Reviewed 10 July 2026.
Polynucleotides have become the UK’s fastest-growing regenerative injectable, with patient awareness driven by celebrity coverage of ‘salmon DNA’ treatments. The clinical reality is more modest and still worth having: purified DNA fragments appear to support fibroblast activity and skin quality, with the strongest early data in periorbital skin.
What the evidence shows
- Multiple small clinical studies show improvements in skin elasticity, hydration and periorbital appearance over treatment courses.
- Large randomised trials are still lacking, and duration-of-effect data is immature.
- They are not fillers. There is no meaningful volumising effect, and consultations that imply tear-trough ‘filling’ set patients up for disappointment.
Our skin boosters and polynucleotides course teaches the protocols alongside the critical appraisal, because the practitioners who consult honestly on new treatments are the ones patients return to when the trend cycle moves on.