- Share This Post
- submit
- 2
-
Sparkle (0)
Most beauty regimens prescribe washing your face twice a day, but not the newly-launched Sophyto skin care line. The products in this UK company's petrochemical and paraben-free line all have instructions for use that don't involve any water.
I found that weird. Especially because the Sophyto product that would basically take the place of water -- Purify & Energise Super Bioactive -- costs $35 per 250 ml bottle.
To be fair, you don't HAVE to buy the Super Bioactive. That product's description says this: "If the water in your area contains high levels of chlorine, or other impurities, use Super Bioactive in its place. Chlorine plays havoc with our skin because it causes oxidative damage and chemically bonds with the protein in our bodies, which disrupts the skins natural protective barrier." That seems to imply that unless you're washing your face in a swimming pool, you're prolly okay just washing your face with water in most parts of the US.
Yet the instructions for Sophyto's cleansers all instruct you to use cotton pads soaked in the Super Bioactive to wipe off the cleanser. The option of simply washing off the cleanser with water isn't mentioned at all.
Weird, isn't it?
Still, I tried out Sophyto with an open mind -- mainly due to the company's seeming green heart. The entire line contains an average of 95% certified organic ingredients and really is free of strange petrochemicals -- and has the stringent certifications to prove that. Many greenies've thus been looking forward to Sophyto's launch, including Sandy at Skin Care and Beauty Blog.
Unfortunately, Sophyto didn't grown on me.
First of all, this waterless cleansing thing isn't actually very cleansing, IMHO. I tried to follow the instructions for the beauty regimen as closely as possible, first applying the Ultra Mild Silken Cleanser with a cotton ball to remove my makeup, then taking off the cleanser with the Super Bioactive with more cotton balls. Four cotton balls later, my face felt slightly greasy and just not quite clean. I ended up splashing my face with water to really cleanse it -- and found that indeed some of my makeup was still on my face, because it came out in the water.
I tried the waterless thing again that night using a stronger cleanser -- Purifying Active Mask -- which also was supposed to be removed with the Super Bioactive. Again, my face felt greasy, and I ended up washing my face.
It may simply be that I'm set in my ways. I don't use those toners that seem so harsh as to strip the skin, but I guess I expect a mild cleanser to take all the makeup and the grit of the day off. But perhaps others like what I'm going to call the cast iron skillet method of skin care. That regimen might be a less rigorous cleanse that leaves a lil extra greasiness behind.
I could see an argument for this method. Some might say it doesn't make sense to take all facial oils off then reapply some oils via moisturizer each day. But IMHO, this method doesn't work for those who wear makeup and want to get that stuff off before bed.
And Sophyto certainly doesn't cut back on the moisturizers for the not-totally de-oiled face. Post-"cleanse," I was instructed to put on Polyphenol Skin Drops -- basically a mild moisturizer -- before Skin Energizing High Potency Concentrate -- which appears to be another moisturizer -- before a Normalising Day Face Moisturizer. Three moisturizers? Seriously?
The High Potency Concentrate wasn't included in my samples, so I went directly from the Skin Drops to the Moisturizer -- to find that because my face was already moisturized enough by the Skin Drops, the Moisturizer wouldn't absorb. At this point I was afraid all this moisturizing would make me break out, so I wiped off some of the Moisturizer.
So again, my review's biased. I'm not of the cast-iron skillet school of face cleansing, and I generally use just one v. light moisturizer. If you ARE of the cast-iron skillet school and DO like heavy moisturizing, then Sophyto might be for you.
But what really, really did not work for me with Sophyto is the amount of waste created by its recommended regimen. In addition to the cotton balls, the Polyphenol Skin Drops and Skin Energising High Potency Concentrate both come in "monodose" -- or 5 mL -- single-use packaging. If you followed the instructions as given,
