I received this product free from a Origins promotion, and I was very excited to get it! I have had light acne scars for the last 15 years, and am way too afraid of the dermatologist to try any dermabrasion stuff. Natural, non-animal tested products are what I like to use, so no thanks to all those new drugstore and department store dermabrasion products.
My only goal with Modern Friction was to have it reduce my acne scars, without any skin lightening side effects, or blotchy redness from irritation. I've been using this product for a month, 2-4 times a week, and I can definitely say that my skin is looking more refreshed, any my scars are more faint for sure. No side effects either. It's the only Origins product I have used in years, but it's making me thing about trying out some more of them.
This product normally costs $35, and is a little small for that price, coming in at only 4 oz. In the month I have had it, I have used about 3/4 of the tub. It exfoliates the skin with rice starch, and wakes up your face with Lemon, Bergamot, and Peppermint oil. I don't have sensitive skin, but if you do, these essential oils could be a bit strong for you. Origins says this product is for all skin types, but if you've ever had sensitivities to essential oils, stay away from this product. You can really smell the peppermint when you open the tub. It also includes aloe, I suppose to help calm down any irritation the rice starch may cause.
Ingredients:
aqueous infusion; rosa damascena (rose) flower; oryza sativa (rice) starch; sodium laureth sulfate; glycerin; cocamide dea; glycol disterate; aceylates copolymer; pentylene glycol; polysorbate 20; essential oils (olea); citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot); citrus limon (lemon); cucumis sativus (cucumber); cinnamomum camphora (shiu); litsea cubeba; citrus aurantium (petitgrain); ocimum basilicum (basil); linalool, citral, benzyl salicylate; limonene and mentha piperita (peppermint), aloe barbadensis (aloe) leaf juice; scutellaria baicalensis; pyrus malus (apple) fruit extract; cucumis sativa (cucumber) fruit extract; textrahexyldecyl (vitamin C) ascorbate; butylene glycol; hexylene glycol; sodium cocate; caprylyl glycol; sodium sulfate; hydroxypropyl methylcellulose; sodium chloride; laureth-2; tetradibutyl pentaerithityl hydroxyhydrocinnamate; edta; disodium edta; trisodium edta; methylchlorosothiazolinone; methylisothiazolinone; sodium benzoate; penoxyethanaol; titanium dioxide
A complaint I do have about Origins is that they don't list the ingredients to their products on their website. They are definitely not the most natural company out there, because there are several ingredients in Modern Friction that I can't pronounce. They are lots of great companies out there that don't have methylchlorosothiazolinone, tetradibutyl pentaerithityl hydroxyhydrocinnamate, sodium laureth sulfate, etc. in their products. Maybe if one of those companies comes out with a rice starch dermabrasion product, I'll try it. Also, for the $35, I feel that some of the things they use should be organically grown.
I found this on the website www.ewg.org, which rates the safety of ingredients in beauty products. It states that methylchlorosothiazolinone is a moderate concern ingredient, which can be a skin sensitizer (itching, hives, burning of skin, a lung sensitizer used in products that may be inhaled, and immunotoxicity hazards (which means it can be toxic to the immnue system). Methylisothiazolinone had similar warnings. There are companies, such as MyChelle, and Aubrey Organincs that are cheaper than Origins, and don't use ingredients such as these. And their products, for me, have worked just as well or better than Origins products I have used in the past.
THE RESULTS:
When I first opened the tub of Modern Friction, I was surprised at how sticky the product was. Not sticky like gum, but sticky like sticky rice! Well, it makes sense seeing as the major ingredient is rice starch. You rub it on dry in a circular motions. It feels a little odd at first, just because I'm used to having a moist face first. Then you can add a little water, rub a little more, and rinse. And rinse good, several times! If you don't rinse well, you will have rice starch residue on your face. After rinsing well though, my face was not tight, it looked a little pink, and happy! It felt nice, soft, and smooth. After using this product about 8 times is when I really started to notice some of my scars/pitting fading. They're not gone, but light enough that I haven't been wearing make up. Is it a permanent change? I can't say yet, but I think so.
This information is from the website: "Signs of lines and size of pores appear to shrink. Skin looks like porcelain, perfectly polished, smooth and luminous." "It's a scientific fact. Modern Friction measures up to clinical micro-dermabrasion. Origins conducted a side-by-side study comparing Modern Friction and clinical micro-dermabrasion. The results? Modern Friction is equally effective in reducing the look of lines, wrinkles and age spots and increasing smoothness and radiance. And it's 2.5X more gentle! "
This product is advertised more for people with wrinkles and age spots. That's not really my problem. I figured it would be a help to me with it's claims of giving smoothness and radiance. Micro-dermabrasion is what a friend had recommended to me for my scars. Well, Origins has given me the chance to do it at home, when it's convenient for me. While I do think the $35 is a little high for the quality of it's ingredients, it's far cheaper than any visit to a dermatologist.
UPDATE: Ok, this should be common sense, but I have a tendency to be in la-la land. Don't put this product on your lips! I was using Modern Friction in the shower. I took a scoop out of the jar, and absent mindedly smacked it right on my lips. I rubbed it on my face for a bit, then rinsed. Not well enough though, because I opened my eyes too early, and received a nice burning sensation in return. After rinsing my eyes for a minute or so, it went away. But then, I noticed the fire on my lips! I rinsed and rinsed, but it was just making the awful tingling worse. After I got out of the shower, I applied some CamoCare moisturizer to my lips (I'll have to review that a different day!). That soothed them, but it was still a not fun 10 minutes.
UPDATE #2: This is about 4 months after I finished off the product. I stretched the last 1/4 of the tub left, because I was going through it too quickly before. My acne scars did not completely disappear. The very light ones and minimal surface ones are gone, but others have shown back up. I don't have any real deep scars - just moderate ones. Those are the ones that are still there. I know they're not new, because I haven't broken badly in a while. I'm still delighted that this product did diminish some scarring, but the previous overall great results didn't stand the test of time. Without seeing a dermatologist, I think that getting rid of the light scarring is the best I could've hoped for from an OTC product.
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