Darkfin Labs Brings Longevity Science To Ulta

Darkfin Labs, a skincare brand founded by a stem cell biologist and inspired by regenerative research, has expanded to Ulta.com.

The brand’s flagship Longevity Protocol Serum + Moisturizer is available at Ulta.com, with a face cleanser and lip treatment to follow. The multitasking product was evaluated across more than 80 clinical participants, according to the brand.

At its core is L-01, a reconstructed cell-signaling complex built to speak the language skin uses to renew itself. Visible aging runs on several drivers at once, and most formulas pick one. L-01 is multi-pathway by design, targeting the visible signs of stressed skin at the cellular level while supporting the extracellular matrix that holds skin firm.

Four scientists spent two years and more than 40 iterations finding an equilibrium for the potency of a traditional serum and barrier support of moisturizer.

“Skincare has spent a century working on the surface,” said Annalina Che, founder of Darkfin Labs. “Skin doesn’t age in one direction, so a product shouldn’t work in one either. I wanted a protocol that works with the biology already doing the renewing — not six products layered on top of it.”

Unlocking the Skin Secretome

The brand began at a New York longevity research startup, where Che worked on the skin secretome — the messenger proteins cells use to coordinate renewal — building on her stem cell research at Northwestern University. Because sourcing those proteins from human cells does not scale, Darkfin mapped the youthful secretome across millions of data points and rebuilt it: bio-identical growth factors and peptides grown in plants, paired with an enzyme that supports cellular NAD+. Growth factors are large and fragile, officials say, and most never get past the surface of the skin. Darkfin’s are fused to a lipid bilayer. The AI infrastructure behind the work was developed with Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Labs.

In human skin models, L-01 was tested for its ability to reverse established markers of skin aging. The finished formula has since been evaluated in more than 80 participants under dermatologist oversight. Its most recent study admitted only subjects whose skin was already measurably compromised and recorded a visible and measurable reduction across visible aging metrics like lines and elasticity over 28 days, in addition to increased barrier strength. A manuscript is being prepared for peer-reviewed publication.

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