A review of 10 Skin Care Products

In this review of 10 skin care products, we hear from Tom Mower, chief scientist of Sisel and product formulator. He checks out 10 popular skin care products and gives his verdict.

20/03/2019. “This may help enlighten you about the incredibly difficult to understand the world of skin care products. I reviewed the top 10 selling brands, that were cut and pasted from a 3rd party source and then commented on them.” says Tom.

Potentially harmful ingredients in skin care

“To say the least I would not make products like these for Sisel. Mostly because almost all have potentially harmful ingredients which I do not believe should be in skin care. Then the biochemistry of the ingredients used is very good with one of two ingredients, in my opinion, but the technology has been around for a long time with many new discoveries surpassing many if not most of them.”

“Take a look and see just how overpriced skin care products can be according to their formulation, I do believe.”

“The resulting “DOCTORS LIST” is of the products they recommend but could do some aging effects but are woefully inadequate in my opinion. Here are my thoughts and comments.” Tom Mower.

1. Skin Care Product A ($280)

According to the author she tested this a couple of years ago and found that it caused breakouts if used more than a couple of times a week. However, she felt she did get results with less visible signs of wrinkles. The product seems worthy due to the growth factor. The author also noted it wasn’t much better than products with the same active ingredient of similar price.

According to Tom Mower:

This very pricey Serum utilizes Epidermal Growth Factors (EGF). They are helpful if used in the right amounts but just one step on the stairway to young skin. It is loaded with potentially harmful ingredients in my opinion.

2. Skin Care Product B ($175)

The author found it interesting that this Product B is focused on estrogen deficient skin and to counteract it they use something called methyl estradiolpropanoate (MEP) “This is a sterol and is dubbed a “soft estrogen” because it mimics the hormone, but is metabolized in the blood to an inactive compound avoiding estrogen side effects. There isn’t any research to support the peptides used in this serum either.”

According to Tom Mower:

Plain and simple this is an estrogen mimic along with some peptides. The methyl creates cellular energy. These are good factors by themselves but inadequate to achieve young skin. They would be considered another step in the stairway to young skin. And for the price it is rotten expensive for what you get. I think it should sell for $30-40 tops. Some potentially harmful ingredients in this formulation, in my opinion.

3. Skin Care Product C ($195)

According to the author, she hasn’t tested this one. However other types of this product have gotten some love from the Truth In Aging community. The packaging is not great according to the author. It does include proprietary “TriHex Technology”. She believes it is not all that proprietary – basically palmitoyl hexapeptide-12 (which is in Deciem’s Neck Elasticity Serum) and one of the peptides that makes up Matrixyl 3000.

Tom Mower’s Opinion:

Peptides are certainly stimulatory to skin. The types they use are good ones but not the most advanced. So in my opinion if used in the proper concentration, they would be good support but far from great and another step in the stairways to young skin. I am particularly concerned that they use some potentially harmful ingredients in it. They are listed in Sisel Safe guide, ingredients to avoid. Also there are so many ingredients in this formula, I believe it is like a plaster over a lot of cracks. Most of them I think are in small insignificant amounts to have a strong positive effect.

4. Skin Care Product D ($175)

The author believes that there are several versions of the sodium hyaluronate molecule, which helps the skin retain moisture. She also noted that there is also something called Exo-T, that is an algae-based active.

According to Tom Mower:

This is a real stretch, in my opinion, to be of significant effect. The use of silicones and hyaluronate are film formers. They retard moisture release from the skin which is a primary way skin removes toxins. Also they inhibit penetration of actives, as I see it. But in this formula, I do not see much that I would consider an active. Some potentially harmful ingredients in this one, in my opinion.

Some Skin Care Products are woefully inadequate.
Some skin care products are woefully inadequate

5. Skin Care Product E ($92)

The author says “you would need to be a big believer in vitamin C in the form of L-ascorbic acid and ginkgo biloba leaf extract to purchase ISDIN Flavo-C since these two ingredients are basically it. There’s nothing wrong with a pared back formula and vitamin C is a well-documented anti-ager, while ginkgo is an anti-inflammatory.”

According to Tom Mower:

I must say this, in my opinion, to avoid being sued for making an absolute statement. While it’s a personal opinion, I think this formulation is laughable. These technologies are okay, but such old-time science that many ingredients with far superior properties could have been used, I believe. Check the Sisel Safe ingredients list to see all the potentially harmful ingredients in this formula.

6. Skin Care Product F ($145)

The author notes product F product boasts 18 antioxidants. They are in the form of a couple of vitamins and botanical extracts. She likes the fact the formulator isolated the chlorogenic acids, the main polyphonic in caffeine.  The author likes that it is mostly clean ingredient list

According to Tom Mower:

Antioxidants are very important in skin care and throughout the body. 18 antioxidants are impressive but what put serious doubt in my mind is what concentrations of them are used. Very often I see ingredients in cosmetics that the industry calls fairy dusting. It means that just lightly sprinkled on without enough active ingredient to be meaningful. I can’t say it here because I haven’t seen the percentages but I would strongly suspect so. There elastin boosting ingredient is a decent one, but hardly a great one. In my opinion. To use caffeine to stimulate circulation is really somewhat effective but old hat. I would strongly suggest you look in the Sisel safe ingredients list to see the potentially harmful ingredients that may be in this product.

7. Skin Care Product G ($85)

According to the author she tried this a few years and wanted to love it but only liked it. “Another TIA community review was only luke warm as well. It includes a few variations of the antioxidant turmeric (tetrahydrobisdemethoxydiferuloylmethane). Laureth-23 and too many of the usual suspects from the harsh preservative department prevent this brand from living up to its clean/natural brand image.”

According to Tom Mower:

I won’t waste much time on this one as I think it is a real joke in my opinion. It’s based on some okay chemistry but also some that I would have serious reservations about using due to their potentially harmful properties, I believe.

8. Skin Care Product H ($105)

According to the author this doesn’t look especially revolutionary, but she does like that it has a copper peptide – albeit only a two-amino acid one. She also states there’s niacinamide and pea extract.

According to Tom Mower:

There is a little bit of the few things that are interesting and perhaps if there used in the proper concentration could be effective in making skin more viable. However, in my opinion, it’s woefully inadequate in so many ways. This I believe is a formula, that is at best, a baby step up the stairway to young skin.

9. Skin Care Product I ($115)

The author mentioned this is vitamin C skin care products. She believes that if it was good it would use special delivery-enhancing ingredients that help it penetrate the skin or be released over time. 30% is overkill. She would expect this serum to be drying and unnecessarily harsh.

According to Tom Mower:

The first thing I would say is this price is enormous. For what the product offers. It is a feeble attempt, in my opinion, to make a formulation for really sales purposes rather than biological support. I would believe and say on the stairway to young skin. This is like standing on the same step and not progressing up.

10. Skin Care Product J ($195)

The reported noted this was a slow starter, but “at weeks three and four, I noticed a plumpness to my face that I had not seen prior to using the product. I was truly impressed! This is a 5-star product with my only hesitation being the price.”

In Tom Mower’s Opinion:

Of all the 10 formulas above I think this one is the better one. However, I believe it has some potentially harmful ingredients in it that I would never use in skincare. Also, in my opinion, I believe the ingredients are good in some cases but mediocre in others. I guess for what you might call a decent product, I believe it is significantly overpriced for what it should be. It would be a step up the stairway to young skin, but that’s a long stairway and this only may take a step or 2 in that progress.

Tom Mower shares his conclusion:

“In conclusion, there is only one ingredient I’ve seen in this array of 10 formulations that I would consider using as a potentially active support ingredient. The rest may have some mild to mediocre effect depending on the amount used but for a professional such as myself. I believe this is a typical example of how cosmetics are overhyped and underperform. When you consider the exorbitant price of some of the formulations for what’s in them. It’s absurd to me to think about anyone buying them. Even more so about me producing products of what I see as the mostly low level to mediocre formulations.”

If you would like to know the name of each skin care product please email me [email protected]

Reference.

Last Updated on March 21, 2019 by Katie Sisel Distributor