There are few things in life you can count on: death, taxes, and the beauty industry discovering a new microscopic particle to worship like it’s the second coming of retinol. And right now, the cult leader du jour is the exosome, a tiny extracellular bubble being sold as the skincare equivalent of a divine courier pigeon, hand-delivering messages of renewal and regeneration to the cells of your slowly collapsing face.
TikTok, of course, has already declared exosomes the next revolution in anti-ageing — because if there’s anything we should trust with our health, it’s a platform where teenagers use car oil for contour and people argue that sunscreen is a government psy-op. Dermatologists are cautiously hopeful. Cosmetic companies are building exosome-themed shrines in their R&D departments. And the rest of us are sitting here wondering why, exactly, a £430 serum is telling us it can reverse the clock when it can’t even reverse the fact that we spent £430 on a serum.
But before you hand over your savings, your sanity, or the deed to your house for something that sounds like a Pokémon, let’s do something truly radical.
Let’s slow down.
Take a breath.
And ask a simple question:
Are exosomes actually The Next Big Thing?
Or is this just another extremely shiny, extremely expensive distraction from the core truth of skincare: we all need sunscreen and therapy?
Grab a drink. Hydrating, preferably. This is going to take a while.
Chapter 1: The Exosome Origin Story (a.k.a. “Honey, Who Shrunk the Hype?”)
Here’s the official definition:
Exosomes are teeny-tiny packets of biological material released by cells to help them communicate with each other. Think of them as microscopic DMs sliding into your cells’ inbox with messages like:
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“Hey queen, regenerate!”
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“Babe, it’s time to reduce inflammation.”
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“Sweetie, collagen is calling — answer the phone!”
Naturally, once scientists discovered these secret little cellular love notes, the beauty industry experienced what can only be described as a spiritual awakening. Suddenly, every lab coat from New York to Seoul decided these vesicles were destined to become the new savior of ageing skin.
And TikTok? Oh, TikTok ate it up the way it eats up everything unregulated, unverified, and emotionally manipulative. Influencers came crawling out of the algorithmic abyss with claims that exosomes could:
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Heal acne scars overnight
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Trigger hair growth
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Reverse photodamage
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Restore youth
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Reset your mitochondria
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Cure your existential dread
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Probably summon Beyoncé if used correctly
If you’ve watched enough of these videos, you’d swear exosomes were one clinical trial away from filing paperwork to become the next Secretary of Energy.
But here’s the rub:
Almost all the studies showed promise… just not in the “this will fix everything wrong with your face by next Tuesday” way TikTok is promising.
They’re interesting.
They’re exciting.
They’re not magic.
Yet.
And that’s the keyword: yet.
Chapter 2: “Pre-Clinical” Means “Calm Down”
You know how every beauty trend is marketed as though scientists were literally shaking in their lab coats from excitement? Well, exosomes do have some credible research behind them — just not enough to justify:
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the hysteria
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the giddiness
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the 20-minute testimonials from influencers who probably think the mitochondria is a pasta dish
Most of the studies are:
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pre-clinical (meaning: we’ve tested them on cells in dishes, not on humans with crow’s feet from squinting at their student loan balances)
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small (think “group chat,” not “large-scale trial”)
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early (like, “we’re not even sure how best to extract them without accidentally creating mutant goo” early)
The actual open questions surrounding exosomes include:
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Are they stable enough to work in a jar?
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Can they even penetrate the skin?
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Should they?
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What concentration is safe?
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What concentration is effective?
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Could they trigger something concerning, such as unintended cell signalling?
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Did we accidentally invent skincare that acts like a confused little Roomba in the epidermis?
There’s also that lingering little unknown about whether prolonged exosome stimulation could — how should we say this politely — nudge along cells you don’t want nudged. Specifically, skin cancers.
So while TikTok is screaming “BUY IT NOW!”, scientists are whispering:
“We… uh… don’t actually know if this is a good idea yet.”
And honestly, whispering scientists are the scariest kind.
Chapter 3: The Cosmetic Industry: “We’ll Figure Out the Science Later — Just Hand Us the Credit Card”
While dermatologists are taking cautious baby steps toward exosome enthusiasm, the beauty product developers sprinted ahead like toddlers at the end of a sugar fast. They’re racing each other to release serums, creams, toners, and probably exosome-infused eye drops for your dog.
If the science isn’t ready?
If the safety profile isn’t settled?
If the extraction method is shaky?
They shrug and say: “Babes, that sounds like a future-us problem.”
It’s giving Silicon Valley startup energy — but instead of disrupting the taxi industry, they’re disrupting your ability to financially recover.
And the reason they’re doing this is simple:
Consumer frenzy = money. A lot of it. A lot.
Exosomes are trending because:
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The word sounds scientific enough to be irresistible.
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The concept hits the “biotech breakthrough” pleasure center in consumers’ brains.
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And the price tag is just high enough to feel like a luxury flex but not so high that you can’t justify it through self-delusion.
You’ve heard of investment bubbles.
Well, welcome to the skincare bubble, where the bubble is microscopic and also apparently able to cancel ageing.
Chapter 4: TikTok — The Hellmouth of Skincare Advice
TikTok is many things:
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A place where new beauty trends are born
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A place where good skincare advice goes to die
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A place where sunscreen is vilified
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A place where people still think pore strips “pull out toxins”
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A place where someone once put calamine lotion under foundation and ended up looking like desiccated bread
It is also the place where exosomes have become a religious movement.
We’re talking videos with:
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Ring lights bright enough to punch a hole in the ozone
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Whisper-soft voices saying “I’ve NEVER had skin like this before”
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Serums applied with talismanic reverence
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Pseudo-scientific explanations that make high-school biology teachers cry into their coffee mugs
The problem with TikTok science is that it’s not science.
It’s theatre.
And in this theatre, sunscreen is the villain, peptides are the chorus line, and exosomes are Juliet — young, naïve, and overhyped, inevitably heading toward a dramatic end.
Meanwhile, proven ingredients like retinoids sit in the corner like “We’ve been here for decades, babes.” But you don’t go viral saying “Retinoids remain the gold standard for skin renewal.” You go viral screaming:
“EXOSOMES HEALED MY FACE AND MY SOUL AND ALSO FIXED MY TOENAIL FUNGUS.”
It’s a circus.
But instead of elephants, you’ve got influencers.
Chapter 5: The Reasonable Middle — Yes, Exosomes Could Be Great (Someday)
Let’s be fair: exosomes are interesting.
They’re promising.
They may one day play a real role in treating:
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inflammation
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scarring
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hair loss
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wound healing
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even some dermatological diseases
But the key phrase here is “one day.” Not tomorrow. Not next quarter. Not at the rate beauty companies are trying to shove these products down your throat.
Right now, the best advice is:
Don’t bet your face on exosomes yet.
Do not bet your wallet.
And absolutely do not bet your retirement savings.
There are, however, a few products that use exosomes not as the main event but as a bonus feature — the garnish on an already solid formula.
This is where exosomes become “fun” rather than “A Financial Decision.”
Chapter 6: The Sane Person’s Exosome Shopping Guide
If you must dabble — and let’s be real, TikTok users are constitutionally incapable of restraint — then the safest route is choosing products where exosomes are:
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the supporting actor, not the lead
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the parsley, not the steak
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the little glitter on top, not the entire prom dress
That brings us to the products mentioned in the reporting.
1. Trinny London Naked Ambition Serum (from £27)
A vitamin C serum with azelaic acid — exosomes are in here, but they’re not the whole show.
You’re mainly buying:
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brightness
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glow
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reduced redness
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the feeling that you’ve done something good for your face
And honestly, for £27? That’s cheaper than therapy. Go forth.
2. Medik8 C-Tetra Advanced (£69)
This one is a BEAST.
Twenty percent stabilised vitamin C is no joke — it’s basically a solar flare in a bottle.
You also get:
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antioxidants
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hyaluronic acid
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a surprisingly elegant texture
The exosomes?
They’re in the back, quietly sipping tea, not bothering anyone.
3. Inkey List Exosome Hydro Glow Complex (£20)
Hydrating.
Exfoliating.
Affordable.
And if exosomes don’t end up doing anything?
You’ve spent less than the price of a pizza on something that still makes your skin look nice.
This is the kind of experiment the skincare gods approve of.
Chapter 7: Why This Matters (a.k.a. “Capitalism, but Make It Moisturizing”)
Here’s the part no beauty brand wants you to think about:
The industry thrives when you fear ageing more than you fear overdrafting your debit card.
Exosomes are being positioned as the Holy Grail because:
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fear sells
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hope sells
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and microscopic things you can’t see under a microscope? oh baby, they SELL
Ageing is the final frontier of marketing.
Not death, not taxes — ageing.
And every time a new molecule arrives, the beauty world collectively decides that THIS, surely, is the one that will let us age gracefully without actually… ageing.
But the truth is more grounded:
You cannot prevent ageing.
You can manage it.
You can soften it.
You can hydrate your face so aggressively that your fine lines spend the night confused and temporarily unemployed.
But no single ingredient — not exosomes, not peptides, not dragon’s blood from a rare Amazonian tree — is going to save you from biology.
And that’s okay.
Chapter 8: The Eternal Pinch — Hype vs. Reality
Let’s summarize:
The hype:
Exosomes are the future of skincare, capable of rewiring the youth matrix of your cells.
The reality:
We’re not even sure if they survive the trip from the bottle to your epidermis without collapsing like a drunk tourist on the subway.
The hype:
They stimulate regeneration.
The reality:
They might also stimulate things we don’t want stimulated — like rogue cell growth.
The hype:
They’re a breakthrough.
The reality:
They’re a potential breakthrough.
There’s a difference between an invention and a discovery and a reliable, safe, stable consumer product. And right now, exosomes are still on the discovery end of the spectrum, not the holy-grail-serum end.
Chapter 9: The Real Secret to Good Skin (and No, It’s Not £430 Molecule Soup)
After thousands of years of human civilization, dozens of scientific breakthroughs, and the rise of a trillion-dollar beauty industry, the secret to good skin remains:
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sunscreen
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retinoids
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moisturizer
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sleep
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vegetables
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not letting TikTok convince you to rub random substances onto your face
Exosomes are fun.
They’re intriguing.
But your skin doesn’t need them to thrive.
What it needs, mostly, is consistency.
Consistency is the real anti-ageing ingredient — but nobody wants to sell you that because it can’t be bottled and priced at £430.
Chapter 10: Final Thoughts — You Deserve Better Than Hype Bubbles in a Dropper Bottle
Listen. If exosomes turn out to be incredible?
If they become the true next frontier of dermatology?
If they end up in every treatment room and beauty magazine for the next 50 years?
Amazing.
Truly.
But we are not there yet.
Right now, exosomes are:
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fascinating but unproven
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promising but premature
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trendy but turbulent
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expensive but confusing
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everywhere but not yet understood
And when every company is simultaneously telling you a product is life-changing while also quietly adding six paragraphs of disclaimers, that’s your cue to keep your purse snapped shut.
If you want to dabble, dabble cheaply.
If you want to wait, you’re smart.
If you want to skip the whole thing, congratulations — you’re free.
In the meantime?
Wear sunscreen.
Drink water.
Moisturize.
And resist the temptation to let TikTok talk you into exfoliating with a cheese grater or injecting yourself with “DIY youth elixir” from someone’s garage fridge.
Your skin deserves better.
You deserve better.
And until the science catches up, exosomes should remain what they currently are:
A cute little ingredient with a big ego, a bigger price tag, and a fanbase that needs a nap.