Aging skin is underpowered.

Conceived for the brain, the body’s most energy-hungry organ, IDEO's R·M·A Complex™ brings that power to skin cells running low.

For the nerds

Designed to the brain’s standard

The brain is the body’s most energy-demanding organ, and its most guarded. A tight, fatty barrier lines its blood vessels and turns away most molecules that try to cross. Science conceived for the brain has to work under those terms: it isn’t enough for a compound to be active, it has to be able to reach the cell.

Skin has a barrier of its own. Its outer layers are built from lipids that keep the world out, and many longevity ingredients struggle to get past them in a form the cell can use. R·M·A Complex™ was shaped by the same standard as the brain science it came from. Its maleate is delivered as an oil-soluble ester, chosen to move through the skin’s lipid barrier, so it can reach the mitochondria where the energy cycle runs.

Every skin cell runs on a tiny engine.

Inside your skin cells are mitochondria: microscopic engines that turn fuel into ATP, the energy cells spend on everything. Building collagen, repairing damage, shedding old cells and making new ones all run on it.

At the heart of each engine is a loop of reactions called the Krebs cycle. Think of it as a revolving door: fuel can only get in when there’s an open seat waiting for it. With age, those seats run short. The door slows. Less energy comes out, and more exhaust (free radicals) leaks out with it.

This is what we mean when we say skin “forgets.” The instructions for renewal are still there. The cell just no longer has the energy to follow them. Restore the energy, and skin remembers.

For the nerds

Acetyl-CoA (2 carbons) enters the TCA cycle only by condensing with oxaloacetate (4 carbons) to form citrate. Oxaloacetate is held at very low levels, and the cycle is constantly drawn down as citrate, α-ketoglutarate and succinyl-CoA are pulled out to build fats, amino acids and heme (cataplerosis). Refilling the cycle with four-carbon intermediates is called anaplerosis.

When refilling lags, oxaloacetate becomes the bottleneck. Flux slows and less NADH reaches the electron transport chain. In aging mitochondria, worn complexes let more electrons escape as superoxide, while a slower cycle regenerates less NADPH to recharge glutathione and thioredoxin. More exhaust, weaker cleanup.

Oxaloacetate itself is unstable, so it can’t simply be added to a formula. R·M·A’s four-carbon primer is designed to address this supply gap, keeping the cycle replenished so fuel can keep entering.

CYCLE SPEED 100%
Energy (ATP) output
Free-radical exhaust

Illustrative model to explain the concept, not measured data.

The formula

Three letters. One job: keep the engine running.

Each part does something the others can't.

R

The longevity signal

Resveratrol

The grape-skin antioxidant at the center of longevity research, studied for its link to sirtuins, the proteins behind cellular repair. In R·M·A, it supports the energy work from another angle, helping protect the cell while sirtuin research points to a role in keeping mitochondria healthy.

For the nerds

Resveratrol's SIRT1 activation is best established in cell and model-organism studies; in skin it's also valued for quenching free radicals and calming visible redness. In R·M·A it's the bridge between energy and defense.

M

The primer

Maleate

The real slowdown isn’t just a lack of fuel. Fuel can only enter the cycle when there’s an open seat waiting for it, and aging cells run short of seats. Maleate is designed to add seats back, so fuel can get in and the cycle can start turning again.

For the nerds

Delivered as diethylhexyl maleate, an oil-soluble diester designed to move through the skin's lipid barrier. Maleate is the cis isomer of fumarate, itself a Krebs cycle intermediate. It was chosen over malate because it performed better in the finished formula.

A

The shield

Antioxidant ladder

Energy without protection would wear the cell out faster. So alongside the fuel, R·M·A supplies the defense: vitamin C, niacinamide (vitamin B3) and ergothioneine, three antioxidants that tackle free radicals from different angles.

For the nerds

Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate is an oil-soluble form of vitamin C. Niacinamide is a precursor to NAD⁺, the coenzyme the cycle hands electrons to. Ergothioneine is unusual: the body has a dedicated transporter for it (OCTN1), and it concentrates in the tissues most exposed to oxidative stress.

The system

Most antioxidants are single-use. R·M·A is a closed loop.

A typical antioxidant neutralises one free radical and it's spent. In R·M·A, the pieces keep each other working: maleate keeps the cycle turning, the turning cycle generates the reducing power cells use to regenerate their defenses, and those defenses protect the cycle. Tap a letter.

For the nerds

Antioxidant regeneration (glutathione, thioredoxin) runs on NADPH, which mitochondria help supply through pathways such as malic enzyme and nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase, both fed by an active TCA cycle. Energy supply and redox defense are coupled, not separate problems.

KREBS CYCLE → ATP R M A Resveratrol Maleate · primer Antioxidants

R signals and protects

Resveratrol quenches free radicals and is studied for activating SIRT1, a longevity protein involved in repair and metabolism.

M primes the cycle

Maleate supplies a four-carbon primer so fuel can get into the cycle. The door starts turning again.

A guards the engine

A ladder of antioxidants catches free radicals at different levels, so a faster engine doesn't mean more damage.

The cycle makes energy and recharge power

A running cycle produces ATP for renewal, plus NADH and FADH₂, the currency cells also draw on to keep their antioxidant systems topped up.

Tap a letter or a tab to see what each part does.

Most longevity skincare works downstream. R·M·A works at the source.

NAD⁺, mitophagy, senolytics: it's real science, and some of it is genuinely promising. But most of it responds to energy failure after the fact. R·M·A targets the supply.

Approach
What it does
The catch
Cofactor
NAD⁺ boosters (NMN, NR)
Tops up the coenzyme the cycle hands its electrons to.
Useful, and it's why niacinamide is in our formula. But a cofactor can't turn a cycle that's short on intermediates.
Clean-up
Mitophagy activators
Clears out damaged mitochondria.
Removes the problem rather than fixing supply. The replacements still need fuel.
Aftermath
Senolytics & senomorphics
Targets “zombie” cells that spread inflammation.
Addresses a consequence of long-term damage. The smoke, not the fire.
Demand
Retinoids & acids
Signal cells to turn over faster.
Proven and powerful, but they ask cells for more work. They don't supply the energy to do it.
Supply
R·M·A Complex™
Primes the Krebs cycle directly, then protects it while it runs.
Works upstream of the others, and pairs well with them.
For the nerds

Framing borrowed from the hallmarks-of-aging literature: mitochondrial dysfunction, deregulated nutrient sensing and cellular senescence are interlinked. Restoring TCA flux sits early in that chain, which is why it complements rather than competes with NAD⁺ or senotherapeutic strategies.

30 years of neuroscience in a bottle.

Dr. John P. Blass spent more than three decades at Cornell studying why aging brain cells lose energy, and how to restore it. His insight: feed the Krebs cycle its own intermediates and you can help restart a stalled engine.

Then came a more personal test. When his wife Gitte had a surgical scar that wouldn't heal, he applied the same logic topically. Within weeks, it had faded. That moment became IDEO.

For the nerds

Why the brain-to-skin leap makes sense: keratinocytes and neurons both arise from the embryonic ectoderm, and both are metabolically demanding tissues that show age-related declines in mitochondrial function. Brain research simply had less room for error.

Harvard CollegeA.B.
University of LondonPh.D., Biochemistry · Marshall Scholar
Columbia UniversityM.D.
Cornell / Weill MedicalProfessor of Neuroscience

More energy in. Visible change out.

Day 5

First visible improvement in tone and redness

35%

Faster cell renewal at 4 weeks

22%

More even skin tone at 4 weeks

100%

Of participants showed measurable improvement

Clinical testing of Skin Memory Serum, twice-daily use over 4 weeks. Add study size and method here. Individual results vary.

Results compound, like any good protocol.

Fast-turnover signs change first. Structural signs follow as renewed cells work their way up.

5 days

Calmer, more even

Redness settles and tone starts to even out.

2 weeks

Smoother, bouncier

Fine lines soften; skin looks more radiant and feels more elastic.

4 weeks +

Visibly younger-acting

Refined pores, faded dark spots, softer wrinkles. And the benefits keep building.

For the nerds

The epidermis turns over roughly every four to six weeks, lengthening with age. That's why a full cycle of consistent use is the fair test.

Questions

Skeptics welcome.

Can a cream actually reach mitochondria?

The living layers of your skin sit just beneath a thin barrier of dead cells, and they're metabolically busy. R·M·A delivers maleate as an oil-soluble ester, a form chosen to move through the skin's fatty barrier, so it can reach the cells that need it.

Is this the same as taking NMN or NAD⁺?

No. NAD⁺ boosters top up a helper molecule. R·M·A primes the cycle itself, one step earlier. They're complementary: our formula includes niacinamide, a NAD⁺ precursor, for exactly that reason.

Why start with brain research?

Neurons can't easily be replaced, so keeping their energy up is non-negotiable. Skin and brain cells share an embryonic origin and a hunger for energy. A mechanism rigorous enough for the brain turned out to be exactly what aging skin needed.

I track my healthspan. Is this for me?

If you track sleep, HRV and zone 2, your skin is the one organ where you can watch aging happen in real time. R·M·A is for anyone, at any age, who'd rather fix the power supply than cover the symptoms.

Does it work with retinol, vitamin C or acids?

R·M·A is designed to layer into most routines. Apply on clean, completely dry skin, morning and night, and follow with moisturizer. We recommend exfoliating 1 to 3 times a week. If you use strong actives, introduce new products gradually.

Does it replace sunscreen?

No. UV is the biggest outside driver of skin aging. Keep wearing SPF every day. R·M·A helps your cells do more with the energy they have.

The Skin Longevity Protocol

Refuel the engine. See the difference.

The Serum drives cellular renewal. The Moisturizer locks in hydration and protects the barrier. Together, they're the full protocol.

Shop the Protocol

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References

1. López-Otín C, et al. Hallmarks of aging: an expanding universe. Cell. 2023;186(2):243-278.

2. Howitz KT, et al. Small molecule activators of sirtuins extend Saccharomyces cerevisiae lifespan. Nature. 2003;425:191-196.

3. Gründemann D, et al. Discovery of the ergothioneine transporter. PNAS. 2005;102(14):5256-5261.

4. Bissett DL, et al. Topical niacinamide reduces yellowing, wrinkling, red blotchiness, and hyperpigmented spots in aging facial skin. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2004;26(5):231-238.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. IDEO products are cosmetics and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.