Did you know that April was Stress Awareness Month? Well, I didn’t, and I missed it. Now, I’m SO stressed out about it!
I am just kidding about being stressed out about April as Stress Awareness Month, but I’m not joking about stress. Stress can be a killer in so many ways. In a perfect world, none of us would be stressed. But the reality it that most of us have some stress some of the time, and some of us have stress all of the time. Stress can do all sorts of nasty things to your body, but it also can really put the kibosh on yur skin. That’s why I was particularly interested in the launch of Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer Stress-Minimizing Daily Hydrator $40.00 2.5 fl. oz., which is an entirely new category of product for this company. This product isn’t just a moisturizer, or even an anti-aging skincare potion, but a new kind of hydrator that actually helps to counter-act the effects of stress on your skin with a triple-action formula that actually claims to break your skin’s stress cycles. And it’s not just a temporary fix. The ingredients help to minimize both the short-term visible signs and long term premature aging effect that stress can have on skin.
In ancient times, the body’s response to stress help to launch the body into action, and probably kept cave people alive, but those responses today can have a negative effect. At the editor’s launch of the Skin Rescuer, we were treated to a great explanation about how stress “works” on our bodies, by Dr. Adam Geyer, Kiehl’s Product Development Consulting Dermatologist, and Dr. Angelike Gladi, Kiehl’s Head Chmist and Assistant Vice President of Research & Devedlopment. These experts who talked to us about what our bodies do when we’re stressed out, and how those chemical reactions in our bodies directly effect our skin.
Without getting too technical, I’ll get to the bottom line: stress can cause reactions in our bodies that cause our skin to be blotchy, irritated, itchy, and it can really cause premature aging, or intensify skin conditions you already have such as sensitive skin, acne, eczema and psoriasis.
The new Skin Rescuer Stress-Minimizing Daily Hydrator is fragrance and oil-free, and good for all skin types, but it is packed with powerful ingredients to help counter-act the causes of stress on skin. For example, there’s chamomile extract to help soothe and calm; shea butter which is an emollient and protectant and glycerin, to draw moisture from the air and help your skin stay smooth and hydrated. Rosa Gallica extract, sourced from the plant’s flower petals supposedly limits the release of stress signals which in turn helps to minimize the skin’s inflammatory response to stress, and thereby breaks the stress cycle. Other important ingredients include Mannose, a monosaccharide from the sugar family that helps to strengthen the skin’s barrier, and thereby reduce visible signs of stress on your skin. This also helps to reduce signs of premature aging. And there’s Squaline (naturally derived from olives) a healing botanical lipid that helps to restore and replenish the skin’s barrier as well, and protect it from dehydration. Finally, there is a blend of ceramides that, apparently, are found in high concentrations within the cell membrane of your skin’s cells, and this blend of ceramides also adds to the protection of the skin barrier.
What I like so much about this product is that almost every has some level of stress some of the time, and others, all of the time. Who wants the double whammy of compromised skin as well?
Whether you need help in the short term, or you want to help keep your skin looking and being healthy for the long term, you might want to give this product a try. I have personally slathered it on for just a few days, but my skin certainly is thanking me. And if you want to know about Kiehl’s results, I can share that their clinical results showed improvement at just one week, but after four weeks, 100% of those who tried the product (56 women ages 35-55 who experienced at least 1 visible sign of stress) showed a significant improvement in overall skin quality, dryness, skin fatigue, r edness, and blotchiness, with 89% to 93% agreeing that their skin was either soothed, comforted, revitalized and/or helpful in reducing the signs of stress on their skin. That’s impressive. If this product works as well as we think it will, over time, your skin will look better even if you are literally feeling totally crazed! Of course, it’s better if you can reduce your actual, physical stress, but if you want to save your skin while you’re soothing your soul, this newbie from Kiehls could do the trick. 
And while I’m on the subject of Kiehls, I also want to mention Kiehl’s ‘Powerful Strength’ Line Reducing Concentrate 1.7 oz$58.00 or 2.5 oz$77.00 This is a treatment serum that has quite a high concentration of pure vitamin C (10.5%), The key word in this name is “powerful.” By now, it’s clear that Vitamin C really is a powerhouse to help reduce and improve the signs of aging. especially fine lines and wrinkles like crows feet and lip lines.
Kiehl’s Dermatologist Solutions is a collection of powerful, targeted treatments that address skin conditions such as premature aging, irritation and sensitivity. As far as I can tell, it might take some patience, about a month of using this concentrate twice a day, to determine if it’s hope in a bottle, or something incredible for your skin. But if lines and wrinkles are worrying you, and you’re not into injectables or other more invasive treatments, try this, and you may be surprised at the results. Those who did, were pleased with the results, although a few said they had minor breakouts. The thing is, signs of aging are going to happen, and if you want to take care of your skin and reduce the look of fine lines and wrinkles, you need to try something…and Kiehls knows how to make skincare that works for you, not against you. Key Ingredients are Glycerin, and Pure Vitamin C. You can use it under your moisturizer, and it’s water, oil, fragrance, and colorant-free. You can even use it on sun-damaged, sunburned, inflamed or irritated skin. The concentrate looks thick and rich, as if it’s going to be heavy, but it was surprisingly light as a feather and very pleasant to use. There’s a lot of “Good stuff” in the amber plastic pump bottle.
Who doesn’t love Kiehls products? Visit your Kiehls store, or get the products online at: http://www.kiehls.com
