The fact that I'm reviewing this product is actually a little bit funny. If you know me well or you follow my blog in relative detail you may know that I don't use much soap, especially big complicated soaps. I make my own laundry detergent, I use baking soda instead of shampoo and body wash, I sometimes make our toothpaste (not right now though, I dropped the ball in buying more coconut oil). So.. me.. reviewing a face cleansing system? I was approached about it and I thought it'd be interesting to try and to do some research about the actual product.
Unfortunately like became absurdly busy since receiving this package so I wasn't able to do all of the research that I had hoped. But I did a little bit and I'll share that with you here. I'll start off by saying I was disappointed that I could not find a full ingredient list on the Dermagist website. It's possible that it's there somewhere but I was unable to find it.
Detoxifying Cleanser
Aqua
Sodium coco sulphate - Basically the same thing as Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, which is something that I avoid completely. Sodium coco sulphate (notice the special way of spelling sulfate differently?!) is less pure than SLS so it doesn't lather quite as well and some companies seem to be using it because it doesn't have quite as bad as a rap as SLS and sounds "better". Coco sounds nice, right? Well SCS and SLS are both made from coconuts but that doesn't change the fact that they've been linked to eye, skin, liver, and kidney damage.
Cocamidopropyl betaine - Another surfactant derived from coconuts. It is a known skin, eye, and lung irritant. So... good for your face?
Cocamide MEA - Coconuts, again. This actually safe!
Glycolic acid - A fruit acid most often used to remove rust. Pure Glycolic acid in high concentrations is considered to be deadly. The US government considers any product containing more than 10% Glycolic acid to be hazardous. It is commonly used in cosmetics as an exfoliant.
PEG-12 Dimethicone - Can cause cancer and contains toxins that affect reproduction.
PEG-150 Distearate - Can cause allergic reactions.
I'm not going to continue researching but here are the rest of the ingredients:
Glycol distearate
Pichia/resveratrol ferment extract
Butyrospermum parkii (shea butter)
Matricaria recutita (chamomile) extract
Aloe Vera leaf extract
Citrus Tangerino oil
citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) fragrance
ammonium hydroxide
phenoxyetheanol
Potassium sorbate
Clarifying Cream
Aqua
Cetearyl olivate - Generally considered safe. Has never been found in any human tissue.
Sorbitan olivate - This is a relatively new chemical. It is derived from olive oil and is generally considered to be safe.
Isopropyl palmitate - Again derived from coconut. This is used in many products as it helps to moisturize. It has been known to cause acne, black heads and white heads when used in excess. A little odd wouldn't you say?
Sodium ascorbyl phosphate (vitamin c) - A powerful antioxidant.
Stopping my research here but the rest of the ingredients listed are as follows:
Cetearyl alcohol
Glycerine
Niaciamide
Pichia/resveratrol ferment extract
Tocopheryl acetate
Sclerotium gum
Citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) fragrance
Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
Phenoxyethanol
Caprylyl glycol
Regardless of how you feel about the chemicals and possible side effects I just listed I honestly wouldn't recommend purchasing this product. It's possible that my skin didn't react overly well to it because I went from basically rarely washing my face and rarely using soap to using this.
What was my experience?
Both the cleanser and the cream were easy to apply.
I did not at all enjoy the smell of the cleanser so I was less than motivated to keep using it. The cleanser was creamy and didn't lather too much, which I prefer. It didn't sting my eyes or leave my skin feeling too dry.
The cream went on well and felt very full of moisture. It did not leave my face feeling like it had a sticky or dry film on it after applying, which I've found happens with many facial lotions.
After using both products per manufacturers instructions I found myself with one of the worst pimples I've had in a long time. A giant gross and painful whitehead. Not to mention other smaller pimples in various places across my face. I also saw no reduction in any facial scaring, but that could be because I was distracted by the pimples.
The products have a few great reviews on the Dermagist website so it's possible that my experience was unusual but regardless of the effectiveness of these products I do not recommend them due to the list of the ingredients that I have shared with you. I assume if I kept doing research on the additional ingredients that I didn't get to I would uncover additional information that wouldn't sit well with me. But if I didn't I still won't use SCS or SLS on my skin or the skin of my family. And the contradictory ingredients in the cream seems somewhat shady to me.
I wanted to like this product. I wanted to find something safe and effective to help out with acne prone skin. But I didn't find that in Dermagist Detoxifying Cleanser and Dermagist Clarifying Cream. I was prepared to offer a giveaway of this product but I can't bring myself to giveaway a product that didn't work well for me and that I will not willingly apply to my own skin.
If you're still interested though, this set can be purchased for $89.99.
I was not paid for reviewing this product or writing this review. I was given Dermagist products free of charge for the purpose of this review.
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