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Monday, April 9, 2018

Dr. Dennis Gross All In One Cleanser With Toner, C+ Collagen Brighten & Firm Vitamin C Serum, Ferulic + Retinol Anti-Aging Moisturizer and Ferulic + Retinol Eye Cream Review

I need YOUR HELP today! Let me know in the comments section what your skin type is and what your experience has been with RETINOL and/or FERULIC ACID. My skin (dry. sensitive) reacted horribly to this skincare which contains BOTH. My skin felt dry, flaky, irritated and I broke out really bad around my chin area. I didn't know anything about FERULIC ACID, but I found this article and it specifically says, "as long as you don't have extremely sensitive skin or an allergy to ferulic acid, it's a great ingredient for slowing the hands of time." WELP! Ferulic acid is not my friend. LMAO I didn't know that! I've never tried any Retinol products. I just recently purchased a kit by Murad that has some retinol products, but I have to wait until my face heals up from this to see if it was the ferulic + retinol or just the ferulic that was the problem. I SUPER LOVE Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Ultra Gentle Daily Peels. I will continue to buy them, because they are THAT GOOD! So I wanted to try his skincare. I went to his website and you can click on your skin problem (dry, oily etc) and it will suggest products. Under Dry Skin, there are several options (hyaluronic - which I probably should've chosen, C+ Collagen, and ferulic + retinol). The Ferulic + Retinol is not listed under Sensitive Skin options, but it is listed under Dry Skin options. I don't think it should be under either. Let me explain what I experienced below.


Dr. Dennis Gross All In One Cleanser With Toner
Honestly, Dr. Dennis Gross has only one main cleanser. There's a bar soap option, but I've never had great experiences with soap over a long period of time with dry skin. The other "cleanser" is more to remove makeup. This All In One Cleanser states its for all skin types. I knew I was in trouble when the directions said "massage into dry face. 10 seconds for DRY SKIN. 30 seconds for OILY SKIN". I've used a lot of cleansers in my lifetime, and I've never had to time any of them. Have you? To me, this just tells me this stuff is too strong, but the company is too lazy to make separate formulas. I don't want to have to time anything! I followed the 10 second rule. The cleanser felt good on my face, but after washing it off and patting dry, my skin felt dry. Not parched, but way too stripped. So if the cleanser doesn't work for me? Yeah. On the front of the box it says YOU HAVE: Dry or Sensitive Skin. YOU WANT: Clean, Makeup Free, Toned and Hydrated Skin. My skin was clean, makeup free and toned, but not hydrated. I think this would work better for Oily & Combination Skin Types.


Dr. Dennis Gross C+ Collagen Brighten & Firm Vitamin C Serum
So then I added the serum to my face.  It says on the front of the box. You Have: Dull Complexion, wrinkles, uneven tone and texture. You Want: Smooth and taut skin, radiant luminosity. I don't think this product was a problem for me. This brown honey (non-sticky) colored looking serum is packed with Vitamin C, Collagen Amino Acids and propietary energy complex. Its suppose to improve imperfections like dullness, dark spots, rough texture and expression lines. It's gotten great reviews. It's pressurized in the bottle, so everything is fresh. They do have a Sunburn Alert, because it contains AHA's (increase sensitivity). I've used a Vitamin A serum and loved it by Mad Hippie (it even had retinol in it, and I experienced no problems). I really liked Murad's Essential C Night Moisture (it had Vitamin A, C and E). This vitamin C Serum is along the consistency and in my estimate even more powerful than Drunk Elephant's C-Firma Day Serum. But it's not sticky like Drunk Elephant's C Firma Day Serum.


Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Anti-Aging Moisturizer 
Dr. Dennis Gross Ferulic + Retinol Eye Cream
Here's where things got bad! After the serum, I applied the moisturizer and eye cream. That's when my skin felt itchy, irritated and I started getting pilings. Then overnight my chin broke out really bad. I said, this is a reaction. So I stopped. I've only used this skincare one time. I returned it, because it's really expensive.

Final thoughts: I would go back and order the hyaluronic acid or C+ Collagen products but the cleanser doesn't work for me. If the cleanser doesn't work, why would I try the other products? I still love his peeling pads. I don't think these are bad products, but my dry/sensitive skin can't handle these. I also wouldn't recommend these for dry/sensitive types. Other skin types may love these! Therefore I'm not giving any of these a grade. I just wanted to share my experience and get some feedback from others (that's what I love about blogging). I will try the Murad retinol products, once my skin gets back in order. It's important for me to know if retinol is an overall problem for me or was it the ferulic acid?

After applying all FOUR products, I experienced PILING (just as you see on my hand, but on my face)
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18 comments

  1. Oh no! Kim, I'm so sorry to hear this:( I've never tried anything with ferulic acid so I can't comment on that but as someone with oily/combination and acne-prone skin, I totally feel your pain. I break out everytime I use salicylic acid, so that's one thing I can't use for sure. As for retinol, I do have a few products I wanna try but because I have sensitive skin, I'm really hesitant and have to be super careful.
    I hope your skin is much better now. XOXO

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  2. I never heard if this brand before Kim, really interesting.

    Candice | beautycandyloves.co.za

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  3. Oh my goodness Kim, how disappointing and frustrating! I haven't had any experiences with ferulic acid that I know of but I do experience pilling with different products all the time. I can never pinpoint the reason it happens and it isn't usually accompanied by any other kind of reaction - my skin just doesn't seem to absorb the products and they pill off. It's such a shame because I really don't think I derive much benefit from the products when that happens...
    xox,
    Cee

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  4. Oh it's such a shame your skin reacted, especially as it says it should be safe to use for you. My skin is so sensitive, it makes me really wary of changing up my routine too much, which is good as I don't react, but bad as I don't know if there are better products. I hope you have more luck with the other ones you try :)

    Hope you have had a brilliant weekend :) We had a busy one, some Church Online people flew over from the US so the weekend was full of activities, we had a party at my place last night which was fun!

    Away From The Blue Blog

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  5. With retinol products, I only use stuff from Paula's Choice, Drunk Elephant, or dermatologist. And some people need to start off using 2x a week for a while before increasing to 3 and 4, etc. It took me a while to tolerate mine too!

    https://asequinloveaffair.com

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  6. Kim, as you know, we have a similar skin type. Mine is dry but it's become less sensitive in the last year. I still have to be careful with the certain ingredients and retinol is one of those. I can only use it in lower concentrations and usually not daily unless the product is very gentle. As for ferulic acid, I've only used it in a a product that also contained vitamin C and my skin actually did quite well with it. It sounds like the combination of retinol and ferulic acid was just too much for your skin.

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  7. Oh no, girl! I'm sorry you had a reaction to that product. I have combination/oily and have never really tried anything with retinol in it either. I'm glad you were able to get your money back. I don't understand why they made the instructions complicated and it seems they didn't market it well for the right skin type. Thanks for your honestly. I've never tried anything from this brand before. I hope you're having a great start to your week so far, beauty!

    XO,

    Jalisa
    THE STYLE CONTOUR

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  8. Oh no, Kim, what a disaster! I have no problem with retinol, my skin loves it but I have never tried Ferulic Acid so no idea on that. Thank goodness you could return it, what a waste otherwise. :-(

    Shireen⎜Reflection of Sanity

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  9. Oh sorry I cannot help here but I have yet to try anything with those two ingredients.

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  10. Yikes! That doesn't sound good. I honestly don't know if I've ever used products with those ingredients. Maybe I should read the labels more! I have combo oily skin but I too sometimes feel like some products trip the moisture from my skin. I have only tried the peel pads/wipes and did like those. I will probably stay away from the rest just because I don't want to risk having the same reaction!

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  11. sorry you didnt have a great experience with this product. I hope you heal swoon.
    Wonder Cottage 

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  12. My skin is very sensitive so I'm not sure these would work for me, but I really like the idea of the pads as I love a good acid toner xx

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  13. What a detailed and informative post! Sorry to hear your skin reacted this way. I’ve not tried these or anything with ferulic acid, would it be similar to a Glycolic acid perhaps. I get some short-lived reddening to my skin with that and use Alpha H liquid gold, have done for years now. I Always wake to super smooth skin with it. I have dry skin like you, might be worth a try. Sometimes these “acids” are best diluted with a little water until our skin becomes accustomed. Great post and hope your skin gets back on track soon!

    Samantha x

    Http://thebeautyspyglass.com

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  14. I felt bad that the cleanser doesn't work well on you
    I definitely love this honest review!

    Much Love, Jane | The Bandwagon Chic
    New Vlog Entry!

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  15. I'm so sorry to hear you had such a bad reaction to this cleaner. Perhaps it is better if you stayed away from products with a similar content just to be on the safe side? I don't have any experiences with retinol/ ferulic acid ( as far as I know) but my skin is on the sensitive side, so it is possible I would have a similar reaction as well. It is impossible to say since I didn't tried these two ingredients but I'm kind of scared to try them now. I've heard good things about retinol, so maybe it was the ferulic acid? or the combination of both? Right now I'm on steroid medication again (plus the usual medication) and my skin is acting out, so I'm even more careful about what I use. The other products (cleanser with toner, serum) seem better but they still don't seem a good fit for your skin type, it's a shame. I don't think I would try this brand, their stuff does come of as a bit strong.

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  16. Sweet Jesus Kim! Thanks for the warning. I have dry, sensitive skin so I think I'll be weary around retinol and ferulic acid (even though I desperately need the fountain of youth). I've been thinking of trying retinol but I'm not so sure now. The only product I use from Dr Dennis Gross is the C+ Collagen cream. I've been wanting to try those peels and the tanner face sheets (combined, all the reviews I'd read say to use the peel then the facial tanner after) but every time I go to buy it one or both out of stock. Honestly I've been using Skyn Iceland's nordic skin peel and love that a lot. So I might not even bother with the peel hahahaha. Onto the C+ Collagen, I love that cream. No issues for me. I do find it very light but leaves my skin noticeably "shinny" almost like a mirror hahaha. Because of this I do prefer to use it more at night so no one sees it. But I do wake up with incredibly plump and hydrated skin. All shine gone too! I actually use this with a hyaluronic acid serum first. Currently I'm just using one from The Ordinary (though I don't like the thick consistency, I do think they've improved their formula since) but I first used this with Mizon's hyaluronic serum. I actually had samples of this and that Dr Dennis Gross cream and loved them together. I've been waiting until I finished The Ordinary to buy Mizon's serum so I'll let you know how those two go. But from memory I think the original box says that cream works best with a serum.

    Sxx
    daringcoco.com

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  17. I have never used retinol but your experience half scares me far away from it. I hope your skin cleared up and the products didn't cause too much damage. 💞💞💞

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  18. Wow, thanks for the warning! I have normal skin, but I used to have more sensitive skin. I would try out the combination to see if it's actually effective now.

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