Rewriting the Rules of Body Contouring

Breaking the Cycle of Cellulite Formulation Challenges

For cosmetic formulators, creating effective, non-invasive body contouring solutions remains a notoriously difficult task. Despite consumer demand for visible cellulite reduction and firmer, more sculpted skin, delivering clinically proven results without irritation, poor bioavailability, or excessive formulation constraints is no easy feat. Conventional lipolytic ingredients often suffer from low penetration, instability, or the need for multiple actives to achieve a single function—leaving formulators with difficult decisions about efficacy versus simplicity.

As beauty consumers grow increasingly focused on body positivity and skin confidence, there’s also more pressure to provide high-performance results in user-friendly textures like gels, creams, and serums. Cellulite, often caused by fat accumulation, water retention, and weakened dermal structure, requires a multifaceted approach targeting adipose tissue, dermal density, and skin elasticity. But how can formulators efficiently deliver actives to the hypodermis—the skin’s deepest functional layer—without compromising stability or performance?

Enter V3DS Sculpt by INdermal. This novel ingredient system isn’t just another lipolytic peptide—it’s an advanced delivery-based solution engineered for depth, potency, and transformation.

The Formulation Roadblocks: Why Traditional Anti-Cellulite Solutions Fall Short

To effectively address cellulite, cosmetic actives must reach subcutaneous fat layers and stimulate lipolysis, collagen synthesis, and dermal remodeling. However, many actives struggle to reach their biological targets due to their molecular size or degradation during formulation. Standard liposomes may only superficially deliver actives, and peptides in particular are notoriously difficult to stabilize and transport across the skin’s extracellular matrix.

Furthermore, there’s a growing demand for ingredients that are natural-origin, biodegradable, and suitable for minimalist formulations—yet still potent enough to deliver fast, visible results. Add to this the increasing complexity of multi-claim products (volume reduction, firmness, push-up effect, skin smoothing), and it’s clear that formulators need not just an ingredient, but a delivery system designed to overcome the skin’s natural barriers.

The challenge isn’t just about choosing the right active—it’s about ensuring that the active can get where it needs to go, remain stable, and deliver on its promise.

The V3DS Sculpt Advantage: Encapsulation Meets Bioinspired Innovation

V3DS Sculpt is a game-changer precisely because it addresses all of the above. It features a patented Deep Down Delivery System (V3DS) that encapsulates 0.02% Heptapeptide-6—a novel peptide bioinspired by Sex Hormone Binding Globulin (SHBG), a protein known for its role in lipid metabolism. Unlike many peptides used in slimming and firming products, this one mimics SHBG’s unique ability to regulate fat accumulation and trigger lipolysis while reducing inflammation.

Encapsulated in vegan, ultradeformable nanovesicles sized between 150–300 nm, the peptide is delivered directly to adipocytes in the hypodermis. These nanocarriers are engineered to navigate the dense extracellular matrix and release the peptide gradually, ensuring high bioavailability, extended efficacy, and minimal degradation. This translates into improved stability, no unwanted product discoloration, and a consistent performance profile in diverse formulation types—including gels, emulsions, and serums.

The V3DS platform is the culmination of over a decade of encapsulation expertise, with origins in oncology-focused research at Vall d’Hebron Hospital. In body care, it marks a new frontier: precision-targeted delivery with proven results.

Efficacy Backed by Data: From Ex Vivo to In Vivo Success

What truly sets V3DS Sculpt apart is its comprehensive body of evidence supporting both its mechanism of action and visible results. In ex vivo studies using human organotypic skin explant cultures, V3DS Sculpt demonstrated a significant ability to modulate lipid metabolism within adipose tissue. Specifically, treatment with V3DS Sculpt led to a 28% reduction in triglyceride levels, confirming its potent lipolytic effect. This was supported by a 330% increase in lipase activity—an enzyme directly involved in the breakdown of stored fats—signifying an enhanced capacity to mobilize fat reserves within treated skin tissues.

In addition to these biochemical changes, the ex vivo study further revealed a 49% reduction in fat content within adipose cells, measured using bodipy dye staining techniques. This marked decrease in intracellular fat was accompanied by a 14% reduction in adipocyte area, suggesting that the treatment not only triggered fat breakdown but also contributed to a tangible reduction in cell volume. These results collectively underscore V3DS Sculpt’s ability to address the core physiological contributors to cellulite and localized fat accumulation—laying a strong foundation for in vivo application.

The in vivo results only strengthen the case. In a clinical study involving 30 healthy female participants aged 18 to 50, all exhibiting stage II or III cellulite, topical application of a gel containing 5% V3DS Sculpt over 56 days produced statistically significant improvements. Participants experienced up to a 1.9 cm reduction in thigh circumference, a notable outcome given the challenge of achieving measurable contouring through topical applications alone. Additionally, skin firmness increased by up to 10%, and elasticity improved by as much as 21%. These improvements were not only visually appreciable but also objectively measured, demonstrating a robust enhancement in skin structure and mechanical properties.

Equally important, the study documented visible improvement in the texture of the skin, including a reduction in the appearance of orange peel and dimpling—hallmarks of advanced cellulite. A pronounced “push-up” effect was also observed, which researchers attributed to increased dermal density and enhanced support from underlying tissue structures. Taken together, these clinical results illustrate that V3DS Sculpt is not merely a topical ingredient with theoretical promise—it is a high-performance system capable of delivering meaningful and measurable improvements in body contour, tone, and firmness.

A Glimpse Into the Future: What This Means for Formulators

V3DS Sculpt signals a critical shift in how formulators can approach body contouring. No longer constrained by superficial delivery systems or formulation instability, you can now create body care products that reach deeper, last longer, and perform better—without synthetic compromise.

It also aligns with growing market preferences for natural, vegan, and biodegradable ingredients. With 99.8% natural origin content and high dermal compatibility, V3DS Sculpt supports cleaner labels and broader claims. And thanks to its broad pH tolerance (3–11), thermal stability (up to 80°C), and ease of incorporation into aqueous or emulsified systems, it provides significant formulation flexibility.

As consumers demand more from their skincare—especially in the realm of body care—formulators will need technologies like V3DS Sculpt to meet those expectations without trade-offs. This ingredient doesn’t just address symptoms of cellulite; it enables a more targeted, technically sound path to reshaping the skin from the inside out.

Ready to Sculpt the Future of Body Care?

With V3DS Sculpt, formulators gain access to a scientifically engineered delivery platform, a clinically proven active, and a formulation-friendly system that can reshape how cellulite and skin firmness are addressed. If you’re looking to develop the next generation of high-performance body treatments, this is where it begins.

Request a sample or formulation support at Deveraux Specialties today. Let’s redefine results—deep down.

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