Do you have beloved skincare routine, one that you simply never vary from month to month? Your skin’s condition (or situation, if you will) changes all the time. That’s especially true at the changing of the seasons. So varying your skin care is actually, the best way to take care of it.
While you might not be able to assess what your skin wants and needs all the time, common wisdom suggests that you moisturize more heavily during the cooler months and through early Spring, and then lighten up in the Spring and Summer to get your skin back to a more normal state after months of wind, cold, and drying heat.
To get your skin ready for warmer weather and re-nourish it after the Winter, you can’t go wrong with products from Kiehls, a company that’s been popular, beloved ever, since 1851. They are known for good quality skincare and lots of specific products to treat various skin care issues.
One easy and economical way to try something new is with a trial, travel, or starter kit. Kiehls has created two starter kits: Ultra-Facial 3-Step Kit and Ultra-Facial Oil-Free 3-Step Kit ($26.00/each). These kits offer you a trio of generous, travel-sized products to cleanse, tone and moisturize, at a user-friendly price. If you love what they do for your skin (and you most likely will) you can purchase the full size versions as well.
The products in these kits have Kiehl’s signature, blue and white packaging, and ingredients including: Squalene (a botanical-based liquid that helps restore the skin’s natural moisture balance for softness); apricot kernel oil; avocado oil; imperata cylindrica (aka “cogon grass” – for moisturization); lemon extract; Antarcticine (a marine-based polymer that offers hydrating, wrinkle smoothing, protective and firming properties); and Vitamins C and E.
Kiehls is famous for their super-emollient, hydrating skin products, but for those who don’t want or can’t use a very emollient product, there’s the oil-free version for normal to oily skin . What I like so much about the normal to oily version is that it may not look or feel heavy, but the products really nurture and soothe your skin, hydrating amazingly well. You get results you can
immediately see. In the oil free it you get three steps to clean, healthy, hydrated skin.
Step 1: Cleanse with a nicely lathering cleansing foam removes oil and impurities, and it rinses off clean leaving no residue.
Step 2: Tone with Ultra Facial Oil-Free Toner with Kiehl’s pH-balanced toner. This lightweight silicone, fragrance and oil-free toner is also alcohol-free, so it won’t make skin feel dry or tight, but it will still visibly reduce excess oil and maintain proper moisture levels. If you want a good toner that won’t dry out your skin you are go ng to love this one! Toners also set your skin up for the final step,
Step 3: Moisturize with Ultra Facial Oil-Free Lotion. This 24-hour lightweight hydrating lotion rebalances oily skin and
seals in moisture. Oil-free doesn’t mean it’s not super-hydrating. I put some of this toner that feels as light as a gel on my dry skin and I watched it smooth out and eliminate flakes and dry spots, instantly. It’s there, and then it’s gone, leaving nothing but hydrating skin without the shine.
The same three steps are used for the regular, Ultra-Facial Kit. I didn’t try this one, but I’ve tried Kiehls skin care products in the past, and found that they are nicely formulated for normal to dry skin types.
While you’re moisturizing your skin, there is another new Kiehl’s product that you might want to know about, especially if you are trying to get rid of dark and age spots. The new, Kiehls Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution $49.50 1 fl. oz. is a clinically-demonstrated serum (yes, it’s clear and in a glass bottle with a dropper top) that clearly (pun intended)
helps to quickly correct dark spots and clarify skin tone. It might just you chanting: “out out damned spots!”while you are applying it. Traditional Vitamin C is unstable and quickly degrades when exposed to light, but the C that Kiehls is using is a new form (“Activated C” – an ingredient exclusive to Kiehl’s labs) that doesn’t break down with exposure to light. The clear bottle proves it! Melanin fighters peony and white birch extracts and a tiny bit of salicylic acid for pore minimizing, plus soothing lavender, make a high-tech cocktail to banish or at least reduce dark and age spots. The fast absorbing liquid has a lovely, fresh, herbal scent and feels freshingly cool on your skin.
Dark and age spots are challenging to fade, but this new product is purported to penetrate deeply into the skin’s surface so that with continued use, spots lighten up and help deter more discolorations and dark spots from cropping up. That alone might be worth your consideration. According to the press literature I received from Kiehls, in as little as 2 weeks, 55% of women who used the product clinically demonstrated a significant reduction in dark spot intensity and in just four 4 weeks, 69% of women clinically demonstrated a continued reduction in dark spots intensity and 73% of women showed a significant reduction in acne scarring. Reduction in other skin discolorations was clinically evident among 69% of women. That sounds very promising, but you have to use it properly and regularly, and still be patient. Used morning and evening before you add moisturizer and makeup, you might finally be able to say : Buh Bye damned spots!”
Visit a Kiehls boutique or check out products on the Kiehls Web Site.
