A PDRN firming cream: what 20,000 ppm of a complex tells you, and what it leaves out

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Researched. We have not used this one long enough to give you a verdict, and we would rather say so than invent one. What follows is how it works, who it suits, and what it will not do. When we have used it properly, this page carries the verdict and the date.

CENTELLIAN 24 Madeca Cream Active Renew PDRN

This is the firming sibling of Centellian's Madeca Time Reverse cream. It keeps the concentrated centella, TECA, and adds PDRN — the salmon-derived ingredient that has moved from clinic injections into creams, lip serums and everything in between.

Reading the big number

The listing says it contains a 20,000 ppm PDRN complex. Divide by 10,000 and that is 2%. The important word is "complex": that 2% is a blend in which PDRN is one ingredient, and the listing does not say how much of the blend is PDRN itself. It is a real figure, and it is not the figure you would most like to know.

What the PDRN evidence covers

We have written about what PDRN actually is. The short version: its clinical history is as an injectable, placed under the skin. The evidence for what it does when rubbed on the surface is much thinner. The listing's claims are carefully worded — it helps improve the look of sagging and loss of firmness — and that careful wording is the right way to read them.

We have looked at PDRN in a moisturizer and in a lip serum too, and the conclusion is the same each time: buy for the parts of the formula that are well understood, and treat the PDRN as a possible extra.

The parts that are well understood

Hyaluronic acid — ten types, according to the listing. Hyaluronic acid draws water into the skin's surface, and different sizes sit at slightly different depths. It is dependable hydration, and hydrated skin looks plumper.

TECA — concentrated centella, for calming. We explained it in the Time Reverse piece.

Beta-sitosterol and a cooling complex — aimed at the look of redness and at soothing sensitive skin, according to the listing.

Glutathione and caffeine are also listed, for the look of dull, tired skin.

Who it suits

Dry, mature or sensitive skin that wants a comforting, well-hydrating cream and is curious about PDRN. The calming and hydrating parts are what you will feel; the firming is the claim to judge slowly.

Which of the two Madeca creams

Time Reverse is lighter and simpler, built on TECA. Active Renew adds PDRN and heavier hydration, and is aimed at firmness. If your main concern is redness and reactivity, the simpler one may be all you need.

What it will not do

It will not lift or tighten sagging skin the way a professional treatment can. It will not do what injected PDRN does. And it will not protect your skin's firmness the way daily sunscreen does — see what SPF measures.

The product

A rich Korean cream combining concentrated centella, a PDRN complex and several hyaluronic acids. A comforting, hydrating cream with a firming claim that deserves a patient, sceptical trial.

The one people are searching for is the CENTELLIAN 24 Expert Madeca Cream Active Renew PDRN.

CENTELLIAN 24 Madeca Cream Active Renew PDRN

We do not print prices here, because a price we typed last month is a price that is wrong today.

Written by JamieG in Garner Town, Tennessee.