I have tried many exfoliating face creams and scrubs over the past 2 years. None of them have impressed me as much as Origins Modern Friction. In the past 2 years, I've found that my skin has turned from very dry to combination type skin. In an effort to get rid of dry dull skin on my forehead and sides of my face and oily skin on the cheeks and chin I tried different scrubs. This product - which is actually a "buffing paste" is the first one that both hydrates and revitalizes my skin. I've been using this cream for only 3 weeks and already I've noticed a difference! The main improvements for me have been; smoother skin, less breakouts or bumps, and my skin stays hydrated for longer periods of time.
At one point, I seriously considered "dermabrasion" or "micro-dermabrasion"; which is a very harsh process. In order to bring about skin renewal, the outside layers of skin cells (usually dead and hence dull looking) - must be removed. This process can be performed at a dermatologist's office through an intense exfoliation process that uses aluminum oxide crystals to remove the upper layer of skin. Women who opt for this process often need several sessions of about 30-45 minutes. What really scared me about this procedure was the fact that many of them complained of short-term irritation - red, itchy skin.
Because I have very sensitive skin as well, I was very wary about going through with dermabrasion. When I saw this product in an Origins store, I was eager to try it out. The cream base has not bothered my skin (even though I have numerous allergies) and the rice particles are not harsh enough to leave my skin raw or red. Exfoliation with this product seems to have the following effects;
a) taking away dead skin cells leaves the skin underneath more receptive to moisturizers (which is especially good if you have very dry skin). An added bonus if you have mild combination skin is that the paste (which is pretty gritty) also helps to unclog and clean pores - leading to less breakouts!
b) the astrigent properties of textrahexyldecyl ascorbate (vitamin C) and pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract help to tone down oily skin and clean out blocked pores
The scent of the product is citrusy and very pleasant. Also, with most scrubs your face may feel tight or overly dry after washing. Since this product has essential oils (lemon, bergamot, petigrain, cucumber and basil) and aloe juice in it - your face feels neither too oily nor too dry.
The only thing that you need to be careful about when using this product is not to exfoliate too often - as this can irritate the skin (there aren't enough dead skin cells to exfoliate everyday!). Also, as one reviewer has already mentioned, DO NOT get this product in or near the eyes. It's good habit not to scrub the skin around the eyes anyway, because it is very fragile! One other thing that may be tedious for some, is that you will need to rinse your face very well in order to thoroughly get the product off.
The container (4 oz) should last you for 3 months or more, since you only need a little bit of paste for your face each time. I definitely think this is the best alternative to expensive micro-dermabrasion or chemical peels.
Recently, I also noticed that Origins Modern Friction Nature's Gentle Dermabrasion was a winner of the 2005 Beauty awards for Cosmetic Executive Women. For more information you can visit this site: http://cew.org/events/beauty/ba2005/ba05winners1/
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