Renewing AHA Cream by DHC

The mark of a high performing skincare product for me is if I repurchase it.  I've got a glut of skincare items that are just waiting to be used, so if I repurchase something, it stands out from the sea of other products on hand.  DHC's Renewing AHA Cream falls into that category, as this is my 3rd bottle.

Exfoliation is key for healthy and glowing skin, and this formula contains a powerful 10% concentration of lactic acid which manages to do the job for me.  I've got very oily skin with multiple under the skin bumps, known as sebaceous hyperplasia.  Sebaceous hyperplasia is extremely hard to treat, but some specific skincare ingredients do help, such as salicylic acid, Retin A, and lactic acid. 

The Renewing AHA Cream is strong enough that my skin tingles after I apply it.  If you've got sensitive skin, it may be too strong for you, but it does have some skin soothing ingredients in the mix as well.  I use it about once or twice a week at night, but never two nights in a row.   Consequently, a bottle lasts me about 2 years, making the $42.50 price quite reasonable.  Bottom line, it's effective and improves the texture of my skin, which I'm all about :-)

DHC Face Color Palette in Poppy

I'm a fan of several DHC skincare products, but I've not ventured into their makeup line before.  I decided to try one of their blushes, and of the five shades available, decided that Poppy appealed to me the most.

These blushes feature three different graduated shades in each palette.  DHC's makeup colors tend to err on the side of soft and conservative, based on the pictures I've seen, but the warmer pink Poppy looked like a good match for my complexion.







The packaging is lovely and distinctive.  The plastic case is narrow and does not take up much space yet includes a decent sized mirror and brush.   However, the different color blush strips are rather small, making it difficult to pick up any one color on it's own. 

The powder is finely milled and applies smoothly.  Poppy did indeed turn out to be a soft color, and while there is no obvious shimmer, does have a slight sheen that was flattering as opposed to emphasizing skin imperfections.  The formula is supposed to be hydrating and contains DHC's signature olive oil as well as antioxidant Vitamin C for skincare benefits.

 Here are the three separate blush colors, and below are the colors blended together. 

 

I found myself using the two darkest colors as my cheek color and using the lightest as a highlighter.  The color is natural looking but will probably only work for those with fair complexions, as I'm guessing it may turn chalky looking on darker skin.

The DHC Face Color Palettes are $22 for .17 oz, and I purchased mine online from DHC.

Disclaimer:  I purchased this.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Alert! DHC Q10 Facial Film Soap Being Discontinued

I'm guessing a lot of people may not even know these exist, but the Q10 Facial Film Soap is being discontinued and is currently half off at DHC.   I personally think these are an ingenious concept, as the single use packets are perfect for travel or gym use.  Since they are not a liquid, there are no restrictions for carry on in air travel, plus you can tuck a few into your purse for anytime use. 

 As described at DHC:

"Forty individually wrapped sheets of gentle facial cleanser deliver the age-fighting benefits of antioxidant coenzyme Q10, plus total convenience. Just peel away the packaging, place a sheet in your hand, and add water. The rich lather helps remove impurities without stripping your skin of vital moisture. Keep some in your purse, store some in your desk, stash some in your gym bag, and use them when you’re traveling."

These are currently on sale for $6, (I paid $7.20 last week, so the price continues to fall) and I picked up 2 boxes to keep on hand for future trips.  I'm curious as to why these are being discontinued, as they had a 5 star rating in the DHC reviews section and seemed very popular!  Many are voicing their displeasure in recent comments, and I do find it perplexing.  Why you do this to me, DHC?

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

DHC Head Oil: Sample Series v. 2

Hair oils are pretty popular these days, but DHC's Head Oil is different.  It's actually meant for both your scalp and hair and removes product buildup.  I've been curious about this for a while, so in my last DHC order I requested a sample of the Head Oil.  DHC is quite generous with their samples, as you can select four with each order, and if you get their print catalog, they send 2-3 each month in the catalog!

My current product buildup removal routine consists of using dish washing liquid.  Harsh, but effective.  I'd prefer something that doesn't have the potential of stripping color or damaging my hair, so this may be a good alternative. 

Source:  DHC

To use the head oil, you apply to your dry scalp and hair and leave in 3 minutes prior to washing.  The video on DHC's site features a customer who puts it in the night before and sleeps in it, which may be a good conditioning option as well.  I put it in and am now writing up this review, so it will probably be a good 20-30 minutes before I wash it out.

The oil itself looks and smells very similar to DHC's Deep Cleansing Oil, which is my holy grail oil cleanser.  I love this stuff.  As in, I'd marry it if I could.  I did a quick comparison of the ingredients between the two, and while they do contain some of the same ingredients such as olive fruit and rosemary leaf oils, the hair oil has some others such as panax ginseng root and arnica montana flower extracts.  So, I'm guessing I won't be able to get away with using the facial cleansing oil on my head:-)

Initially, I was concerned that most of the oil seemed to be on my hair as opposed to my scalp.  I rubbed it around as best as possible but short of an applicator with a needle nose, I'm not sure how to get most of directly on my scalp.  The oils are water soluble, so my hair did not feel particularly greasy, nor did it take more than my usual two sudsings with shampoo.

So, how did it work? Really well!  My hair is soft, shiny, and has that fluffiness that comes from no product buildup.  I may have to invest in a bottle!  DHC Head Oil is $23 for 1 oz.

Ingredients: olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, sorbeth-30 tetraoleate, pentylene glycol, phenoxyethanol, tocopherol, panax ginseng root extract, stearyl glycyrrhetinate, arctium lappa root extract, arnica montana flower extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf oil, quaternium-51

Disclosure:  I received a sample with purchase.

DHC's Alpha-Arbutin White Mask

While we here in the western part of the world are familiar with facial masks, they usually come in a jar.  Apparently in the east, or at least in Asia, they come in paper sheets that you cover your face with.  I've been curious about sheet masks for a while and purchased DHC's Alpha-Arbutin White Mask to give them a whirl.  

According to DHC, these Alpha-Arbutin masks can help you can uncover a brighter complexion by evening out skin tone and combat dullness and discoloration due to aging and sun exposure.  I've definitely got some discoloration going on and have been investigating multiple ways to combat this, so bring it on.  Ingredients include alpha-arbutin, mulberry, and citric acid to brighten and condition. 

The masks come five to a box and are separately packaged.  They are heavily saturated with the "essense" but do not drip or anything.  You unfold the mask, place it on your clean face, and then leave on for 20 minutes.  I use mine after I've finished puttering for the evening and want to relax in front of the TV.  I find this refreshingly cool straight out of the box, but imagine they'd be even better if kept in the refrigerator.  I used the last of the 5 last night, and as hot and humid as it's been lately, it was a real treat. 

After 20 minutes or so the mask will have dried some and I usually wipe my neck and chest area with any remaining moisture.  My skin feels soft and slightly dewy afterwards.  I honestly cannot tell if it has helped with my melasma (I've read that it takes a while for alpha-arbutin to work), but I do like these masks and would repurchase again.  They are relatively inexpensive at $12 a box and I find them to be a non-messy, refreshing, and easy way to treat my skin.   I do notice that my dogs look at me strangely when I have these on:-)

Disclaimer:  I purchased these.

Ingredients: water, butylene glycol, glycerin, pentylene glycol, sodium PCA, phenoxyethanol, morus alba root extract, alpha-arbutin, sodium citrate, sodium hyaluronate, 1-methylhydantoin-2-imide, serine, citric acid, dipotassium glycyrrhizate, acetyl tyrosine, paeonia suffruticosa root extract, pueraria lobata root extract

DHC Acerola Gel

Now that warm weather has arrived, I've switched to using DHC's Acerola Gel.  Billed by DHC as a "non-greasy gel that’s fortified with the wonder-berry acerola’s remarkably high vitamin C content, this formula helps defend against the damaging effects of free radicals that can age skin prematurely." 

Acerola cherry has a vitamin C content that is 65 times greater than an orange, which means one cherry has a vitamin C content that is equal to the minimum daily recommended requirements. It is one of the richest sources of vitamin C in fruit, second only to camu-camu.  The acerola cherry also contains approximately double the magnesium, potassium and vitamin B5 of an orange and high levels of vitamin A. In addition to vitamins A, B and C, acerola cherries also contain key minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus as well as flavonoids and anthocyanins (polyphenols)  [Source:  nutriciousfruit.com].  Anthocyanins help fight carcinogens and cause cells to die when they should, instead of reproducing uncontrollably.  Hmm, wonder fruit! 

Acerola Gel by DHC is a clear gel moisturizer that absorbs easily into the skin without adding any sheen, which I find perfect for my oily skin in the summer!   At $17.00 for 1.4 oz, it's also relatively economical.  DHC has an entire acerola line which includes a cream, toner, and treatment extract as well as the gel, and a set with all of the products is available for $67.50. 

Ingredients:  water/aqua/eau, butylene glycol, carbomer, phenoxyethanol, potassium hydroxide, salix alba (willow) bark extract, malpighia glabra (acerola) fruit extract, yeast extract, acetyl tyrosine, olea europaea (olive) leaf extract, paeonia suffruticosa root extract, pueraria lobata root extract

DHC Coenzyme Q10 Facial Film Soap

Q10 Facial Film Soap is one of the more unique yet practical products that I've discovered from DHC.  I personally like using soap as a facial cleanser and have had good experiences with soaps from DHC, but I don't like taking bars of soap with me when I travel.  These individually wrapped sheets of facial soap are perfect for travel, the gym, or anyplace you might need a quick clean up.  This soap contains coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant our bodies produce, although at a decreasing rate as we age.  Antioxidants fight free radicals, and since free radicals contribute to the aging process, we want those antioxidants that can fight them.  I love the sound of this, but coenzyme Q10 has to be present in sufficient quantities and in a form that can penetrate the skin in order to be effective.  I have no way of knowing if the Q10 in this soap meets that criteria, but it does clean effectively without stripping my skin, so this plus the travel convenience factor makes it a winner to me.


These come 40 to a box are are currently on sale for $8.25 at DHC through March 31.  This was a sample contained in DHC's March catalog and while I have purchased these in the past, I'm currently out.  I've got a trip coming up in March so may need to restock!

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

Why is my DHC  Deep Cleansing Oil hanging outside?  As I was walking my dogs this morning I was surprised to see several flowering trees in full bloom.  It's January 21st and a balmy 70 degrees outside and apparently where I live thinks it's spring.  I'm not complaining, but it is a little weird. 

I discovered DHC about 6 years ago when out of the blue I started receiving their catalogs.  In each catalog they include several samples, which gave me the opportunity to try this unknown to me line. DHC is a Japanese skincare and makeup company that direct sales through their catalog and web site here in the United States.  Apparently in Japan they are huge, with 180 retail stores and a presence in over 32,000 convenience stores.  Yes, you can buy quality skincare products at the equivalent of a 7-Eleven in Japan.  I'm jealous.  Deep cleansing oil is DHC's top selling product worldwide and the first of their products that I purchased.

Cleansing oils are big in Asia, but relatively scarce in Western markets.  While it may seem counter intuitive to use an oil to remove your makeup - especially for those of us with oily skin where the idea of adding more oil provokes fear and loathing - it works.  I mean REALLY works.  The process is simple, just squirt some in your hand, rub all over your face for about 30 seconds, and then rinse.  Makeup and dirt, including waterproof mascara, are gone.  There is zero oily residue due to its water-soluble formula and skin is left soft and clean thanks to olive oil and vitamin E.  Seriously, if I had to restrict myself to one facial cleanser for the rest of my life, this would be it.  It's gentle, effective, and relatively inexpensive at $26 for a 6.7 oz. bottle.  Two bottles will get me through a year of nightly makeup removal.

In the ingredient list, the only two I  recognize are olive and rosemary leaf oil, so I looked up the others at a couple of cool sites that list cosmetic ingredients - Chemical of the Day and Cosmetics Ingredient Dictionary.  Caprylic/capric triglyceride is fractionated coconut oil (which keeps it from becoming solid), and is considered an unadulterated natural ingredient because there are no solvents used.  Sorbeth-30 tetraoleate is an emulsifier and pentylene glycol is a solvent or slip agent, and neither had high risk ratings.  Phenoxyethanol is a common cosmetic preservative that is considered one of the less irritating ones to use in formulations, but one site did list it with an Environmental Working Group (EWG) risk score of 4 due to animal studies that show it to be a reproductive toxin.  However, the EWG's Skin Deep Database is no longer online, so I'm not sure what's up with that.  Tocopherol is the naturally occurring (vs. synthetic) form of vitamin E.  Stearyl glycyrrhetinate is the fatty acid form of the anti-irritant glycyrrhetinic acid, which is derived from licorice.  Looking up ingredients can be an eye opener, but I feel good about both the effectiveness and safety of this product.