One Truth 818 serum review. What is it?

Some of the reported benefits of using **One Truth 818** are lifting of the skin, particularly eyelids and the neck. In this post we interview their Co-Founder to find out more.

As we’ve previously discussed, the market for ‘anti-aging’ skincare products is absolutely huge. There are so many options for looking after your skin, nearly all of which claim to be ‘anti-aging’.

And of course, we understand why this is the case - looking younger is worth its high price, to many. And those who have the funds to spend, well, they tend to look the most youthful, and thus the premise already proves true. You can look younger - if you have the money to spend on it.

And that’s where we come in. We believe that your aesthetic age is an investment, worth your hard earned dollars. But you have to be smart about it! We help you do just that.

Today, we’re going to review the company OneTruth 818, going much more than skin deep, to help you answer the question - is this premium price point product worth your hard earned dollars? One Truth 818 certainly makes the claim that their products will do the job, consider their headline website statement (at the time of writing).

“Unleash the enzymes that repair DNA damage. Scientific skincare that truly reverses the signs of ageing.
As time passes by, the Telomeres at the ends of our Chromosomes get shorter. This shortening is what causes us to age. But there is an enzyme within your genes that can undo the ageing process, all you have to do is activate it”

At A Longer Life, we help you sort through the hype and get down to the real results you want, by helping you to test before & after results yourself. Our job is to ask targeted questions of the founders and lead scientists at longevity tech companies, to help direct your personal investment into your own longevity strategy, effectively.

Once again, today, we are going to do just that.

June 2024 Update:

See our detailed product performance review after Nick used One Truth 818 for six months

One Truth 818 serum reviews: What is ‘scientific skincare’?

In our review of OneTruth 818, one thing that really jumps out at us are the marketing claims that the product is rooted in solid science.

We of course love the sound of the term ‘scientific skincare’; there simply isn’t much science behind most skincare products at all. Most of the science that is in place is basic safety testing, uses animal models and doesn’t actually evaluate efficacy in human skin tissue directly.

But, upon some detailed investigation, One Truth 818 does appear to break this mould. And in our interview today, we are going to hear from Director and Co-Founder Rachael D’Aguiar about the science that backs their unique product line.

A foundational part of the multiple claims by One Truth 818 is the activation of the gene which produces telomerase.

Telomerase is an enzyme which repairs/maintains telomeres, which are aprotective ends on the chromosome. And it is the chromosome which contains all of the DNA information required by your cells to healthfully replicate and function.

Notably the discovery of telomerase won a Nobel Prize in 2009.

Telomere dysfunction is now known to be one of the causes of aging. Within the skin, increasing amounts of evidence are linking telomere ‘attrition’ (shortening) to skin aging, but more research is needed to demonstrate the direct link between telomerase and improved skin health.

What is known however, is that UV damage, so called ‘photoaging’, reduces telomere length as damage from sun exposure is accumulated. More recently, telomere attrition in the skin has been linked to significant increases in skin cancer risk.

So, while more science is needed to have ‘all the answers’, this is common in the longevity technology sphere. As we look out for our long-term health, we get to choose how far ahead of the ‘proven’ science we individually are comfortable to reach.

This is the ‘art’ side of practicing longevity, and is of course exactly where your own self-experimentation fits in. The answer to ‘will it work for me?’ - well, that is of course the only thing that really matters!

And with that, let’s hear more on these topics from an expert on telomeres, skin health and aesthetic age…

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This interview was conducted in September 2023 over Zoom and is an audio transcript with minor edits for clarity, brevity and correctness.

One Truth 818 serum review

A Longer Life (ALL):

Rachael Thank you and welcome to A Longer Life, we're really excited to hear more about the science behind your product line, your company, One Truth 818. And to kick off, we'd really like to hear from you on what the term “scientific skincare” means to you.

Rachael D’Aguiar (RD):

Absolutely, you know, most skincare products on the market, are not actually based on science, the information comes from regurgitated blogs, or vloggers, and really outdated information, or they'll talk about a new ingredient.

But they don't stop to ask, what's the starting base of this? Where's the science? What does ageing look like in the skin? How do cells age? And then let's go from there. So everything we do, is based on science, not a trend, and not something that we read from someone else.

What is TAM 818?

ALL: And to that point, the name of your company is actually based on some science, you've got this number in there - “818”. There's a fascinating scientific story behind where that number comes from. Could you tell us about that?

RD: I can. So we work very closely with Dr. Bill Andrews, who is the molecular biologist who actually discovered this molecule, which we call TAM 818. TAM stands for “telomerase activating molecule”.

Dr Bill Andrews discovered telomerase and is also an avid runner who enjoys ultramarathons.

You can't shove telomerase into your skin. It has to be activated within a cell and used within a cell. But the interesting part is the number 818. That's what people always ask us about.

It's also a nod to Dr. Bill Andrews’ tenacity, because the TAM 818 molecule was the 314,818 molecule that he screened and tested.

All up he actually screened and tested over 400,000 molecules for telomerase activity, this one being the strongest.

ALL: That's really a sign of tenacity, as you've just shared and Bill Andrews is clearly a very important figure in the history behind the science and has a relationship with your company.

Could you tell us a bit about Bill and where he fits into One Truth 818 today?

RD: He is an award winning molecular biologist, and he's credited with discovering the gene and the enzyme telomerase, which at the time was touted as the biggest discovery since antibiotics.

It actually triggered the Nobel Prize in 2009 to be given to the people who discovered telomeres, although they discovered them in the early 1980s. So it wasn't until Dr. Andrews discovered telomerase, that it showed the importance of what a telomere was.

Now he's the president of Sierra Sciences with a personal motto “cure ageing or die trying” and he's been nicknamed “Dr. Telomere”. So he really is the authority on everything and all things telomeres.

What are the ingredients in One Truth 818?

ALL: The discovery of this telomere activating molecule 818 - it has become a fundamental ingredient in your product line. Naturally, we're all very curious. Now we know this is your IP, this is your secret sauce, but what can you tell us about TAM 818? We're fascinated and curious here, Rachael.

RD: I can tell you what it's not. It's not a peptide, it's not a protein, it's not an amino acid, it didn't exist until we created it. So it can't even be categorised, which probably explains why Bill has been able to test it as being the strongest telomerase activator on the planet by over 300 times.

There are many scientists studying the role of telomerase in maintaining healthy telomere function. You can read more in this article from the **Journal Experiential Dermatology**.

It is completely safe and non toxic. It's a small molecule so it penetrates the cell. Lucky for me, the very first tests that he did in his laboratory were on human fibroblasts skin cells. So right from day one, we've known it can do for the skin.

ALL: Wow, that's really interesting to hear that it's been created or discovered, in a way. What an amazing discovery to find a small molecule that can penetrate the skin, get into the cell and then activate the telomerase gene.

There's an important connection between telomere attrition (the shortening of telomeres) and skin ageing. Could you talk to us a little bit about that connection? The scientific evidence is growing on this topic.

Why Telomeres are important for skin aging

RD: What I am going to tell you here is the complete opposite to what the skincare industry will tell you.

We know that every time a cell divides, the telomeres shorten, and that cell can divide approximately 50 times until the telomere is so short that it can't divide anymore. That cell then becomes a senescent cell.

“I can tell you what it’s not. It’s not a peptide, it’s not a protein, it’s not an amino acid, it didn’t exist until we created it.

So it can’t even be categorised, which probably explains why Bill has been able to test it as being the strongest telomerase activator on the planet by over 300 times. ”

— Rachael D'Aguiar

However, if you listen to the regular skincare industry, they will tell you that to have younger skin, you need to increase cell turnover, you need to bring new cells to the surface faster, but this actually speeds up cell division, accelerating the ageing process.

With One Truth 818, it is the complete opposite. TAM 818 has been proven to lengthen telomeres. So when that cell divides, the telomeres shorten, and then the telomerase enzyme is expressed so that those telomeres really lengthen. This means you are undoing the ageing process, reversing the ageing process.

I want your takeaway from me today to be: 'cell division equals ageing'. There is a Hayflick limit, your cells cannot keep on dividing past that. It's telomere shortening, cell division, that drives this.

ALL: With this cell division, you are not naming names here, but we'll jump in there and say this is the premise of retinol of retinoids. That's one of the approaches that we could say that you're citing, which is again to take off that top layer of skin bring the new youthful skin cells to the surface.

This takes skin cells through their lifecycle more quickly, thereby accelerating the ageing process. This brings us to an important distinction for One Truth 818 - you are talking about a rejuvenation and about keeping cells that are there healthier for longer.

Transitioning just over to another type of damage to the skin, let’s talk about UV damage. The “photoaging” effect. It is the primary driver of ageing in the skin and there is unique relationship between photoaging and telomere shortening.

Could you introduce our audience to this relationship?

Telomere attrition and DNA damage

RD: When you are exposed to UV radiation, you damage parts of your DNA. This includes the telomeres, which are the tips of your DNA, there to protect your DNA.

In my mind, it is actually no different to the other sorts of damage which the skincare industry is intentionally doing to the skin. Ablative laser for example - there is no reason why it wouldn't be the same as the damage caused from UV radiation or other forms of toxicity.

These types of damage lead to telomere shortening, and the shorter your telomeres are, the less likely they are to be able to produce collagen, elastin and balanced pigmentation.

The photoaging issue, when it comes to telomeres, it's twofold. The cells are constantly dividing, trying to heal the damage.

It also is damage to the pigmentation cells, which then start throwing more pigment out, which is also an issue of short telomeres. The shorter your telomeres are, the more likely you're going to have pigmented skin.

One Truth 818 serum and pigmentation

ALL: This is fascinating because one of the primary signs of ageing in skin is pigmentation which is ultimately a defense mechanism. Tell us about more about the relationship between telomere attrition and pigmentation.

Before and after changes of skin pigmentation after 60 days of **One Truth 818 serum**.

RD: If you look at your children, or someone younger than you, they have collagen, they have elastin, and they have a balanced pigmentation, because they have lovely long telomeres and really functioning cells.

But between those 50 divisions I was telling you about (Hayflick limit), between really long telomeres, and critically short telomeres, you have old age. When those telomeres hit old age and are incredibly short, they can't produce collagen, they can't produce elastin and they will vomit pigmentation on the surface of your skin or they will stop making pigment whatsoever, and you will have white patches.

These are all conditions caused by aged cells. They are not separate things that need separate treatments. If you can re-lengthen your telomeres, and have a younger cell again, it functions like a younger cell again.

Does One Truth 818 improve wrinkles?

Improvements in wrinkle depth from **One Truth 818's** independent study with Abich Laboratory.

ALL: In this exploration of the concept of scientific skincare, your company commissioned a study in Italy with an independent laboratory to test your product on 100 volunteers of widely varying different ages.

There were some really interesting results after just 30 days usage of One Truth 818, and there are two categories that we want to go cover today.

The first is measurement before and after by high quality optical sensors from the company EO Tech. This provided an ability to 3D map the skin and look at the “surface topography” - or simply put wrinkles and smoothness of the skin.

What did this study find after just 30 days?

RD: To my knowledge, the largest scale topical study ever performed on skin, certainly in the field of epigenetics on skin. This is where we found the information about pigmentation, for example. So my background, I come from a regular skin background, I worked as a skin therapist for about 20 years before I came into this.

I had all those beliefs, that all the conditions of ageing were all separate, that they were different issues among themselves.

I was actually really surprised myself at the time, to go hang on what's happening here and to talk it through with Bill, and that is where we understood actually, pigmentation is caused from aged cells.

For the smoothness and wrinkles results you’re asking about - there was a 14% reduction in wrinkle depth and skin roughness decreased by 12% on the forehead, and 11% and nearly 10% in the ‘crows feet’ region.

One Truth 818 before and after skin elasticity

ALL: Thank you for sharing those. As we mentioned, there was second part of the study we were very interested in, which looked at skin elasticity and firmness.

Using a scientific grade “Cutometer” digital cutaneous (skin) probe, which is the ‘standard’ for measurement of elasticity in dermatology - there was some really exciting results in elasticity, and firmness, and in fact firmness improved by 20%, skin elasticity by around 10%.

What is going on with telomeres and skin elasticity and firmness? These are quite significant changes for these measures, and in only 30 days! Clearly something valuable is happening here.

RD: Can you imagine putting something just topically on your skin, and your cells produce more elastin?

The volunteers were between 36 and 65, so they are not naturally going and producing a whole lot of elastin and with elastin, think “elastic”, it is all to do with the tautness and the turgor (skin turgor is the skin's ability of skin to change shape and return to normal).

Any kind of sagging is happening because you have a lack of elastin, so to be able to increase that by almost 10% just by popping something topically on your skin, is absolutely incredible. Just testament to the fact that your cell is behaving like a younger cell again.

One Truth 818 and Telomere length

ALL: There is quite an exciting story coming together here, Rachael, and in this discussion there has been talk about telomerase, telomeres, scientific research. On this topic, we have a follow-up question:

One of the observed benefits from the **One Truth 818** customer base is a notable improvement in sagging skin around the neck.

Do you have any direct evidence of before and after telomere length in this skin that shows TAM 818 is making skin telomeres grow longer?

RD: All of that was done by Dr. Bill Andrews, before we even popped TAM 818 into a skin cream. He was able to say, on his scale of measurement, that TAM 818 was a 16% “HeLa”.

At that level, it should actually reverse ageing and make a cell immortal. We had a molecule that was already tested to activate telomerase and human skin cells.

The Abich laboratory studies we were just discussing really surprised Dr. Andrews and his scientists, as it discovered that telomerase preferentially lengthened the shortest telomeres first, which explains how you get such a visual result so quickly.

One Truth 818 before and after photos

ALL: On the topic of visual results, your customers love sending you before and after images. If you were to summarise what you have learned from the users of your product, what would you say the most common observations are?

RD: Lifting of the skin, so particularly eyelids and necks, which are typically very, very hard to have an effect on without some kind of surgery.

The quality of their pores, because everything about the texture of their skin changes. Pigmentation is another - the effects on pigmentation are incredible.

This is a before and after from the One Truth 818 customer base that appears to show significant reduction in wrinkles and improvement in skin thickness below and around the eye.

Trying One Truth 818 serum yourself

ALL: That's exactly the type of thing that our audience likes to hear, because we are a group of self-experimenters.

The next thing that we want to ask you, building off of what you just shared is, what a protocol would be for self-experimentation.

Our audience want to know, is One Truth 818, worth my hard earned money? Is it worth my investment?

Let’s get specific - what product, how many times a day, for how long, and most importantly, how do they see before and after and know - this product is working for me?

RD: I tell everyone to take a before shot - go out into natural light, with no makeup and a totally relaxed face. Notice what time of day it is and take some photos from the front and from the two sides.

The regime, it is the most simple thing that anyone has ever told you to do. Clean your face and then put the One Truth 818 serum on from your forehead over your eyes over your lips and down your neck, that is all.

Two pumps will do the face and the neck.

A Longer Life is testing One Truth 818 serum

ALL: We actually have a bottle of the serum here (shows bottle), and we have been told that a bottle of the serum at the protocol you just mentioned will last around two months, correct?

RD: 8 to 10 weeks with twice a day.

ALL: So just over 2 months, less than three. Thank you.

RD: I do encourage twice daily use, as all of our experiments are done on twice daily use. The more frequently you activate telomerase, the better results.

Don't buy this product and keep it as a once a week treatment, or once a month as a special occasion, you won't see the results you are after, I want you to activate telomerase twice a day to see the results that you're after.

A Longer Life is testing both One Truth 818 Serum (centre) and the Atomiser (right). Over the course of the 3 months we expect to use 2 bottles of the serum and one bottle of atomiser to complete the self experiment.

ALL: That's for the serum and then we also have the atomizer (show atomizer bottle), which spritz on your face across the day, and also you can put it on before you put on the serum. Were would this sit in a self-experimentation protocol?

RD: The atomiser is super hydrating, so if you have problems with hydration, you can pop it on under the serum, and even use it over makeup because it's water based, no oil.

For example, you would use the serum morning and night like I've told you to and then you could carry the atomizer in your handbag and use it as frequently as you want throughout the day.

Rachael’s personal approach to longevity

ALL: Great, thank you, Rachael for helping us walk through what that self experimentation might look like. Of course, in true A Longer Life form Nick is already two and a half weeks into testing this on himself and will be sharing results with some very high quality Visia scanner before and after images.

As we shift this conversation toward closing out, we are really always very curious to hear how our interview guests look after their own longevity. We call it having your own longevity strategy.

Let's narrow this down into two categories. You are obviously very, very knowledgeable about the aesthetic age, looking young, staying young. What is your protocol, what things are you doing to look after your aesthetic age as an important asset in your life?

Rachael enjoys hiking and this is one of the trails she experienced recently and believes this is a one of the key factors to longevity.

RD: I think the big one because everybody looks at my skin, I have my skin routine down pat but what can throw me with my skin is hormones.

I'm almost 48 years old, I'm a woman, so hormones can be a bugbear. So really, I'm a supplement queen, I love my supplements, and most of them are adrenaline balancing and hormone balancing for me means iodine to make sure my thyroid is taken care of, vitamin B for stress levels, otherwise, those hormones really throw my skin out.

ALL: And beyond aesthetics?

RD: I also try to look after my immunity and we have a couple of supplements repair for lengthening telomeres and eliminate for eliminating senolytic cells.

Another big thing, which again does come to telomeres, is I exercise. My choice of exercise is dance because it brings me joy and happiness, as well as strength and oxygen.

I think you need to find what makes you happy while also exercising so that you carry on doing it. That's a big thing for me!

ALL: Absolutely, because an unhappy life is not one that you want to keep living. So I love that you take us to that point at the end. Rachael, thank you so much for joining us today on A Longer Life.

It was really fascinating to learn about One Truth 818 and telomerase activation and all the ways that it intervenes in healthy skin. Thank you very much for joining us.

RD: My pleasure, thanks for having me!