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It pains us to rate this lush-textured, renewing moisturizer for normal to very dry skin so low. However, your skin deservers only the best products and ingredients, and this one comes up short, which is truly disappointing.
First, the positives: Triple Lipid Restore 2:4:2 contains an exceptional mix of ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids, all essential to replenishing skin's surface and protecting against moisture loss. These ingredients excel at improving chronically dry skin whose surface is compromised due to various circumstances (like health issues, sun damage, or extreme environmental conditions).
Accompanying the higher-than-usual amount of lipids are silky, texture-enhancing ingredients that also hydrate skin, plus a tiny amount of antioxidants. Despite all this praise these wonderful ingredients, especially the antioxidants, will suffer from the poor choice of jar packaging. Jar packaging doesn't keep these types of ingredients stable for long, plus your fingers dipping into the product doesn't help, either. See More Info to find out why jar packaging is bad idea for this type of product.
We could almost overlook the jar packaging issue if that was this moisturizer's only drawback, but it falls down in another way, too. Even if you're OK with the high price, your skin won't be OK with the fragrant, skin-aggravating oils Triple Lipid Restore contains. The decision to add peppermint, lavender, and rosemary oil along with fragrant sensitizers like limonene knock an otherwise impressive formulation down several rungs—to the point where we can't recommend it without serious reservations. See More Info to learn how sensitizing ingredients can hurt skin.
Sadly, your search for a super-rich moisturizer for very dry skin continues, but you will find some wonderful options on our list of Best Moisturizers—and check out our list of Best Face Oils, too.
- Rich in skin-replenishing ingredients.
- Contains several sensitizing fragrant plant oils.
- Jar packaging won't keep the vital ingredients stable after opening.
Jar Packaging & Anti-Aging Moisturizers: This anti-aging formula is packaged in a jar, which means the beneficial ingredients won't remain stable for long once it's opened. All plant extracts, almost all vitamins, antioxidants, and other state-of-the-art ingredients are air-sensitive and begin to break down in the presence of air. Therefore, once a jar is opened and lets the air in, these important ingredients begin to deteriorate, becoming less and less effective.
Jars are also unsanitary because you're dipping your fingers into them with each use, contaminating the product. This leads to further deterioration of the beneficial ingredients.
When shopping for an anti-aging moisturizer, the ingredients that provide the most benefit for addressing visible signs of aging among many other concerns need to be in airtight or air-restrictive packaging.
References for this information:
Pharmacology Review, July 2013, issue 14, pages 97-106
Dermatologic Therapy, May-June 2012, issue 3, pages 252-259.
Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry, May 2011, issue 9, pages 4676-4683
Current Drug Delivery, November 2011, issue 6, pages 640-660
Journal of Biophotonics, January 2010, pages 82-88
Guidelines of Stability Testing of Cosmetic Products, Colipa-CTFA, March 2004, pages 1-10
Skin-Sensitizing Ingredients: We cannot stress this enough: Sensitizing, harsh, abrasive, or fragrant ingredients are bad for all skin types. Daily application of skincare products that contain these types of skin-aggravating ingredients is a major way we unknowingly do our skin a disservice!
Sensitizing ingredients are a problem because they can lead to visible problems that include redness, rough skin, dull skin, dryness, increases in oil production, clogged pores, and contribute to making signs of aging worse.
Switching to non-irritating, gentle skincare products can make all the difference in the world. Non-irritating skincare products are those packed with beneficial ingredients that also replenish and soothe skin without any volatility, including those present in natural fragrant ingredients.
A surprising fact: Even though you might not see the negative influence of using products that contain sensitizing ingredients, skin the damage will still be taking place. It doesn't need to be evident on the surface! Research has demonstrated that you don't always need to see or feel the effects on your skin for your skin to be suffering the impact and the visible damage may not become apparent for a long time.
For this reason, it's best to eliminate, or minimize as much as possible, your exposure to ingredients that can be sensitizing on skin. There are many products that contain effective ingredients that are also completely non-irritating so there's no reason to put your skin at risk with products that include ingredients research has shown can be a problem.
References for this information:
Journal of Dermatological Sciences, January 2015, issue 1, pages 28-36.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, August 2014, issue 4, pages 379-385
Journal of Clinical Dermatology, November 2014, issue 5, online access
Clinical Dermatology, May-June 2012, issue 3, pages 257-262
Food and Chemical Toxicology, February 2008, pages 446—475
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2003, issue 11, pages 789-798
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2008, issue 4, pages 191-202
Aging, March 2012, pages 166-175
Chemical Immunology and Allergy, March 2012, pages 77-80
SkinCeuticals At-A-Glance
With a strong presence in the professional (meaning spa and aesthetics) skincare market, SkinCeuticals has a mostly well-deserved reputation for producing serious-minded, research-driven products, several of which are centered on L-ascorbic acid (a form of vitamin C).
There are many good reasons to shop this line; it boasts a lineup up impressive vitamin C products, as well as some good retinol options and sunscreens. Even better is that the majority of its anti-aging products are packaged in containers that will protect their contents from light and air. Focusing on what Skinceuticals does best (which is serums, sunscreens, and specialty products) will be money well spent for visible results. The main drawbacks of this line are some products that contain fragrance ingredients, as well as potentially-drying alcohol, though they represent the minority of the brands offerings.
For more information about SkinCeuticals, call 1-800-771-9489 or visit www.skinceuticals.com.
About the Experts
The Beautypedia team consists of skin care and makeup experts personally trained by the original Cosmetics Cop and best-selling beauty author, Paula Begoun. We’re fascinated by skin care and makeup products and thrilled when they meet or exceed our expectations, but we’re also disappointed when they fail to perform as claimed, are wildly overpriced, or contain ingredients scientific research has proven can hurt skin.
Our mission has always been to help you find the best products for your skin, no matter your budget or preferences. Beautypedia’s thorough and insightful reviews cut through the hype and provide reliable recommendations for all ages, skin types, and skin tones.
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