Esho Sculpt is a lip treatment created in collaboration with Deciem and Dr. Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor. Sculpt is a treatment with actives and peptides sold as an alternative to invasive lip fillers. This product claims to encourage lip volume in minutes and over the long term, as well as enhance shape and tone. Sculpt can be used in conjunction with another Esho product, Drench, to encourage hydration, which I have also used.

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Tripeptide-29, Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, PEG-12 Glyceryl Dimyristate, Methyl Nicotinate, Stevioside, Isosorbide Disunflowerseedate, Isopropyl Palmitate, Butylene Glycol, Oleic/Linoleic/Linolenic Polyglycerides, Copernicia Cerifera Wax, Aroma (Flavour), Hexapeptide-3, Acetylarginyltryptophyl Diphenylglycine, Disodium Acetyl Glucosamine Phosphate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Adansonia Digitata Fruit Extract, Hibiscus sabdariffa Flower Extract, Commiphora mukul resin extract, Swertia Chirata Extract, Ornithine, Arginine, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Aspartic Acid, Phenylalanine, PCA, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, Trehalose, Urea, Allantoin, Levulinic Acid, p-Anisic Acid, Simmondsia Chinensis Leaf Extract, Hydrolyzed Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Glycolipids, Phospholipids, Lecithin, Propanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Decyl Glucoside, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Citric Acid, Potassium Phosphate, Sodium metabisulfite, Sodium sulfite, Sodium Chloride, Ethoxydiglycol, Triethanolamine, Aminomethyl Propanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Alcohol, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Potassium Sorbate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol. 

Methyl nicotinate produces redness and inflammation of the lips for a short time by causing capillary dilation and an increase in blood circulation. Stevioside is a sweetener from the stevia plant. This product has amino acids and sugars.

This is very sweet-tasting, fruit-flavored (guava I believe) that I think would have been better in mint or at least less sweet, and I don’t particularly want glucose and fructose by my teeth.

I’ve been using this for 4 months, morning and evening. On my first use, I put too much on and then made the mistake of touching my tongue to my lips which then went a bit numb. My lips got quite red all along the lip line and up to my nose and my lips felt wind-burned. On subsequent uses I applied less, but the redness still occurred up to my nose and my lips felt wind-burned, albeit less so, and over time my skin got used to it. It was nothing I couldn’t handle and not a deal-breaker. The initial maximum redness, slight volume increase and wind-burned feeling lasted about 5 minutes and the lips went back to normal after about 15 minutes.

Sculpt absorbs quite quickly and then leaves a dryness. Deciem recommends using Drench over Sculpt for “additional hydration,” to me implying that Sculpt would be a bit hydrating, which I didn’t find to be the case.

I was actually very surprised by the after photo, as I saw no results in the mirror, but after 4 months there is increased volume, uniform color and nice shape. My results are more subtle than other before and afters that I’ve seen.

It seems the partnership between Deciem and Dr. Esho has ended, and the Esho products will not be continued through Deciem; perhaps Dr. Esho will continue the formula and sell the lip treatments. If so, I would purchase Sculpt again.

 

 

Esho Drench is a lip treatment created in collaboration with Deciem and Dr. Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor. This product claims to offer lasting water hydration, unlike traditional lip balms that use “mainly waxes and oils to mask dehydration.”

Ingredients: Aqua (Water), Sclerocarya Birrea Seed Oil, Lactococcus Ferment Lysate, Panthenol, Glycerin, Polyurethane-34, Stevioside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Arginine, Glycine, Alanine, Serine, Valine, Isoleucine, Proline, Threonine, Histidine, Aspartic Acid, Phenylalanine, PCA, Sodium PCA, Sodium Lactate, Fructose, Glucose, Maltose, Trehalose, Xylitol, Xylitylglucoside, Anhydroxylitol, Polyglutamic Acid, Urea, Allantoin, Niacinamide, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Plukenetia Volubilis Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Leaf Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Hydrolyzed Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Caesalpinia Spinosa Gum, Copernicia Cerifera Wax, Propanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Cetyl Palmitate, Ceteareth-20, Ceteareth-12, Cetearyl Alcohol, Decyl Glucoside, Glyceryl Stearate, Carbomer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Dimethyl Isosorbide, Ethoxydiglycol, Citric Acid, Triethanolamine, Aminomethyl Propanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium metabisulfite, Sodium sulfite, Sodium Chloride, Benzoic Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Aroma (Flavour).

Drench contains a number of oils, amino acids and sugars (I’m not sure I particularly want glucose and fructose by my teeth all day). Stevioside is a sweetener found in the stevia plant. Urea increases moisture on the skin’s surface, but can also be irritating. Acrylates/C10-30 binds to water and oil and is used as a stabilizer and increases viscosity. Trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate improves the efficacy of preservatives and antioxidants. This uses phenoxyethanol as the preservative.

I’ve been using Drench for a bit over 3 months, 2 to 3 times a day. I’ve also been using Sculpt from Esho, a product that claims to encourage lip volume.

Drench is not an oily product, but a thick liquid treatment. It has a strong fruity, guava flavor (many people don’t like the flavor); I think it would be better in mint. It goes on smoothly and absorbs into the skin quite quickly, but leaves a bit of dry stickiness behind. I didn’t find this hydrating at all. While it didn’t make my lips worse than normal, they didn’t feel moisturized and I may as well not have had any product on. I ended up putting on another lip treatment, Quench, over the Drench for the last few days, and my lips felt hydrated and protected – Quench likely did the work though.

While the company seems to imply a lip treatment of waxes and oils only masks dehydration, oils can be very moisturizing and healing and waxes (like beeswax) can be conditioning and provide a protective barrier.

Esho Drench will not be a repurchase for me, and I’ll be sticking with my Quench from Your Best Face Skincare.