Archive for the ‘Facial Cleanser Articles’ Category

Dermajuv Detoxifying Acne Cleanser

Friday, October 9th, 2009

dermajuv-acne-cleanserAcne suffers can tell you that all cleansers are not created equally, especially when it comes to treating acne and the damaged tissue common with breakouts.  Dermajuv Cosmeceuticals has created a cleanser specifically designed for the treatment of acne, and the results it provides has not only surprised our staff, but it also has leading dermatologists and scientists worldwide taking notice.  Engineered based upon the latest research of leading Universities such as Oxford University, this detoxifying acne cleanser utilizes the active ingredient Resveratrol along with many other medical grade ingredients to deliver results second to none.

Dermajuv has made a name for itself by providing consumers with only the best ingredients they can buy.  The Detoxifying Acne Cleanser is no exception.  The combination of nature’s most essential vitamins, oils and extracts with glycolic acid makes for a fantastic cleanser no matter what skin condition you have.  The gentle exfoliation removes all toxins and impurities that can cause breakouts from the skin, while delivering the skin the nourishment and soothing moisture it needs to maintain its health.  Yet Dermajuv took this Detoxifying Acne Cleanser to a whole new level.

Dermajuv has integrated the use of Resveratrol into its line of acne treatments, in part because of the huge documented success found in the studies on Acne Cures published by Oxford University.  Resveratrol has unique properties that make its use in the treatment of acne a dream come true to acne sufferers.  Resveratrol is an anti inflammatory, an anti oxidant as well as an anti biotic.  This gives this acne cleanser a unique advantage over the competition, and Dermajuv customers are well aware of the benefits.

Resveratrol provides consumers the anti oxidant protection that all of us want to protect ourselves from premature aging.  While many cleansers to have anti oxidants, this one is different.  Resveratrol is also an anti inflammatory so it will reduce the redness and swelling of the damaged tissue surrounding the breakout.  By reducing inflammation not only is the visibility of the acne reduced, but the potential for acne scars is significantly diminished.  It is that inflammation that is caused by the skin’s attempt to heal the breakout that actually results in significant damage to the tissue and leaves scars.  But the last aspect of Resveratrol is what makes its use so essential to acne sufferers and why this acne cleanser is so special.

Resveratol acts as an anti biotic within the skin.  That means it penetrates the skin with ease and it effectively eliminates the bacteria there that causes breakouts. The Oxford Study has proven that the higher the levels of Resveratrol are in your system, the lower the levels of acne causing bacteria.  This means that Dermajuv’s Detoxifying Acne Cleanser not only soothes irritation, cleanses and exfoliates the skin, but it also treats the acne where it begins, as a bacteria.
Why is Dermajuv Detoxifying Cleanser our Top Rated Cleanser for the Treatment of Acne?

The answer is simple.  Dermajuv has engineered the perfect cleanser for acne sufferers.  This gentle cleanser reduces the inflammation, protects against free radicals, eliminates all impurities from the skin as well as ACTUALLY TREATING ACNE!  This product is free of Benzoyl Peroxide, so it is safe for your skin, and its effectiveness so profound that we actually recommend it for all types of consumers.  While this cleanser is designed for use by consumers who struggle with acne on a regular basis, consumers who only have occasional breakouts have begun using this cleanser as their acne treatment.

Whether your acne problems are small or large, the Dermajuv Detoxifying Acne Cleanser is the solution you have been waiting for.  Using this cleanser as part of your daily routine will improve your complexion, and best of all Dermajuv guarantees all of their products.  If the clinical studies and Oxford University are not enough to convince you, 30 days with this cleanser certainly will.

Perricone Skin Clear

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Perricone MD Skin Clear Cleanser got a fair grade, but did not blow us away.

perricone facial cleanserPerricone MD Skin Clear Cleanser is a non-drying, oil free cleanser that is intended to help clarify troubled skin as well as reverse the signs of aging.  This cleanser claims to penetrate deep into the skin to eliminate surface contaminations, makeup and excess oils.  Minimizing pores and renewing cellular regeneration improves the tone and contour of the skin, and Perricone MD claims this cleanser delivers.  Any products that work on the cellular level and focus on cellular renewal are of deep interest to us as they are clearly the leaders within the industry.

What we found was a well balanced, moderately priced cleanser that seemed to clean the skin alright, but was a mild irritant.  We assumed this was by design to sponsor new cell growth, but it was not disclosed at all.  Our concern is that sensitive as well as normal skin types would most likely have a irritating reaction to this cleanser.  The concern did not fade after a few days as is the case with many cleansers, this seemed to be so focused on scrubbing and removing acne causing toxins that it really left the average consumer by the wayside.

The fact that Perricone MD calls this an anti aging cleanser is a bit of false advertising in our opinion, not because it is not a good product for what it does, it’s just that anti aging isn’t one of them. If you scratched your face with a rock it would sponsor new cell growth, but that does not mean that the rock is an anti aging rock, it just means it irritated your skin.  Your skin’s natural response is to heal itself, which is grow skin cells.   This cleanser is obviously far more advanced than a rock, and it does a nice job cleansing the skin and I am sure it’s fantastic for acne, but it should be used by certain skin types, certainly not all types.

Overall

This is yet another product in the long line of pretty good, but (for our liking), disappointing cleansers.  Perricone MD knows enough to make a cleanser that not only cleans, it detoxifies and is also intended to ease the symptoms of aging, yet with the exception of cleansing, this product did not deliver.  Consumers are always looking for anti aging solutions and in our opinion Perricone MD Skin Clear Cleanser is just capitalizing on that buzz.  There is nothing special about this cleanser in particular, and depending on your skin type you should be a bit cautious.  There are far more balanced and better suited facial cleansers to choose from that deliver what they say as well as sooth your skin rather than irritate it.

Purity Made Simple

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Philosophy Brand’s facial cleanser called “Purity Made Simple” was a nice product.  But a bit TOO simple.

purity made simple cleanserThe Philosophy Purity Made Simple facial cleanser is a popular cleanser being sold on the internet and in retail stores. Purity Made Simple is intended to deeply cleanse pores and dissolve dirt and makeup on contact.  This cleanser is cut from the mold of cleansers a few years old.  Not that they do not wash your face well, but they are just not nearly as advanced as many modern therapeutic cleansers.  The combination of Chamomile, sage and carrot as ingredients were the reason we wanted to test and try this particular facial cleanser.

The use of Chamomile in a facial cleanser has proven to be highly effective in recent years with some of the leading facial cleansers including it in their formula.  This anti inflammatory is said to reduce irritation and swelling and is known to help in the removal of discoloration.  Chamomile would normally be the cornerstone of a well engineered facial cleanser, however Philosophy simply dropped the ball on this one.

The calming and soothing sensation generally associated with sage and chamomile were not experienced with this cleanser.  The product seemed to do a good job cleansing the skin and leaving pores free of excess dirt and oils.  It did not, however, seem to have any anti aging qualities or properties.  It should be noted that Philosophy Purity Made Simple never claimed that it would have those characteristics.  It was our hope after reading the ingredients that they would take on some of their natural properties, however they do not, at least not in this formula.

Overall

This facial cleanser is affordably priced and does a decent job at cleansing your skin.  Our concern is that it is just not an advanced cleanser.  The more that we learn about how crucial a role in anti aging and healthy skin care a cleanser can be, the more we tend to lean towards the cleansers that deliver those results.  Philosophy created a well balanced formula that delivered what it said it would, a clean face.  But in today’s day and age that is just not good enough, not anymore at least.  Keep looking for a more advanced cleanser, they will all clean your face but only a few will have therapeutic purpose as well.

Peter Thomas Roth

Monday, July 27th, 2009

Peter Thomas Roth’s Anti Aging Cleansing Gel got a fair review, but not great.

facial cleanser peter thomas rothWith all the advancements and proven success of cleansing gels and the fact that the best cleansers are documenting anti aging treatment success, PeterThomasRoth’s anti aging cleanser was on the tops of our list to try and test.  This cleanser appears to be the latest in facial cleanser, based upon the name at least, and we were hopeful it would have all of the results it claims to.  The product seemed to have mixed reviews that we were able to see prior to using it, but it all seemed like it was a high quality cleansing gel.

Our initial response to this product was one of mild concern.  The product seemed to dry out skin initially.  Those of us with oily skin did not have as much of an issue as those of us with normal or dry skin.  This was a bit concerning due to the fact that generally facial cleansing gels work with all skin types, but after a few days of applications all of our skin adapted to the cleanser and it seemed to be working fine, at least in that regard.

PeterThomasRoth seemed to have created an affordable priced cleansing gel that promised to deliver anti aging results.  That is where our concern came up.  Claiming to work on deep cell resurfacing and constant regeneration of skin cells, we expected the cleanser to take a bit of time to display anti aging results, but they just never came.  It did not sooth skin or seem to have any sort of anti inflammatory properties, and there was no increased circulation of the skin either.  This product did not test well in regards to the anti aging aspect of it, nor was it suitable for all skin types.

Overall
The initial dryness that we felt definitely passed so we are not going to put too much emphasis on that, however the sensitive skin types in our testing group found this product to be irritating to their skin.  Now to PeterThomasRoth’s credit they did say it was not suitable for sensitive skin types, but how hard is it to make a balanced cleanser that can be used on all skin types?  That was our first issue with this product, and the fact that it claims to sponsor cellular regeneration was our second issue.  Your skin grows new skin cells for a multitude of reasons, including mild abrasion.  This cleansing gel seemed to rely solely on that approach for skin cell growth.  That is simply an outdated approach and despite this manufacturers use of a gel and its intention to combine anti aging qualities (both very forward thinking concepts) they chose to use an ancient method to do so.  Overall, there are far better products to choose from, that are twice as mild on the skin.  The price may be right on this one, but the cleanser is wrong.

La Mer Facial Cleanser

Monday, July 27th, 2009

The Facial Cleansing Gel by La Mer was enjoyable, although not our favorite.  As usual, La Mer put a quality product on the market.

la mer facial cleanserWe all know that La Mer is widely considered a high quality product line and their prices certainly reflect their reputation.  But what made us so excited about testing and using this cleanser is both the brand name, but also their use of the cleansing gel as their product.  As the anti aging industry continues to advance, we find that certain formulations and delivery systems work much better than others.  This is the case with gels.  For eye treatments there is nothing better than a gel and the same is also proven to be the case with cleansers.
La Mer’s claims to use magnetized tourmaline as well as their La Mer specially formulated waters to draw dirt, debris, makeup and pollutants out and away from the skin.  The gentle gel cleanses without the harsh rubbing usually associated with cleansers.  La Mer has chosen to focus the treatment of their cleansing gel on the maintenance of the skin’s moisture barrier.  While this treatment is certainly suitable for all skin types, as are all cleansing gels, it does very little to aid in the treatment of aging symptoms.
La Mer is not shy in exploiting their brand name by pricing this product through the roof, at least as most cleansers are concerned.  They deliver roughly 6.5 fl. Oz. of cleansing gel  to consumers, which is a nice amount of product, but they do so at a price that is usually reserved for actual skin treatment, not just a simple wash.  If this cleansing gel was designed to reduce irritation or sooth skin, or perhaps even increase circulation or provide some sort of therapeutic treatment we would be more comfortable with the price, but as it stands, it just seemed too much.  Clearly the formulations are quality and certainly the product is very nice to use, however it is just not an advanced facial cleanser, and La Mer has fallen behind the grading curve with this particular cleanser.
Overall
Overall, La Mer delivered what they always do, a high end luxurious facial cleanser that cleans skin and leaves it feeling refreshed and toned.  This cleanser uses the leading formulation and delivery system with its use of a gel based product, but that is where this product stopped.  La Mer did little to make their facial cleanser as advanced as it could have, and in our opinion should have been.  If all you want is to wash your face and tell your friends that you use La Mer products, then this might be for you. But if you want total and effective facial cleansing and treatment, there are far more superior products out there to choose from at a fraction of the cost.

Aveeno Ultra-Calming Cleanser

Saturday, July 11th, 2009

The Aveeno Ultra-Calming Foaming Facial Cleanser was a pleasant, affordable facial cleanser, but lacks in the way of any therapeutic abilities.

aveeno ultra-calming foaming facial cleanserThe Aveeno name is rather popular among skin care products these days and many of their products can be found in local stores.  While that is usually of some concern for us, Aveeno’s use of Chamomile in this cleanser had us intrigued.  Chamomile is known for its anti inflammatory properties and is intended to reduce redness and irritation in the skin, while it is cleansed.  The right formulas will use Chamomile it is known to lift away excess dirt and oils but is gentle on extremely sensitive skin and never over dries the skin.

Aveeno has priced this cleanser competitively and about average for your standard over the counter brand cleansers.  There is a decent amount of product provided and it can certainly be afforded by the average household.  We were not, however, overly pleased with the actual formulation of this cleanser.  It left skin feeling less than clean.  It cannot be described as an oily residue, but something Aveeno did in their engineering of this product leaves the skin almost “slippery” to the touch after rinsing.  This was the experience of one of our testers.

We have always been an endorser of products that use all natural ingredients and herbal remedies for the skin, and Aveeno certainly fits that bill.  Their use of natural ingredients is well known, but the effectiveness of this particular cleanser was average at best when compared to some others on the market.

Overall
Overall, Aveeno’s Ultra Calming Foaming Cleanser was a fairly well balanced cleanser that was certainly not irritating to the skin.  It went on smoothly and was comfortable to apply and wash with.  The complaint that we had with it was it just did not feel like it all washed away.  It’s not that the skin was simply moisturized, it felt as if a slimy residue remained.  This could be problematic to use underneath makeup or if you are treating your skin with a wrinkle cream or any anti aging serum.  We applaud the use of Chamomile, but are concerned about the actual formula itself.  Aveeno attempted to make a therapeutic cleanser with this foam, but simply missed its mark.

Decleor Foaming Cleanser

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Decleor Foaming Facial Cleanser was quite pleasing, but not fantastic.

The Foaming Facial Cleanser from DecleorDecleor has always had a name as a quality skin care product line and certainly has many products to choose from.  This foaming cleanser is an interesting take on facial cleansers as it is creamy, soft and even mousse-like in its texture.  It combines an interesting blend of all natural ingredients including lavender oils and orange and kiwi essential waters.  Papaya extract is used to cleanse the skin without over drying it and makes this product work well with all skin types.

Decleor has priced this facial cleanser on the expensive end, making its use a rather costly one.  The fact that it is such a soft, or foaming textured product made us feel as though we were paying a bit too much considering the actual amount of product that we received.  While amount of product is only one aspect to judging a facial cleansers, it is a strong indicator of the overall value of a purchase.

This is a well balanced formula and its ingredients are certainly all appealing to the average consumers.  Using natural products like Kiwi and lavender oils or Papaya extract makes one feel like they are getting this cleanser straight from the tropics, but the truth is that it leaves your skin feeling less than clean.  Most facial cleansers are going to nourish the skin and it does not take a high priced product to achieve that.  For the money, we were expecting either some serious anti aging results, or at the very least a deeply cleansed sensation.  Unfortunately, we got neither from Decleor Foaming Cleanser.

Overall
Do not be confused by saying we did not get either a deeply cleansed sensation or any anti aging results, not all facial cleansers provide that.  This product was of decent quality and we did enjoy the use of it.  Is it the most impressive facial cleanser we have seen, clearly not.  But it is not the worst either.  It is a balanced formula that is interesting to apply.  But for the price, we did not get that refreshed feeling that you would expect, and felt that for the amount of product received there was more value in other facial cleansers.  While we do enjoy other products from the Decleor Brand, the cleanser was just not very high on our list.

Lancome Absolue Premium

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Lancome Absolue Premium Bx Advanced Creamy Face Foam Cleanser

Lancome absolue premium bx creamy face cleanserWe really enjoyed the use of this rich facial cleanser.  It really did feel nice, and luxurious.  At the price tag of $40, you can get this facial cleanser at most of the fancier department stores like Bergdorf Goodman.  As nice as it is to use, it didn’t really score very well with our review squad.

First, for a cream at this price, you would think that it might be packaged in a bottle or a jar.  However, a thin plastic tube is what you get.  The packaging was a bit like any of the $5 creams you can buy at your local grocery store.

Ingredients and what they do for the skin, is the most important thing when judging facial cleansers. In this regard, Lancome chooses not to release all the ingredients that their products hold, which leaves the consumer sort of guessing…  I suppose that by leaving the ingredients up to the imagination, and charging a high price, people are inclined to just ASSUME that they’re getting much more powerful ingredients than the average cream.  In fact, this just isn’t true.

Lancome DOES release some of the ingredients that are in this facial cleanser, and they refer to the combination as their “Bio-network” whatever that means.  This cleanser has Wild Yam, Soy, Sea Algae and Barley.   The claim that Lancome makes about these ingredients is that they will restore elasticity and radiance to the skin without drying it out.   That’s not too lofty a goal, considering every other facial cleanser from $1 up promises to do the same thing, and for the most part DOES it.

How did it go when we tried it?

Well, we didn’t notice too much change in our skin.  Indeed, the cleanser is rich and luxurious.  However, it is a bit heavy and we felt like after we rinsed, that it was leaving something behind on the skin.  It was like we felt like we had to rinse a lot more, in order to get the feeling to go away.  Perhaps it is just because the cleanser is designed to be so rich, that it has some “oily” type of characteristics to it, that don’t feel like they’re all washed off when you rinse.   Besides this, the majority of the users who tried it did enjoy it, but said that as far as a cleanser that has potential to make the skin look younger, smoother, and better, this wasn’t their top choice.

Overall, we did enjoy the product, but it’s cost and the “not washed off” feeling we had caused the Lancome Absolue Premium Bx Advanced Creamy Face Foam Cleanser to NOT be our favorite facial cleanser on the market.

MD Forte Facial Cleansers

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

MD Forte has a three product line of facial cleansers, and makes lofty promises of removing wrinkles and lines.

facial cleansers from md forteMD Forte is another brand that has a couple cleansers to choose from, while we are not the largest fan of this marketing approach these cleansers are geared toward aging skin and replenishing the nourishment it needs to look its best.  Designed to penetrate deep into the skin to diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles while eliminating hyperpigmention and acne scarring, MD Forte certainly has lofty goals for a cleansers, we were eager to put it to the test.

While there are a couple different products to choose from, we had a bit of a hard time distinguishing between the goals and treatments of each, they all seemed to do pretty much the same thing.  These cleansers seemed to be a balanced formula and were pleasant enough to use, however the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles was not visible nor was the removal of hyperpigmentation.  Skin is left feeling clean and hydrated and there was some dead skin cell removal that resulted in skin looking revitalized and full of shine.

Personally, we admire the concept of creating a facial cleanser that removes wrinkles and fine lines.  However, we know from experience using creams and such, that even the finest of anti wrinkle creams don’t always work as well as we’d like.   Now, imagine a cleanser that you RINSE OFF, performing a task that wrinkle creams rarely can accomplish… it’s a little tough to have very high hopes for actually removing wrinkles with a cleanser.  However, any help in that direction is much appreciated.

MD Forte uses Glycolic Acid in their facial cleansers, which is a commonly used ingredient in facial cleansers.  It is a deep penetrating ingredient that is designed to work at the lowest levels of your skin and treat each of its target symptoms.   Glycolic acid is a pretty strong ingredient for fragile skin to handle.  It is an exfoliant, so if you have dry or sensitive skin, you probably want to skip this cleanser.

MD Forte use has had documented results in many studies and independent test, however our testing of MD Forte did not support any of their claims.  It is a pleasant cleanser and it leaves skin feeling fresh, but it does not rank among the leading facial cleansers for consumers use.

Overall
Overall, we felt that this was an average quality facial cleanser that uses solid ingredients.  The largest issue that we had was the fact that there seemed to be a series of cleansers from MD Forte that we just couldn’t decipher the difference between.  We were compelled to purchase multiple products to get the full benefits of these cleansers, yet were left wanting.  There was confusion about whether to use one of the products, or both in combination, it was just too awkward and uncomfortable.  This is a facial cleanser, it does not need to be so complicated.  Combine the right ingredients and treatments into a well balanced formula that provides the results desired.  While MD Forte put forth a valid effort, they came up a bit short with this series of facial cleansers.  There are many more effective options for facial cleansers with anti aging benefits, we suggest you continue your search.

Murad Facial Cleansers

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Murad’s Line of Facial Cleansers Is Excellent, but why not make one that has everything?

murads line of facial cleansersWe started this review by looking at the Clarifying Cleanser.  This cleanser is the latest cleanser from the brand name Murad, a popular name in the anti aging industry.  Designed to eliminate blemishes where they begin, at the deepest levels of your skin this product is primarily used to treat irritation such as pimples and other oil related symptoms.  Armed with anti bacterial cleansers, Murad claims to remove surface bacteria in a matter of minutes and their name alone was reason for us to want to review this product.

Initially we were surprised to find that Murad took a short cut by not creating a cleanser that does more than simply cleanse and help prevent breakouts.  While for many consumers that is a goal for their cleansers, any basic cleansers will do that.  Murad earned its reputation by being a leader in the anti aging industry and yet these cleanser does very little to prepare your skin for anti aging treatments that follow.  While taken back by this, we were still eager to put these products to the test.

Murad has a series of cleansers each with their own specific treatment.  This is curious to us as cleansers are usually all combined into one with the exception of certain treatments.  They have an Essential C Cleanser, which uses the vitamin C as an active ingredient to boost collagen production.  Murad also has a Soothing Gel Cleanser designed to reduce irritation.  There are other cleansers as well focusing on anti oxidants such as the Pomegranate Cleanser.  While it is nice to have all of this selection, most of us actually need a variety of these treatments for our skin to look its best.  This caused us to take a further look at the situation.

Because cleansers do not lose their effectiveness by combining an anti oxidant with a soothing gel, or a vitamin C boost with an anti bacterial or any other combination, we wondered what the motivation was behind the formulation of so many treatments.  While specification seems important to many consumers, the reality is that the only advantage of creating a line of cleansers is profitability.  As a consumer with average skin, you would need to purchase 3-4 of these Murad Cleansers to get the same effectiveness as a cleanser like Dermajuv’s Theraputic Cleanser, not to mention it would cost four times as much money.  As consumer education and awareness of a top priority to us here, we were left with an uneasy feeling about Murad’s intentions.

Overall
Overall, Murad makes a decent quality product and many consumers are happy with their products.  They have been a part of the skin care industry for years and they make a balanced and effective product.  What our main concern was the fact that Murad seems intent on charging consumers for each different type of cleanser rather than simply combining them all into one.  While for certain treatments this may work, the average cleanser user would wind up spending much more money than necessary by purchasing multiple products as opposed to one complete cleanser.  For this reason we recommend you exercises caution when it comes to this line of cleansers.