Hope you’re all having a fabulous fall so far! I’m still mourning summer, so I haven’t given up my flip-flops yet…lol!
Having had great results with the MyChelle Dermaceuticals Beauty Key 3 products I tried, I was pretty excited to get three new products for fall in the mail. I received the brand’s Perfect C PRO Speed Peel, Perfect C Radiance Lotion, and Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate.
Perfect C PRO Speed Peel
The MyChelle Dermaceuticals Perfect C PRO Speed Peel is purported to be a fast-track at-home professional peel. The peel contains 10% L-Ascorbic Acid, 1% L-Lactic Acid, Plant C-Stem, and Retinal for glowing, youthful skin. The 25% citrus fruit fragrant puree helps retexturize and exfoliate in just one minute. The company recommends using the peel at night, in combination with the Bio-Firm Hydrogel to aid the body’s natural healing and regeneration cycle.
The Perfect C PRO Speed Peel is housed in a sleek glass jar. The peel itself reminds me of those fresh homemade products they use in expensive spas- it really is fruit puree! Furthermore, I really appreciate the high quality active ingredients. The Vitamin C combined with lactic acid, a fantastic alpha hydroxy acid and exfoliant, along with a powerful retinoid are a great combination for a healthy glow.
Omg, when I tried this stuff, I swear it smelled good enough to eat. Yes, it really was like putting food on my face, that’s how natural this stuff is! It also packed a serious punch with active ingredients, as I could feel it tingling and doing its job. I have hypersensitive skin from using tretinoin, and this did start to burn a bit after about 30 seconds, but it wasn’t horrible or intolerable. Once I rinsed it off, the sensation went away, and my skin was only slightly pink for about 15 minutes.
The sad thing about this product is that it made me feel so spoiled that I didn’t want to take it off! If they could make a simple moisturizing mask version of this, I would want to slather it all over my entire body, that’s how much I love this!
Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate
MyChelle Dermaceuticals Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate combines the freshness of a gel with the nourishment of a serum. A concentrated gel with 2% hyaluronic acid melts to instantly firm and smooth the skin. The formula is packed with Alpine Nunatak Plant Stem Cells and Crocus Chrysanthus Bulb Extract to deeply hydrate and nourish. Use the Perfect C PRO Speed Peel first to optimize radiance and skin rejuvenation.
This product contains some great botanicals in addition to the hyaluronic acid. However, I believe MyChelle is missing out on a great marketing opportunity because not much attention seems to be given to two superb ingredients- salicylic acid and gluconolactone. Salicylic acid, a beta hydroxy acid, is oil-soluble (unlike AHAs), so it’s not only a mild exfoliant, but it has the ability to transport other active ingredients deeper into the skin. Gluconolactone is a polyhydroxy acid (PHA), which is a newer form of alpha hydroxy acid. The great thing about PHAs is that because of their larger molecule size, they cause less sensitivity and irritation (Dermatology Review, 2016).
The Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate is in a sleek jar, similar to the peel. I love the gel texture, which is presumably a result of the 2% hyaluronic acid, as 1% will create a viscous, thinner gel. It’s important to note that MyChelle recommends layering your serum or moisturizer over this product. Since hyaluronic acid is a humectant, it works by drawing moisture to itself. Therefore, if you’re in a dry climate, it will pull moisture from your skin. By layering another product over it, it will draw moisture from that product into your skin.
As recommended, I used this after the peel, and it absorbed SO easily. Let me just warn you, a little bit will go a LONG way. You do NOT need as much of the gel as you would need with a cream. It was easy to spread, and very hydrating. My skin felt dewy and looked radiant!
Perfect C Radiance Lotion
The MyChelle Dermaceuticals Perfect C Radiance Lotion is the perfect daily dose of hydration. This high-quality, nutrient-rich moisturizer contains a potent dose of 12% L-Ascorbic Acid combined with Plant C-Stem and licorice extract to not only brighten the skin, but to help protect it from environmental pollution and free radicals. The brand recommends combining this lotion with the Perfect C Serum for long-term brightening.
Perfect C Radiance Lotion comes in a convenient, simple to use, sanitary pump bottle. It’s easy to dispense the perfect amount of product, and the ingredients are protected from contamination by germs, and from degradation by light and air.
In addition to Vitamin C and plant extracts, the lotion also contains niacinimide and ceramides. Niacinimide helps soothe the skin and reduce redness and inflammation, so it’s great for irritated skin or acne. Ceramides are lipids that help make up the skin’s layers. In skincare, they help replenish and restore (Begoun, 2016).
Perfect C Radiance Lotion is a yellowish color, and has a light natural scent that I really like. It’s not an overpowering citrusy smell as I expected, but it’s mild and dissipates quickly. The lotion is rich, yet light at the same time, if that makes sense. In other words, it’s got a light lotion texture, but very concentrated. After applying, my skin was slightly sticky for a minute or so until it fully absorbed, then my skin was incredibly smooth!
Now for the negatives… I couldn’t find any major issues with the Perfect C Radiance Lotion, but the problem I had with the Perfect C PRO Speed Peel and Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate is the jar packaging. There’s a sanitary issue with repeatedly dipping one’s fingers into the product, and there’s also the issue of degradation.
Products containing antioxidants should be packaged to minimize exposure to light and air, as the ingredients can degrade and become ineffective (Kaur, Kapila & Agrawal, 2007). These products have a stellar ingredient list, and are chock-full of high-quality ingredients, including a LOT of antioxidants. It saddens me when a company formulates such impressive products, only to use jars. Unfortunately, this is all too common in the skincare world, so it would seem that consumers must prefer jars for some reason.
That being said, the products are so well-formulated that the jar packaging is NOT a deal-breaker. Whenever I find a product I love that happens to be in a jar (which is quite often…lol), I simply transfer it into an opaque pump or bottle that also minimizes exposure to air, and I retain the jars so I’ll have the product information on-hand.
Overall, when the only negative I can find with a product is the jar packaging, I’d say that product is a winner, and these are no exception! After using these products, my skin is dewy, fresh, glowing, and incredibly soft! I continue to remain impressed with the quality and formulations of MyChelle Dermaceuticals, and look forward to trying more from the brand.
Sources:
Begoun, P. (2016). Ceramides. Ingredient Dictionary. Retrieved October 26, 2016, from www.paulaschoice.com.
Dermatology Review (2016). Gluconolactone. The Dermatology Review. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from www.thedermreview.com.
Kaur, I., Kapila, M. & Agrawal, R. (2007). Role of novel delivery systems in developing topical antioxidants as therapeutics to combat photoageing. Aging Research Reviews, 6(4). Retrieved October 25, 2016, from www.sciencedirect.com.
*Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
