utilizes its water-retention capacity within the skin to maintain optimal hydration levels during all stages of self-repair. Fragmented to a specific molecular weight, allowing it to merge with the skin and access all epidermal layers, this active ingredient can exert its full power in a highly targeted manner.
The pro-elasticity hexapeptide is a powerful peptide extract that acts on elastin to increase skin firmness. With Dynamic Blackbee Repair technology, this dermo-expert combination helps reverse the visible signs of collagen loss to restore a more youthful appearance.
The Honey Treatment Day and Night protocol is a unique system that addresses the visible signs of collagen loss. It consists of two high-end beauty treasures that defy aging, with ingredients revitalizing tissues damaged by aging and rejuvenating the complexion’s freshness and quality.
The high-performance Honey Treatment Day Cream includes the legendary honey from Ouessant, rich in polyphenols and precious amino acids. The natural setting, a UNESCO-protected ecosystem, is a sanctuary for black bees, which produce a true youth elixir. This unique species is one of the few to provide honey with properties that counteract the degradation of the protein responsible for skin elasticity and firmness. Inspired by honey compresses, the Day Cream helps create a protective youth structure.
The Honey Treatment Night Cream has a high concentration of Ikaria honey, whose wild and preserved environment (it’s a volcanic island known as the “blue zone”) allows its inhabitants to live up to a hundred years and provides bees with an ideal habitat to produce honey with a potent mineral concentration. The extraordinary properties of this honey are treasures for youthful skin. Since Collagen I synthesis is synchronized by the skin’s biological clock during sleep, Ikaria honey reveals its power mainly at night. It reinforces the visible signs of young skin’s collagen production. How? Reducing wrinkles, increasing firmness, and enhancing elasticity. Like a honey compress, the Night Cream aims to correct skin damage and revitalize its youthfulness.
By: Isabel Figueiredo
