Glowing Praise
Written: Aug 21 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Brightened skin tone, less noticable wrinkles, smooth makeup application, great short-term results.
Cons: Results temporary, can get in eyes/mouth when rinsing, expensive, minor temporary irritation
The Bottom Line: For fantastic temporary results, it's worth the price. If you're looking for a serious wrinkle solution, you'll need to look elsewhere.
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| twenty3skidoo's Full Review: L'Oréal Dermo Expertise Refinish Micro Dermab... |
As I placed the sleek silver box containing the L'Oreal ReFinish microdermabrasion kit in my cart at Wal-Mart, I caught myself glancing around to make sure no one was watching.
I'm still fairly young, young enough that I feared that other shoppers might shoot me disapproving or dubious looks about my purchase. At 23, I don't feel like I should need to worry with anti-wrinkle products, but thanks to years of summers in the sun as a lifeguard and constantly fretting over my two children, My forehead is starting to look like one of those cute little puppies with all the skin folds - cute on a puppy, not so much on me!
Details, Details
The box contains two tubes: a matte-finish silver tube with two ounces of exfoliator and a pearly white tube with 1.7 ounces of post-treatment SPF 15 sunscreen moisturizer. The box states that this should be enough for about 30 procedures.
There is a detailed instruction leaflet inside with cautions, tips and promises. Speaking of which...
Promises, Promises
And how could I help but be lured in by all the miraculous claims of this product? On the box it states:
"Refinishes skin's texture, erases surface sun damage and reduces discolorations. Protects and hydrates for super-smooth, perfectly even-toned skin."
Results promised by the back of the box include:
Immediately- Skintone clarity is brightened, pores look smaller and more refined and makeup application is flawless.
Within four weeks- Surface sun damage and discolorations are minimized, skintone is more even, skin looks perfectly smooth and luminous and poreless and appearance of lines and wrinkles is diminished.
The Experience
After cleansing, the instructions say to apply a quarter-size amount onto fingertips and rub onto your face with circular motions, avoiding the eye area, lips, and nostrils. It also states that it can be used for exfoliation on the body.
You are to massage for 1 to 2 minutes, then rinse and pat dry. Afterwards, you apply the moisturizer "liberally." It is made to be used two to three times a week.
When following the instructions to a T, I found that the experience of using this product is not at all umpleasant. The exfoliating solution does burn a bit as you rub, but it's nothing bad enough to turn me away, even though I have very sensitive skin. You might try a patch test first, though, just in case! Some minor redness also occurs, but I have found that this generally fades within 30 minutes or so.
Rinsing has proven more of a problem... I have found that you must be VERY careful to keep your eyes completely closed until you have rinsed extensively. I once got just a tiny grain in there from splashing, and it scratched my eye. It was sore for over a week! Also, if you get even a tiny bit in your mouth, it rubs against your teeth in an unpleasant fashion. I was not trying to do any of this, but if you rinse too enthusiastically, you are liable to end up with it all over you like I did!
The protective moisturizer is also very pleasant. It does not sting at all, and it doesn't leave my face feeling greasy. Makeup goes on very smoothly, and sun protection is more than adequate. I once wore the moisturizer as a sunscreen for a day on the lake, and I didn't burn a bit!
Results
I can tell an immediate difference every time I use this product. My skin looks radiant and smooth and gorgeous. The nurse at my son's doctor's office (whome I didn't even know) even commented on how beautiful my skin looked after I first used it. I have never had anyone comment on my skin before! (Unless to point out my many freckles, but that's another story!)
All of the box's claims about immediate results I found to be extremely true. The long-term claims are another story...
I have been using this product for almost 3 months now... I use it 2 to 3 times a week, just as the box states, and while the estimate of 30 procedures per box is quite accurate, the long-term results are exaggerated.
While my skin is dramatically improved each time I use the treatment, by the next day the results fade and my skin returns to normal. I don't believe there has been any improvement in my sun damage. My skintone is about the same, with the exception of right after I use the product. My skin does look "perfectly smooth and purely luminous and poreless" RIGHT AFTER A TREATMENT, but again, like the other results, it fades.
I think I saw a steady improvement over the first 3 or 4 treatments, but after that, it pretty much levelled out and now I must use a treatment to notice any improvement whatsoever. I do not believe that my lins and wrinkles are diminished at all. Just less noticable on treatment day due to my luminous glow!
The Bottom Line
If you are have severe damage or are looking for truly dramatic result, you will have to look elsewhere. While this product does contain the same aluminum oxide crystals as a professional micro-dermabrasion treatment, it does not deliver the same results. The concentration of this formula is so much weaker than that of a dermatologist's that the results are acutely diminshed.
If you are just looking for a little toning, brightening and glow on a day-to-day basis, and not for anyh long-term results, this might be a good bet for you. I plan on buying it again, but I will probably mostly just use it before I go out or on days when I want to add a little extra glow to my look. I just won't get my hopes up about my forehead wrinkles going anywhere, at least not with this product.
Ingredients
Microdermabrasion: Water, alumina, mineral oil, glycerin, dimethicone, shea butter, PEG-100 Stearate, Stearyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate, biosaccaride gum-1, ammonium polyacryloyldimethyl taurate, phenoxyethanol, methylparaben, butylparaben, imidazolidinyl urea, disodium edta, ethylparaben
Moisturizer Active Ingredients: ensulizole 1.8%, octinoxate 7.5%
Moisturizer Inactive Ingredients: Water, glycerin, alcohal denat, cyclohexasiloxane, dimethicone, silica, PEG-20 methyl glucose sesquistearate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, polymethyl methacrylate, cyclopentasiloxane, ammonium polyacryloyldimethyl taruate, triethanolamine, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), HDI/Trimethylol hexyllactone crosspolymer, dimethiconol, divinyldimethicone/dimethicone copolymer, mica, tocopheryl acetate, titanium dioxide, sodium hyaluronate, C12-13 Pareth-3, Phenoxyethanol, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, chlorphenesin, butylparaben, tetrasodium EDTA.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
twenty3skidoo
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Member: Kori Daniel
Location: Fayetteville, AR, US
Reviews written: 75
Trusted by: 11 members
About Me:
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've imagined." -H.D. Thoreau
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