NIOD Modulating Glucosides Review

August 19, 2018October 14, 2020 ~ Michele Raiyne ~ 3 Comments

Modulating Glucosides (MG) from Deciem’s NIOD is a relatively new product that is silicone and oil free and targets signs of skin sensitivity, discomfort and irritation by reducing the look of redness and reduces itchiness and stinging, particularly caused by procedures, acids and retinols.

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Squalane, Isodecyl Neopentanoate, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Pentylene Glycol, Propanediol, Hexyldecanol, Bisabolol, Butylene Glycol, Epigallocatechin Gallatyl Glucoside, Rosmarinyl Glucoside, Caffeyl Glucoside, Gallyl Glucoside, Tetrasodium Tetracarboxymethyl Naringeninchalcone, Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Decanone, 4-t-Butylcyclohexanol, Cetylhydroxyproline Palmitamide, Hydroxyphenyl Propamidobenzoic Acid, Palmitoyl tripeptide-8, Superoxide Dismutase, Sodium PCA, PCA, Arginine, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Aspartic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Mirabilis Jalapa Callus Extract, Tasmannia Lanceolata Fruit/Leaf Extract, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Curculigo Orchioides Root Extract, Isochrysis Galbana Extract, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Stearic Acid, Dextran, Isoceteth-20, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Xanthan gum, Tocopherol, Propyl Gallate, Tromethamine, Dehydroacetic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol.

This product contains a number of actives – bioactive glucosides to soothe skin and counteract uneven skin tone caused by sensitivity or irritation; a lipid complex to reduce stinging, itching and redness; a lipopeptide to reduce chemical-induced irritation; naringenin chalcone to comfort stressed skin; superoxide dismutase, a potent antioxidant; a pH balancing agent; tasmanian pepperberry to calm stressed skin; a molecule for barrier support that offers hydration.

Directions state to apply a few drops to the face morning and night. If using in a NIOD regimen, apply after CAIS, but before MMHC.

I bought this product before the Deciem website listed anything in the information section (this information really should have been on the website at launch), but read in an Instagram post that MG was for redness on the skin. I have oily, breakout prone skin that is not sensitive, but I have redness of my cheeks almost all the time except for some mornings (not from rosacea or other skin condition). I bought this product in hopes that it would soothe this redness. At the time I used MG I was not using any acids or retinols nor had any procedures, so cannot speak to the efficacy of MG in those scenarios.

This product is like a thin lotion, yellow in color and comes in a brown dropper bottle. It has a bit of a medicinal smell that dissipates quickly. While it does soak into the skin, I find that it leaves a bit of a protective barrier on the skin pretty much all day, so that I can still feel the product with my fingers hours after application (I don’t use too much; 3 to 4 drops for the whole face). I’m surprised it is to be applied after MMHC, as MG is thicker and seems to stay in a layer on the skin (though the MMHC still seems to get absorbed).

I used NIOD Modulating Glucosides for 2 months, morning and night. On looking at the photos, it looks like I had about a 50% reduction in redness and some of the texture and irritation was reduced on the right side of my face. I don’t find MG to be hydrating on its own. I am surprised that this product comes in a dropper bottle, as this is messy to use. You can buy a NIOD pump separately, but why doesn’t it come with a pump bottle on purchasing? The same was true for the NIOD sun care, but I see it comes in a pump now. While there was reduction in redness (which I was hoping for) and reduction in the texture and irritation that is often present on the right side of my face, the Modulating Glucosides didn’t completely resolve the redness on further use and the redness, in fact, came back. I got similar, if not better results on using NIOD SDSM (albeit the redness came back after 4 months’ use as well). I don’t see sufficient or continuing results on further use of the Modulating Glucosides to consider a repurchase.

Update: I have since used MG while using Retin A. I didn’t have much left, but was able to use it for about a week. On application, as with most skincare used while on Retin A, I got stinging to the skin (surprising since it’s supposed to be soothing), but perhaps not as much redness. I applied to the newly tweezed skin around my eyebrows; I get redness, pain and bumps on the skin after tweezing or waxing. MG took away some redness but not much in the way of irritation relief. I prefer Balance to the Modulating Glucosides.

Now that I have blonde hair (I was a dark brunette; you can read about the process here), the redness in my cheeks is more noticeable. I just purchased Your Best Face Skincare’s reformulated Balance that similarly claims to calm skin and reduce redness and breakouts while balancing oils . The previous Balance formula was promoted as an oil absorbing mattifying treatment (which my skin loved). Keep an eye on this space to see the new Balance review in the coming months.

Thank you for reading.

Cocoon Apothecary Eyewaken Eye Cream Review

July 31, 2018October 14, 2020 ~ Michele Raiyne ~ Leave a comment

Cocoon Apothecary is a Canadian company that creates plant-based skin care from ethically sourced ingredients in small batches. I purchased the Eyewaken Eye Cream, looking for something to help with my dark circles and puffy under-eyes.

Eyewaken

Ingredients: Cornflower hydrosol*, rose hydrosol*, argan oil*, grapeseed oil*, sweet almond oil*, cetearyl alcohol (wax from coconut), stearic acid, cocoa butter*, vegetable glycerin, sodium cetearyl sulfate (from coconut), tocopherol, sodium anisate (derived from fennel), sodium levulinate (derived from corn), glyceryl caprylate. *certified organic

Cornflower hydrosol is said to reduce eye puffiness and fine wrinkles. Rose hydrosol can calm irritation and hydrate. These hydrosols are said to give a cooling astringent effect. This product contains a few oils and moisturizing ingredients. Sodium anisate can soothe irritated skin and is used as a natural preservative. Sodium levulinate can be used as a preservative and conditioning agent. Glyceryl capraylate is used as an emulsifier and emollient.

This product claims to soothe tired eyes, combat fine lines and wrinkles, firm the skin and reduce puffiness and dark circles.

I used this morning and night, dabbing on the lower eyelid up to the brow bone for 4 months. It is light weight and absorbs fast leaving a silky feeling on the skin. It has a light herbal scent with a hint of rose.

While I like the ingredients and this feels silky on the skin, I feel like it does a better job moisturizing and protecting than anything else, so might be a better preventative rather than for someone with already quite puffy, dark eye circles. In looking at the photos, I see some reduced puffiness (my eyes look the same to me in the mirror though), but no reduced color or fine lines. In fact, the 4-month photo seems to have more fine lines towards the outer eye (because of the reduced puffiness, or some other variable?) On application, I’m not sure I felt a cooling effect.

I will not be repurchasing this, but may take another look at Your Best Face Skincare’s Correct eye cream.

Brunette to Blonde

July 30, 2018January 3, 2022 ~ Michele Raiyne ~ 4 Comments

My journey to blonde began months ago with a dream I had one night – I was at my usual hair salon, about to get my hair colored and cut by a stylist I had never been to before and she had had a few glasses of wine and suggested I get my hair colored blonde. I have dark brown hair with bronzed highlights and warm medium skin. I was reluctant to let her color my hair, as she was drinking, and suggested she ask my regular stylist what she thought about me going blonde. She started crying, saying I didn’t trust her to do her job, and that is when I woke up.

The below was done by Style Theory. See here for a part 2 update.

I began by reading online about what to expect, maintenance and what shade of blonde would look best with my skin tone and then started to work on getting really healthy hair. I wanted to get my hair as hydrated as possible and used leave-in conditioners, hair masks and hot oil treatments, stopped using my flat iron and bought a UV protectant.

The hairdresser started with the bleaching process while using Olaplex. Here’s a photo of about midway through:

My hair got a bit lighter than this, but with being so dark, didn’t lighten to the level she wanted and was pretty yellow, so I was worried how it would look when dried. No worries though, my hair was then toned to a pretty strawberry blonde color.

After this first stage of color, I continued hydrating with masks and oils and used Olaplex No 3, the at-home version, to repair and strengthen the hair. Olaplex strengthens and protects the hair by relinking broken disulfide bonds from chemical services, heat and mechanical damage. After giving my hair time to heal and hydrate for about 3 weeks, I was ready for the next session, this time using Malibu Color Prepare the day before the service. To use Color Prepare, shampoo and rinse, add water to the crystals, work through the hair, leave on for 5 minutes, then shampoo and rinse. Do not condition. This treatment prepares the hair for color by removing minerals to ensure color coverage and extends vibrancy of color.

For the second session, she bleached while using Olaplex, and then used a number of treatments and toners.

A few days after this session I went back to the salon to get the Ultra Bond and Seal treatment. The Bond treatment replenishes keratin, protein and amino acids after multiple color services such as I had. It also helps relink and strengthen broken disulfide bonds in the hair. The second treatment, Seal, fuses the repaired bonds into the cortex (middle layer) of the hair. The first and second treatments were left on wet hair for about 15 minutes each. After this treatment, my hair was bouncy, soft and shiny.

Maintenance and care of blonde hair is something I’m still working on, finding the right products that work for me. The first time I washed my hair after the first blonding session, I was shocked at my hair texture (while actual texture doesn’t change, porosity and elasticity does, and the hair feels very different). I read articles about dry, straw-like hair after a bleaching process, but that didn’t prepare me for the actual thing. I thought it was the new Schwarzkopf BlondMe shampoo I was using. After trying two other shampoos (Malibu Color Wellness and Balance from Josh Rosebrook), the BlondMe shampoo is more drying than those, but still as I was rinsing these shampoos off my hair, it seemed to become swollen with water (because the hair is now very porous), tangled, stiff and straw-like. After conditioning, my hair smoothed out and felt relatively normal after drying.

Blonde hair needs purple toned shampoo to prevent unwanted warmth; the yellow, brassy color on light blonde hair. As mentioned, I’m using the Schwarzkopf Professional BlondMe Tone Enhancing Bonding Shampoo for cool blondes. While neutralizing warm tones, this shampoo also creates new bonds in the hair fibers.

Blonde hair is dry and fragile; I need to prevent breakage and only use a wooden comb and have stopped using a flat iron. My hair stylist told me, when washing my hair, before shampooing, put conditioner on from about the mid-shaft area down to the ends, shampoo the roots, rinse and condition all the hair. This prevents dryness and breakage at the ends. Deep conditioners, hair masks, oils and Olaplex No 3 helps with damage, dryness and help protect the hair.

My makeup and jewelry had to change a bit as a result of the blonde hair. Instead of using the warm corals and bright pinks for blush, I now look better in a pale pink, and rather than my usual rose gold earrings and nose ring, I have switched to white gold.

The blonde hair seems to bring out the redness in my complexion, so I need a bit of concealer. My black eyebrows are more noticeable and they will have to be well maintained. I recently purchased the Fab Brows kit in slate/black and the slate color has a mattifying effect and helps the eyebrows blend a bit better with the ash blonde hair.

Of course, cost, number of sessions and time will depend on your hair; do you have old color, virgin hair, boxed color and/or damaged hair? The process can also be affected by the hair stylist’s experience. I am lucky that my hair stylist is a blonding specialist and a specialist in treating damaged hair. I’ve been to salons previously wanting to get my dark brown hair to a light brown, only to be left with burgundy hair.

This process can be listed as a color correction with charge by the hour. These two blonding sessions, for me, were about 9 hours total. Consultation is key. Roots need to be touched up every 4 to 6 weeks, depending on growth. While waiting a few months for touch ups may seem cost effective, the color service can take longer and cost more in the end.

Maintaining blonde hair:

Wash your hair in room temperature or cool water.
Wash your hair less often. The washing process is drying, as it washes away natural oils. While I have an oily scalp and would like to wash my every second day, I can get away with every 3 to 4 days.
Use a purple shampoo to neutralize warm, brassy tones from mineral buildup and oxidation. Get an in-salon toning service.
Protect your hair from the sun. Use a UV protectant and wear a hat.
Protect your hair from chlorine. Saturate with conditioner then wear a swim cap.
Hydrate your hair. Use oil treatments, deep conditioners, leave-in conditioners, hair masks, in-salon moisturizing treatments.
Use sulfate-free, salt-free, color safe, moisturizing shampoo.
Avoid styling products with sodium and drying alcohols.
Protect your hair from heat. If you need to use heat, protect your hair with a heat protectant and low temperature setting.
Protect your hair from mechanical damage. Avoid backcombing, use a wide tooth, wooden comb or brush, detangling from the ends of the hair up.

Thank you for reading.

Your Best Face Skincare Restore Review

June 29, 2018October 14, 2020 ~ Michele Raiyne ~ Leave a comment

Restore, by Your Best Face Skincare, is a nighttime cream serum for face, hands and neck. This product claims to increase elasticity and thus reduce saggy and crepey skin, brighten and even complexion, reduce dull-looking skin, soften fine lines and hydrate dry and damaged skin. Directions say to apply a small amount to clean, damp skin and massage in.

Ingredients: reverse osmosis water, Leucidal® (leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate), SYN®-TC (glycerin, aqua, tetradecyl aminobutyroylvalylaminobutyric urea trifluoroacetate, palmitoyl tripeptide-5, palmitoyl dipeptide-5 diaminobutyroyl hydroxythreonine), ethylhexyl palmitate, Uplevity™ (water, acetyl tetrapeptide-2, caprylyl glycol), TEGO® Pep 4-Even (tetrapeptide-30 (and) glycerin (and) water), Elhibin® (glycine soja (soybean) protein), cetearyl olivate (and) sorbitan olivate, sorbitan olivate, ceteareth-6 olivate, meadowfoam seed oil, vitamin E succinate, cupuacu butter, hydroxyethylcellulose

SYN-TC uses tri and tetrapeptide technology focusing on collagen for smooth, plump skin with improved elasticity. Uplevity is a combination of peptides and actives that apparently enhances the expression of genes involved in the organization of elastic fibers and dermal cohesion to combat sagging skin. TEGO Pep 4-Even diminishes pigmentation spots and brightens the skin. Elhibin comes from soybean protein and is a proteinase inhibitor. Proteinase plays a role in irritation and accelerated skin aging.

Hands are one of the first areas to show signs of aging; they are always exposed to the environment and I rarely remember to put sunscreen on my hands. I decided to try Restore on my hands; the skin is thinning (I didn’t really realize how thin until my daughter compared her hands to mine and said “oh my god, your skin is so thin” after pinching my skin), I have increased fine lines and my hands go through cycles of dryness every couple months (if you are looking for relief of dry skin, I love this product). I have no hyperpigmentation on my hands.

YBF Skincare products work well together and layer beautifully with no pilling. Restore can be mixed with the Private Reserve oils, the Antioxidants Concentrate or the Advanced CE Concentrate for customized benefit. I used Restore on its own.

I used this in the evening about 5 times a week for 4-1/2 months on clean, damp skin. The product has better spreadability and faster, easier absorption when the skin is damp. Restore is a lightweight, white, thick serum/thin cream that is unscented, but has its own somewhat medicinal smell that only lasts for seconds. On application this has an amazing silky feeling on the skin that immediately has a softening, slightly plumping effect. This is such a different feeling than any other product I’ve used. This feeling lasts for about 30 minutes.

In touching and looking at my hands after 4-1/4 months of use and looking at close up views of the photos above, while this product gave immediate very short term results, I don’t think I really see the longer term results I would need to continue purchasing. My hands feel a bit softer and some dryness on my knuckles has improved (but this could also be achieved by using an oil on the hands; vitamin C also works for brightening ). The finer lines around my knuckles and those due to the thinning skin look the same, so I can’t imagine this product helping deeper wrinkles on the neck or fine lines on my forehead (though to be fair, the skin is thinner on the neck and face than it is on the hands). I don’t have pigmentation issues on my hands, but I know these spots are very hard to get rid of as I have hyperpigmentation due to sun damage, and consistent use of a product for months, if not upwards of a year, especially products without containing something like hydroquinone or kojic acid.

I tried Restore a few times on my face just to get a sense for texture and this would make a nice lightweight moisturizer for the face (I don’t like using heavier moisturizers as I have oily skin). It absorbs after about 20 seconds and there is the immediate softening plump on the face, but it didn’t seem as silky as when used on the hands. This would make a nice treatment for the lips.

I will not be repurchasing Restore.

Thanks for reading.

The Ordinary Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density

June 13, 2018October 14, 2020 ~ Michele Raiyne ~ 4 Comments

Deciem’s recently launched hair care from The Ordinary, Multi-Peptide Serum for Hair Density, replaces Deciem’s discontinued Stemm product (which I also used likely about 2 years ago now). This is a concentrated serum that claims to make hair look thicker, denser, healthier and fuller. This is more of a first impression post (this product has not been on the market long enough for anyone to see results of the claims). I wanted to post some before photos of my hair and invite you to follow/check back, I expect in about 3 to 6 months, when I hope to see some results.

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Propanediol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Caffeine, Biotinoyl Tripeptide-1, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Larix Europaea Wood Extract, Pisum Sativum Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Triticum Vulgare Germ Extract, Glycine Soja Germ Extract, Trifolium Pratense Flower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Apigenin, Oleanolic Acid, Arginine, Glycine, Calcium Gluconate, Zinc Chloride, Lactic Acid, Gluconolactone, Dextran, Maltodextrin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Xanthan gum, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Polysorbate 20, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Sodium Metabisulfite, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin

The serum is thin and slightly yellow. It contains 1% caffeine by weight, and with a quick search I found an article citing the Journal of Dermatology that says “topical treatment with caffeine resulted in the increase in average growth of hair follicles by around 46%. It also extended its life cycle by 33%” and an article saying “hair products that contain caffeine are not able to reach the hair follicle and therefore can’t promote growth” though this was from a hair clinic. This contains the complexes Redensyl, Procapil, Capixyl, Baicapil and AnaGain. Redensyl is a complex that apparently gives better results than hair transplantation in 84 days with visible hair growth. Procapil apparently strengthens hair and prevents hair loss. Capixyl is a peptide from the extract of red clover that reduces the production of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) that causes thinning of the hair follicles which causes hair loss. Baicapil is an active of three plants that stimulates hair growth, increases hair density and reduces hair loss. AnaGain apparently reactivates hair growth, contributing to thicker, fuller hair. Deciem says that the above technologies make up 21.15% concentration by weight. Hydrogenated castor oil is toward the end of the ingredient list.

The ingredients sound promising, and I’m looking forward to seeing if this product works. For reference, I’m 37 years of age, my hair is fine (but I have a lot of it, other than the thinning front area of the head), I have some graying, I get my hair colored about twice a year and I have had thinning hair likely for a couple years now, more toward the front and sides of my head. I’m using the Multi-Peptide Serum on my eyebrows as well, as they are thinning and some hair follicles are likely dead due to over-tweezing in my early 20s.

I’ve used The Ordinary hair serum for about 4 days now. Putting a drop on my fingers, it has a slightly oily feeling for a few seconds, then a bit sticky for a few seconds and absorbs quite quickly into the skin. There is not really a smell to the serum.

Directions say to apply a few drops to clean, dry scalp ideally at bedtime and massage into scalp. This is a leave-on treatment. The first couple uses I parted my hair in a few areas and put a drop in each parted area toward the front of my hair and one drop on each side of my head (edges of the hair) and massaged into the scalp. This left a bit of an oily look and feel to the hair that lasted about 30 to 45 minutes until it absorbed and/or dried, so using before bedtime is ideal. I also tried putting a couple drops on my fingers then massaging into the scalp that way, but I’m not sure that applied product evenly to all areas. In the morning, my hair looked and felt normal with no greasy feeling or residue.

Update: September 2, 2018 – Three-month after photos coming soon; follow for a new Hair Density Serum post on September 8 or 9. Click here for 3-month after results and here for 6-month results.

Before photos: