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Eucerin
There is no question that the skin-care market for those battling rosacea is underserved. It is also undisputed that rosacea-prone skin is often sensitive, typically reacting to benign substances or combinations of products. This fact is not only frustrating for the rosacea patient, but also for the cosmetic chemist attempting to formulate products that will help rosacea-prone skin look and feel better. Eucerin’s Redness Relief products sound ideal, and they did their homework around the potent anti-irritant licorice extract. However, the line as a whole has more cons than pros, including use of sunscreen actives that are sensitizing for those with rosacea. The search for a reliable line of products for managing the cosmetic side effects of rosacea continues, but even when taking every precaution there is still no guarantee your rosacea will respond favorably, making trial and error a necessity.
 Redness Relief Soothing Cleanser ($9.99 for 6.8 ounces)
is a gentle, fragrance-free, water-soluble cleansing gel whose simple formula is ideal for those with sensitive, easily irritated skin. It contains licorice root extract, a good anti-irritant, but the amount it contains and the limited time it’s in contact with skin will not lead to “immediate redness relief.” This cleanser likely won’t make persistent facial redness worse, and is best for normal to slightly dry or slightly oily skin.
 Redness Relief Daily Perfecting Lotion SPF 15 ($14.99 for 1.7 ounces)
deserves praise for including titanium dioxide for sufficient UVA protection, but there are problems with this formula, especially for those with reddened, easily irritated skin. The active ingredients are two synthetic sunscreens, which, while generally well-tolerated, are not the best for someone with sensitive skin. Eucerin would have fared better using just titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide as the actives. Another issue is the inclusion of denatured alcohol. There’s not a lot of it in the product, but for someone with red, sensitive skin, it’s cause for concern. The alcohol is more prevalent than the played-up licorice extract, which is present in such a small amount its soothing benefit to skin is negligible. Finally, this lotion is tinted mint green in an effort to cancel facial redness. Such color-correction rarely looks convincing, but in this case, it’s so sheer as to be barely noticeable on skin, so it doesn’t matter one way or the other. This moisturizing sunscreen is an OK option for normal to dry skin that is not affected by redness or sensitivity, but it’s certainly not what current research indicates is a state-of-the-art formula.
Redness Relief Soothing Night Creme ($14.99 for 1.7 ounces)
doesn’t have much to it, though it is fragrance-free, which is great for sensitive skin. Given what we know about what skin needs to look and feel healthy, whether it is sensitive or not, this jar-packaged moisturizer lacks interest. Consisting primarily of water, glycerin, panthenol, and triglycerides, it’s a basic, slightly emollient formula for normal to slightly dry skin. What’s missing are antioxidants, cell-communicating ingredients, and a more sophisticated mix of ingredients that mimic the structure and function of healthy skin. It does contain licorice extract for its anti-irritant properties, but given the small amount, I am skeptical that someone with persistent redness or rosacea will notice their symptoms abating. Still, if you’re curious, this bland formula shouldn’t make reddened, sensitive skin worse.
 Redness Relief Tone Perfecting Creme ($14.99 for 0.08 ounce)
is designed as a spot concealer for particularly troublesome red or blotchy areas. Housed in a click-pen applicator with a built-in sponge tip, this thick, mint green–tinted cream does a poor job of concealing redness and looks painfully obvious on skin. The high amount of titanium dioxide creates an unattractive whitish cast, and the formula tends to settle in pores. Several regular (meaning flesh-toned) concealers from companies such as Revlon, Maybelline, L’Oreal, Dior, and M.A.C. do a much better job concealing redness or blotches, and in a way that looks natural and skinlike rather than green and pasty.
Alberto VO5
Keep Me Strong Leave-In Comb-In Creme ($3.50 for 6 ounces)
seems to be a first-aid kit for troubled hair, at least if you take Alberto’s claims literally. Many people are concerned with how to prevent hair breakage and make hair stronger. The solution is not going to be a single, perfect, does-everything product. Don’t get me wrong: Well-formulated hair-care products do play a role in minimizing damage and protecting hair. But the real secret (and one that’s almost impossible for most of us, myself included, to follow) is to minimize the things we do daily that slowly chip away at the hair’s cuticle, leading to breakage, dullness, and split ends. Such mundane tasks as brushing, shampooing, and heat-styling the hair take their toll. The fact is that the gentler you treat your hair, the healthier it will be (though it likely won’t look the way you want it to). Over and above how we manipulate our tresses, sun exposure is the next major destroyer of healthy hair.
Products such as Keep Me Strong Leave-In Comb-In Creme serve as a sort of bandage, helping to shield hair from the detrimental effects of our daily manipulations, but it’s not an impervious bandage. This particular product is an excellent leave-in conditioner for almost all hair types, although those with fine or thin hair will likely find it too heavy. It has a blend of fatty alcohol, silicones, slip agents, antistatic agent, and water-binding agents that makes hair easier to comb and adds shine. Ignore the vitamins--they’re great for skin-care products, but since hair is dead you can’t nourish or “feed” it with topically applied supplements.
N.V. Perricone, M.D.
 Active Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15 ($65)
ranks as one of the most expensive tinted moisturizers available, but at least all of the necessary bases (and then some) are covered. Featuring an in-part titanium dioxide sunscreen, the formula applies smoothly, and its creamy texture leaves normal to very dry skin sufficiently moist, with a fresh, dewy finish that doesn’t feel greasy. The formula even includes several antioxidants, and it’s packaged to ensure they remain stable after the product is opened. Two of the three shades are great; only Tint 03 is quite yellow, with an effect that is difficult to soften on medium skin tones. Still, it may be worth a try at the counter to see how it looks, assuming you’re willing to pay the premium price. For about half as much money, equal kudos go to Bobbi Brown’s SPF 15 Tinted Moisturizer ($38) and Aveda’s Inner Light Tinted Moisture SPF 15 ($25). For even less money, Neutrogena’s Healthy Skin Enhancer SPF 20 ($11.99) and Paula’s Choice Natural Finish Oil-Absorbing Makeup SPF 15 ($12.95) are other prime options.
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Creme de la Mer The Essence: The High Cost of Aging Gracefully?
I wonder sometimes if the cosmetics industry simply has a sardonic sense of humor or whether it’s possible they merely don’t like women very much. How else can you explain a colossal company like Estee Lauder (which owns La Mer, along with an assortment of other skin-care companies, from Aveda to Clinque, which in combination sell an almost endless assortment of antiwrinkle and anti-aging products) launching a product that costs $2,100 and whose primary ingredient is seaweed? Or at least according to the ingredient list, it has a lot of seaweed—well, as much as 1.5 ounces can contain—along with a huge list of other ingredients.
Seaweed extract is the primary ingredient in this nonaqueous serum but which type of seaweed is unknown (there are endless types of possible seaweed extracts) so there is no way to evaluate its benefit for skin. Actually, I wonder how the FDA lets Lauder get around this generalized ingredient identification because it is definitely not part of the regulation. This product also contains silicones, emollients, more seaweed (the type is listed for this one), ingredients that mimic the structure of skin, an assortment of antioxidants, a tiny amount of niacin (in the form of vitamin B that can cause flushing, which is actually a problem for skin), and acetyl hexapeptide-3. This last is the ingredient that’s supposed to work like Botox, but of course it can’t; even Botox can’t work like Botox when applied topically to skin.
And just in case you weren’t sure the product was doing anything for your skin, they included a few irritating, skin-tingling plant extracts, including eucalyptus, lime, and citronella, to create the impression that it is doing something on your face. For this kind of money it should be doing something, but exactly what that is can’t be ascertained. Lauder has no published studies and offers no clinical evidence (other than press releases, which fashion magazines use as if they were factual information) to support the value of the product or the efficacy of the claims.
Along with seaweed, The Essence also contains an assortment of yeast extracts, saccharomyces lysate, micrococcus lysate, artemisa extract, and bifida ferment lysate. But whether or not seaweed or yeast in any form can affect wrinkles is still not known. Indeed, it is something ingredient manufacturers claim, but it is not supported by published or substantiated double-blind studies showing this to be true. Research from ingredient manufacturers is interesting, but obviously self-serving; somehow all their ingredients are always miracles. Trying to find independent research about these substances is difficult, and what does exist involves in vitro or animal studies (Sources: Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation, March–April 1999, pages 155–162; and Wound Repair and Regeneration, January 2002, page 38).
I could carry on about how these various ingredients are theoretically supposed to affect skin, but at some moments in my career I just have to throw my hands up in the air and say I give up, the cosmetics industry is just crazy and I have no words left to explain why. I think I’ll go get a Starbucks latte…I can’t say I understand $5 for a cup of coffee either, but at least I know exactly what I’m getting!
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Big-name acquisitions continue to be the trend within the cosmetics industry. The latest round of cosmetics companies being bought and sold include Coty’s purchase of Unilever (of Dove fame) Cosmetics International for $800 million, making Coty the proud owner of several prestige fragrance brands, including Calvin Klein, Vera Wang, and Chloe. The Kao Corporation—one of the largest cosmetics manufacturers in Japan—bought Molton Brown, a United Kingdom luxury skin-care company. Kao also owns the Andrew Jergens, Biore, Curel, and John Frieda brands. And L’Oreal purchased Skinceuticals.
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Dear Paula,
Thank you for all the work you do! Your truth-telling about the beauty industry is refreshing and enlightening. I haven’t seen this question yet: Is it possible for people to have an allergy to silicone hair products? I can’t seem to figure out why my scalp is breaking out. I do get some facial blemishes but these are very minor. I get my hair highlighted but only every three months. Could I continue to break out because of the highlighting? I have tried many different products: no fragrance, no sodium lauryl sulfate, experimented with different styling products, even went a while using no styling products, but the breakouts continue. I don’t know what to try now. Could all of this be hormonal? I’m 36 and too old to be on the pill again if it is hormonal. I have curly, fine hair and lots of it so I have to have an awesome conditioner or there will be no getting the knots out! I try to never put conditioner on my scalp, only the ends of my hair. Help me stop these breakouts!
Sarah, via email
Dear Sarah,
You’re asking all the right questions as you go through a process of elimination to determine what is causing your scalp breakouts. The experimentation you’ve done so far is exactly what I would’ve suggested, too, so you’re already ahead of me!
It is possible for someone to be allergic to any ingredient, including silicone. However, I could not find any substantiated reports of scalp-related allergies to silicone. Silicone is considered completely benign, and is even used as a stabilizer in healing burns and wounds. There are random reports of patients who have had silicone breast implants and subsequent skin reactions, but since that involves a surgical procedure it is far more likely that the skin reactions resulted from the body rejecting the implant rather than from an allergic reaction. The allergy sites were not localized to the skin around the breasts. Another study has also noted that silicone injections in animals can cause a delayed hypersensitivity (Sources: Acta Dermato-Venereologica, March 1999, pages 136–138; and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, August 1995, pages 371–380). Both of these studies were related to silicone inside the body, not on the skin. I suspect that silicone is not the source of your problem, and it is simple enough to eliminate that ingredient from your hair-care routine to see if it is or not. Some of the silicone-free conditioners available to address your hair’s needs include Joico Moisturizer Intensive Moisture Treatment, Extra Conditioning ($14 for 10.5 ounces) and KMS Daily Repair Reconstructor ($9.95 for 8.1 ounces). There are also lots of shampoos that don’t use silicone, such as L’Oreal Vive Regular ($4.29 for 13 ounces) and TRESemme European Shampoo ($4.39 for 32 ounces).
Given that your facial blemishes are minor and your main concern is scalp breakouts, I doubt hormones are to blame, but that is something you should discuss with your physician. Allergies to hair dyes and bleaches are far more common, but I wouldn’t think that once every three months would cause an ongoing problem. If you want to see if the hair dye is to blame, go without for six months or so and see what happens.
There is one other possibility: You may have a very sensitive scalp and just the simple acts of brushing and styling may be causing the problem. But other than letting your hair go natural for a period of time, there is no way to experiment to see if this is the cause.
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