Alice Tries Plinest Polynucleotides: The ‘Fish Sperm’ Tweakment Everyone Is Talking About

Polynucleotides: they’re the ‘salmon sperm’ tweakment that everyone is fascinated by, and I’ve been mad keen to try them out. So, I visited MediZen Clinic in Birmingham to meet renowned aesthetic doctor Dr David Eccleston and hear why he favours Plinest — a long-established and well-known  polynucleotide brand that can be used for treat your eyes, neck and full face.

Read on to discover what makes Plinest polynucleotides so exciting, including how they work and why they are considered ‘fertiliser for your fibroblasts’! Plus, I’ve included a video of me having the treatment, so you can see the process for yourself…

How do polynucleotides work?

Polynucleotides work as ‘bio-stimulators’ that wake up our dozy, ageing fibroblasts, which are the cells in our skin that produce its key components, but which are damaged and slow down over time. The injections stimulate these fibroblasts (acting a bit like ‘fertiliser’) to trigger the production of collagen, which means firmer skin, as well as hyaluronic acid which results in a more hydrated, youthful-looking complexion. They also help repair damaged skin cells with their free radical scavenging effect.

Polynucleotides like Plinest are specifically designed to address the root causes of ageing skin rather than just mask the signs. That’s what makes them a popular choice for anyone who wants a natural-looking skin boost, without adding volume.

What are polynucleotides made of?

As you’ve probably heard from all the trending ‘fish sperm’ headlines, polynucleotides are the building blocks of DNA, and they are made from fish DNA fragments. (In the case of Plinest, they are taken from carefully farmed rainbow trout, rather than salmon).

However, let’s re-stress that they’re highly purified, so there’s no trace of fish left in them – just DNA that our skin recognises. That also means they don’t trigger reactions in people who are allergic to fish (phew).

What did I have done?

I visited Dr Eccleston at MediZen Clinic in Birmingham for a Plinest polynucleotide treatment on my face, eyes, neck and décolletage. The company has targeted solutions for each area of your face for even better results, so Dr Eccleston used Plinest for my overall face; Newest on my neck; and Plinest Eyes above and below my eyes.

Why is Plinest so good for around the eye area?

As you can see in my video, unlike other injectables, polynucleotides can be injected across the entire eye area, including the eyelids. (Plinest Eyes has a lower concentration of polynucleotides to minimise swelling).

By helping boost collagen production, Plinest Eyes can make the skin in this delicate area a bit thicker and more crease-resistant, improving crepiness, firmness, and the appearance of crow’s feet. It can also soften dark circles because when the skin is firmer and that fraction thicker, the blue veins that contribute to that darkness, are less visible. That’s led Dr Eccleston to use “far less tear-trough filler”, which can be more noticeable underneath the skin.

How about the neck area?

Newest is particularly effective for crepiness of the neck and décolletage, as it has hyaluronic acid in the mix as well as polynucleotides, so it has an extra hydrating boost. Dr Eccleson treated the whole area for me, but focused a little bit more on putting products actually into the horizontal bands of the neck. He wanted to make sure that the areas where the skin is fracturing, a bit like the creases on the palm of your hand, were getting a little bit extra product.

What was the treatment like to have?

Instead of using a cannula, Dr Eccleston chose to inject the polynucleotides with a needle for two reasons. First, this means he can place the product exactly where it needs to go — in the dermis, the layer of skin where your fibroblasts hang out. Secondly, this approach — like microneedling — triggers a healing response in the skin and encourages those fibroblasts to get to work to repair the damage.

You can watch me having the treatment below:

How painful is the treatment?

At it’s worst, it’s about a four out of ten on the pain scale (I’d had a lot of numbing cream, so most of it was more like 2/10), so do expect it to be a little uncomfortable.

What’s the downtime like?

It’s hard not to notice the little puffy “blebs” or bumps that show exactly where the product was injected. These show up straight after a polynucleotides treatment (and you can see me applying an ice pack on my skin straight after the injections in the video). But, while it might look a little scary, the ones on my face had settled down before the end of the day; the ones on my neck and decolletage took a day or two longer. Just take it a little easy in that time.

How many treatments do you need?

You’ll start to see results about 28 days after your first treatment (giving time for the fibroblasts to be stimulated) and the general protocol is to have three treatments at roughly two to three week intervals for the best results. Speak to your practitioner to discuss the right process for you.

Is there anywhere you wouldn’t have polynucleotides?

Polynucleotides are great for improving overall skin quality, but they’re not particularly useful for deeply etched creases.

What should I know about the company behind Plinest?

Despite everybody getting very excited about polynucleotides quite recently, Mastelli – the company behind Plinest – actually has a long history in the space. The brand first started researching the effects of DNA on repairing damaged tissues in 1952, and Plinest itself was first launched in 2005. The products are made in Italy to pharmaceutical standards,  and there is a substantial large number of peer-reviewed clinical papers about the products, the way they work and the effects they give.

This article is written in partnership with Plinest