Tag: derma-e

Skincare During a Pandemic

thealtruisticface

I hope all of my readers are doing well and keeping healthy!

If I’m being honest, skincare has been the last thing on my mind as of late. I’m sticking to my routine still, but I haven’t been inspired to try anything new, despite having a long stretch of time to do so.

But I did share this long quarantine month with Derma-E Vitamin C cream. I had forgotten what a powerhouse this cream was, despite the Vitamin C being likely less concentrated in it’s moisturizer form. And I do have a little bit of beef with some of the end-of-day pilling I noticed, but my skin has been amazingly clear and bright for most of the month! I recommend this to sensitive-skin users, if you’re looking for an entry-level Vitamin C cream.

I also wanted to talk about a post I saw on Reddit. I can’t remember if it was a YSK (you should know) or a LPT (life pro tip)-type thread, or maybe it was just in the skincare subreddit! But the overall message was, “Just because I haven’t worn makeup in a few weeks, doesn’t mean my acne stopped”.

I love this message. I think a larger part of the population believe that, if you have acne, it’s because you are dirty, or it’s because you’re using too much makeup. This is not true at all! Hormones play a much larger part in causing acne, and it’s probably king among other acne triggers, like stress and the outside environment.

Sometimes we all stumble upon a product that makes us break out a little more, sure, and foundation can certainly be one of those products. But break outs can happen due to an allergy or a skin sensitivity as well, a very possible scenario given the amount of different ingredients packed into a tiny bottle of product. And who’s to say the breakouts can’t completely be chalked up to hormones, in the first place?

So yes, you may be spending your quarantine with no makeup and a perfect routine every day. But it’s not going to guarantee your skin will get better — and that’s ok!

Overall, I’ve seen a lot of positive messaging to encourage people that they don’t “need” to do everything right during this quarantine. You don’t need to use this time to change all of your imperfections. The only thing we need to worry about is just to get through the day, and never losing hope that we’re one day closer to “normal life” again! ~A

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Derma-E Anti-Wrinkle Eye Cream

thealtruisticface

I guess I lied about needing an Epiduo-induced skincare break — this reliable little eye cream was worth a post. Now, I know what you’re saying, “eye creams are a scam, they’re just up-marketed moisturizers/retinoids!”, which is probably true. But I still LIKE this thing.

This was a relatively inexpensive buy at $14-$15 that I picked up at a local natural foods store, I think they’re also available at various vitamin shops. The tube is only half an ounce, but a little goes a long way.

This comes out as a white cream that you lightly apply under your eye and near the corners. Obviously be careful not to get too close to your waterline, or you’re going to get a bit of stinging. It’s easy to oversaturate this product, so in that instance it take a bit longer to rub into the skin, but otherwise, it absorbs very well and quickly, without being heavy. Even if you do oversaturate, you won’t experience that stinging sensation that retinol products sometimes cause when you overdo it.

Speaking of retinol, that’s in here, so apply this at night. There’s also a bunch of plant-based ingredients in here, which I like. No drying alcohols. There’s also “bakuchiol”, a retinol alternative, that I’d never heard of before today, so it looks like I have something new to research.

Now, I’m sure some of this could be placebo effect, but when I woke up the next morning after using it, I swore my natural and normally very pronounced under-eye circles were slightly diminished, a feat no other product has ever accomplished. A few fine lines had also decreased as well. I don’t really think the effects carry beyond an entire day, but I’m convinced it does work relatively quickly, with noticeable results.

What I love about the product (well, on the packaging I have, at least), it specifies that the user “dabs around the eye area with your ring finger”, because they darn well know if you use your pointer finger, you’re going to put way too much on. Anyway — I’ll definitely rebuy this after I run out. Call me a sucker for buying into the eye-cream scheme… ~A

Perceived efficacy: 4.5/5

Longevity: 1.5/5

How much I actually like this product: 4/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: Yes

Derma-E Vitamin C Renewing Moisturizer

thealtruisticface1 Comment

I’ve always heard anecdotes about Vitamin C serums being far more effective than moisturizers, since the type and the percentage of vit C is higher in the serum. Be that as it may, my skin is still crazy sensitive, and sometimes these serums simply don’t dry in time before I need to leave for work. So this was my first ever Vitamin C creme moisturizer.

It comes in a pump bottle — this is relevant because it keeps the Vitamin C stable, since exposure to air will cause it to break down. So if you learn anything from this review, don’t buy anything Vit C related that’s in a jar or tub. I digress. There’s quite a bit of product in here and it’s another case of one or two pumps going a long way.

The cream is white but absorbs quickly and colorlessly, although some white residue might cling a little bit to peach fuzz you might have on your face (been there…), so be careful of that. Don’t use this as your only moisturizer, it’s not at all heavy enough — use something over it. Probably one of the bigger selling points of this product, for me, is the scent: It’s AMAZING!! If you like Fruit Loops. Which I do.

There’s essentially no dry time, so it can go under any of your other products without any pilling issues. Make sure you wear sunscreen with this product, as Vitamin C will increase your sun sensitivity. Now, speaking of skin issues, you might encounter a break out or two initially, because Vit C is an exfoliant, but you shouldn’t expect to see anything terribly uncouth. Unless, of course, you have sensitivities to oils, in which case stay away. This has a few of them. Other than that, though, the ingredient listing is largely naturals, and has no drying alcohols.

As for the overall effect, I noticed my skin was “brighter” for the first hour or two of wearing this — longer term, it seemed my pores had shrunk in size, and some of my skin tone had evened out. As for deeper icepick scarring, ehh — this product didn’t help much.

Considering moisturizers are not as powerful as serums, I think this product is shockingly effective and fast-moving: If you have any spots that are in the process of healing, this moisturizer will speed up the process tenfold of turning the skin over. I had a bad patch of skin with superficial scarring that I thought would take weeks to heal, and using this product did it in about 3 days. Unfortunately that meant my skin was quite literally flaking off in the middle of work. Not my best look.

All in all, though, I would repurchase this $17 bottle. It works, it smells good, it’s lightweight, and it’s pretty darn effective. ~A

Buy this powerhouse Vitamin C moisturizer here:https://amzn.to/2UcNSAE

Perceived efficacy: 5/5

Longevity: 4/5

How much I actually like this product: 4.5/5

Recommended for sensitive skin: Maybe