Skincare is moving beyond the idea of simply adding more actives to a formula.
Your skin is not simply a surface. It is a living, communicating ecosystem, constantly exchanging signals between cells and responding to its environment.
That is where extracellular vesicles, often referred to as exosomes in skincare, have become an emerging area of interest. These tiny, membrane-bound vesicles are biologically active, complex mixtures of lipids, proteins, nucleic acids and other bioactive molecules.
Rather than functioning like a conventional moisturiser or antioxidant, exosomes are being studied as biological communication and delivery systems.
Why Plant-Derived Exosomes?
Unlike human or animal-derived vesicles, plant-derived vesicles have lower concerns around animal-derived biological contaminants and immunogenicity.
For our Biphasic Sober Spray, we chose to explore plant-derived extracellular vesicles from cucumber. Not simply because “exosomes” are trending, but because they have demonstrated potential roles in bioactive delivery, cellular uptake, antioxidant defence, inflammatory signalling and skin barrier support.
Cucumber is traditionally associated with refreshing and hydrating skincare, but our interest goes beyond its familiar cosmetic applications.
At the nanoscale, plant-derived extracellular vesicles are being explored as delivery vehicles for bioactive compounds, including research into their potential to improve dermal delivery compared with conventional formulations.
Why Put Exosomes in a Biphasic Formula?
We did not simply add cucumber-derived extracellular vesicles to a water mist and stop there.
We asked a formulation question:
What environment do these biological vesicles encounter when they reach the skin?
Our outer skin barrier contains both hydrated cellular structures and a highly organised lipid matrix.
Our Biphasic Sober Spray brings together these two complementary environments through an aqueous and lipid phase. At rest, they remain separate. Shake the bottle and they temporarily come together.
This creates a formula designed around the complex environment these vesicles encounter on the skin.
How Do Exosomes Communicate With Skin Cells?
The process can be simplified as:
Vesicle → Cellular recognition → Uptake → Cellular interaction → Signalling pathways → Cellular response
But what is actually happening at each stage?
1. Recognition and Cellular Uptake
Extracellular vesicles are naturally involved in communication between cells.
When they come into contact with skin cells such as keratinocytes and fibroblasts, vesicles may interact with or be taken up by the cells through mechanisms including receptor-mediated endocytosis.
This cellular uptake allows the molecules carried within the vesicles to potentially interact with processes inside the recipient cell.
2. Influencing Cellular Signalling
Once taken up, the molecules carried by extracellular vesicles may interact with pathways involved in skin stress, repair, inflammation and cellular renewal.
Research is exploring pathways including Nrf2 in antioxidant defence, MAPK in inflammatory signalling, and PI3K/Akt and TGF-β in processes related to cell survival and tissue repair.
Rather than simply thinking about what an ingredient does on the surface, extracellular vesicles introduce another question: what signals might it deliver to the cell?
3. Modulating Inflammatory Signalling
Inflammation is part of the skin's normal response to environmental and physical stress.
The problem arises when inflammatory signals become excessive or remain active for too long.
The goal isn't to completely suppress inflammation. Healthy skin requires a functioning inflammatory response. Instead, research is exploring whether vesicle-associated signals may help influence inflammatory pathways and support stressed cells in returning towards a more balanced state.
4. Supporting the Antioxidant Response
Environmental stress can increase reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can affect lipids, proteins and cellular signalling.
One pathway being investigated in extracellular vesicle research is Nrf2, which regulates the expression of antioxidant and cytoprotective genes.
This introduces an interesting distinction. Rather than only supplying antioxidants directly to the skin, researchers are investigating how extracellular vesicles might interact with the skin's own antioxidant response systems.
5. Supporting Cellular Repair
Healthy skin is constantly renewing itself.
Keratinocytes help rebuild and maintain the epidermis, while fibroblasts contribute to collagen and the extracellular matrix.
Plant-derived extracellular vesicles are being studied for their potential influence on processes involved in cell migration, proliferation, extracellular-matrix remodelling and tissue repair.
A Different Way of Thinking About Skincare
For a long time, skincare innovation has focused on the question:
What active should we add next?
Extracellular vesicles introduce a different way of thinking.
Not simply what we put on the skin, but how biological information is carried, how cells recognise it and what happens after that interaction.
The science surrounding plant-derived extracellular vesicles is still developing, particularly when translating laboratory research into finished topical skincare formulations.
But that is exactly why we're interested in them.
Because perhaps the next chapter of skincare isn't simply about adding more actives.
It's about understanding how skin communicates.
