Dr. Brandt Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator

My past few skincare purchases have been from the Josie Maran Argan Oil collection and I have been loving the more natural ingredients in these products.  I still have two more products to review from my purchases but I can already state how much I love this brand and all of the products that I have tried so far from it.  One item that is not available from Josie Maran is any type of facial exfoliator.  During the cooler weather months, I only exfoliate my facial skin one every two weeks and it takes me a long time to use a product up so I prefer to go through the samples that I have been sent in my past few Glossyboxes and try all of these out.

I have used one of the best selling facial products from Dr. Brandt the past two times that I have exfoliated my face and I still have quite a few more uses from this sample that I received in a summer Glossybox.  The Microdermabrasion Age Defying Exfoliator has been around for quite a few years now, I have wanted to try it before and I jumped at the chance to when I received the sample earlier this year.  I am glad that I was able to try this without ordering the full size as this product is not one of the best choices for my skin in the winter, I found it very drying during the cold weather and I will be setting the rest of the sample aside until next spring.

"A skin exfoliating scrub.  Get a youthful glow with this microdermabrasion solution. This formula contains aluminum oxide crystals, lactic acid, and soothing botanicals to polish away dead skin cells, provide a radiant, healthy look, and smooth skin's texture. Watch as the appearance of fine lines, acne marks, and skin discolorations diminish for maximum results in minimal time.", states the Sephora website. 

The product contains the following active ingredients...

- Aluminum Oxide Crystals: Polishes and removes dead skin cells.
- Lactic Acid: Gently sweeps away dead skin cells and softens texture.
- Jojoba, Aloe Vera, and Chamomile: Blend of botanicals that soothe and refresh.

Sephora recommends that this product be used once or twice a week, leaving three days in between applications.  I cannot use this product correctly this time of the year as it dried my face out after one usage.  My face was tight and dry after getting out of the shower and this is not a product that I can use until the warmer warms up and my skin becomes less dry.  I will be putting this product to the side and then trying it again later on next year. 

I am not sure what ingredients in this product dried my face out so much, I have never used an exfoliator with Aluminum Oxide Crystals in it before so I tend to believe that this is the ingredient that affected my skin so much.  I will have more details on it when I try it again in the spring and I will relook at this product then.

photo courtesy of Sephora

DDF Glycolic Exfoliating Wash 5%

My first DDF face product and my first major experience with using Glycolic Acid, this is quite a combination!  Glycolic Acid is a top rated exfoliating and anti-aging ingredient in skincare, available in many different products and concentrations.  I have stayed away from this ingredient for several years since I was afraid that my skin would rebel and get very irritated.  Glycolic Acid is one of the main ingredient in peels since it is tops for exfoliating skin.  It helps to get all the dead skin cells off the face and then helps to stimulate collagen growth to help reduce the signs of aging.  I felt like a child going into the kiddie pool for the first time when I decided to buy this product at Sephora.  I decided to try this ingredient in the lowest concentration that I could find and in a product that wouldn't stay on my skin for an extended period of time.

"An anti-aging glycolic acid cleanser.  This wash is a combination of ultra pure glycolic acid and gentle foamimg action for both the face and body.  It exfoliates to remove dead skin cells that clog pores, impede moisturization, and make skin look dull and lifeless.  DDF Glycolic Acid Exfoliating Wash also reduces fine lines and wrinkles while softening the skin.  Recommended for normal to oily skin." 

This product is recommended for use everyday for oily skin types but only a few times a week for normal to drier skin types.  I used this product only twice a week, treating it as an exfoliater instead of a face wash.  i used this only at night so that it I experienced any redness from it, I would have a few hours for it to calm down before I had to go face the day.  I used this product exactly I would any face wash, I got my face wet, applied this product and worked it in for a minute then rinsed it off fully.  It always rinsed off clean and never gave me any problems in the dryness area.  It also didn't make my redness any worse but it didn't reduce it in any way. 

I felt a bit of tingling with the use of this product but I have read that that is normal with the use of glycolic acid.  It went away quickly when I rinsed the product off and I didn't have any other reactions to it.  This product helped to clear up the old acne discolorations that I had on my chin and worked just as any other exfoliating product would.  I could never use this product every day, it would be too much for my skin.  This is my first foray into the use of this ingredient and I was able to reap the benefits of it.  I don't know how much more of a concentration I could use of this ingredient though.  If I were to decide to use a higher concentration, I would use it only under the advice of a dermatologist. 

Pinky toe into the pool...  I'm getting quite brave in my skincare choices...

photo courtesy of Sephora 

Peter Thomas Roth Buffing Beads

My latest scrub obsession is one of the top rated scrubs available on the skincare market today. The last scrub that I was using was slightly too harsh for my liking, however this one is the opposite and therefore makes it one of the best and most widely recommended skincare items. This is not the first time that I have used this product, like Benefit's BadGal Lash, I use this product then purchase something different, miss my favorite and come right back to this one. The product that I am talking about to day is Peter Thomas Roth Buffing Beads, a face and body scrub that has several times won Allure's top honors and is said to be used by Bill Clinton (in addition to a ton of others).

Sephora states that this product is "A gentle exfoliating scrub with ultra-fine jojoba beads and botanical nutrients". They continue with a more detailed description of the scrub right here, "This delicate exfoliant's non-abrasive jojoba beads remove dead surface cells and help open clogged pores, allowing treatment products and moisturizers to pentrate better. The jojoba beads partially dissolve as they come in contact with warm, wet skin, minimizing the risk of irritation. The skin is left smooth, clean, and refreshed". I also pulled some more details about the benefits of this product off the back of the bottle itself. In addition to what was stated from Sephora, the jojoba beads also help to emulsify sebum and clear up and prevent blackheads and whiteheads.

The blue version of this product is the original bestseller. However, this product is so universal and effective that Peter Thomas Roth released an entire line of Buffing Beads all with different properties, benefits, and that are targeted toward certain skin types. Myself, I prefer the original that is pictured here. I love that the beads are fine and gentle. This scrub is unique in that it still performs very well but has never caused my skin even a moment of irritation. A very impressive moment occured when I forgot that I had gotten an eyebrow wax the day before and used this product and still no irritation or redness occured. This is one of my favorite skincare products and I would recommend to any skin type and either gender.

I bought this product at Bath and Body Works before they stopped carrying this brand. Right now, I would recommend purchasing it at Sephora since they are running their skincare challenge. When you purchase a product from one of the specified brands (most of their brands are included), you are given a card with space for four punches on it. When you fill it up by purchasing four skincare products, you get a free full sized gift. Personally, I don't find it difficult to purchase four skincare products and I bet that I will have several cards filled up before this is over.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Freeze 24/7 Ice Crystals Anti-Aging Prep and Polish

Freeze 24/7 Ice Crystals Anti-Aging Prep and Polish is my current facial scrub. This product is the closest to a professional microdermabrasion that I have ever felt. I originally received this product ages ago as a thank you from Freeze 24/7 for selling for much of their product when I was at Bath and Body Works. I chose this product from their line becuase this is heavy duty scrub that I was promised would help even out some of the acne scarring on my forehead. I have had mild acne scars since the summer after my freshman year in high school and the marks aren't bad enough that I feel it necessary to go to a doctor or to get on a prescription. But I still notice them and when the offer was made for me to pick any product from Freeze 24/7 for free, I jumped on one that would help to fade them away.

Freeze 24/7 is skincare line that specializes in products that provide both instant gratification and long term effects. This product is not quite as much an instant gratification product as it is long term product since I didn't begin to see changes in my skin texture until using it for well after two months.

The product is described as follows, "Our rejeuvenating polish instantly resurfaces and retextures your skin all in a matter of minutes. Works to eliminate blotchy, discolored skin to reveal a natural, radiant glow - right at your fingertips. See (and feel) the difference in minutes." On the website, Freeze 24/7 provides the clinical testing results (the tests were performed over a 28 day period however this is all the information that is given". According to Freeze 24/7, the following statistics were observed. 55% saw a reduction in age spots, 35% saw a reduction in scar intensity, 41% saw a reduction in surface roughness, and 37% saw a reduction in sebum content.

The website also lists more features and benefits of the product. They are as follows...

- Retextures skin to reveal a smooth and even appearance with uniformly calibrated diamond-shaped crystals that provide precise and even skin resurfacing.

- Illuminates and rejuvenates dull, dry, lifeless skin, restoring a healthy glow

- Improves circulation and the production of elastin and collagen with Active Massage Beads encapsulated in Jojoba, which helps repair skin damage due to aging, sun exposure, and environmental aggressors.

- Decongests acne-prone skin and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, sun spots, blemishes, hyper-pigmentation, and enlarged pores.

- Resurfaces and smoothes hands to help reduce age and sun spots.

- Non abrasive and void of irritation.

- Allows for rapid and effective absorption of Freeze 24/7 Age-Less Skincare products and/or your daily skincare regime.

The company recommends that this product be used daily for all skin types except senstive. Sensitive skin should only use this product 2 to 3 times per week. I found that that is much too frequent for my skin and I use it once a week only. The texture is said to be non abrasive but I found that it was much more abrasive than any other facial scrub that I have ever used. I don't mind the texture but I cannot use it frequently enough to see full results in only 28 days. And I must hydrate my skin after using this product to calm down redness from the scrubbing action.

This product was originally packaged in a jar (which is the version that was given to me) but now has been updated to a much more convenient (and less wasteful) squeeze tube.

This product is much more abrasive than the company claims however the other claims made by the company are much more accurate to its performance. My acne scars are much lessened and less noticeable. I would recommend it to anyone with this type of scarring but I would caution them to only use it once or twice a week in order to avoid irritation.

photo courtesy of Freeze 24/7