Six weeks ago I was introduced to a fully customized skin care treatment cream that near blew my mind.
I don’t often say this about cosmetics as I’ve yet to find a product that has given such impressive results. But having spent many years as a skincare therapist, I’ve performed all kinds of treatments and used a plethora of home care products. There are so many products out there and even for me, it’s a challenge to believe the claims that skin care companies make about their products.
Unless you’re an expert and know what you’re buying chances are you will be disappointed. How are you to know which skin care products will work for you?
Customized Skin Care Products are the Future
Over the years I spent as a skincare therapist I worked with hundreds of different products. As you can imagine it wasn’t easy to stay on top of the latest technologies in ingredients in order to provide accurate recommendations for my clients.
I often wished that the process of choosing products for clients could be more simple so they could get the results they wanted.
Things have certainly changed since then and for the better. Enter fully customized skin care products for home use.
Blend and Boost
I had the opportunity to test a new product line called Blend and Boost which is bringing a whole new take on customized skin care. I was turned onto it at the Vancouver Laser Centre right here in Vancouver.
The Blend and Boost system comprises 5 advanced cream Bases and 13 cosmetic active Boosters and is available at selected clinics in Canada.
Basically, you receive a skin assessment which determines which combination of base and boosters best suit your skin concerns and the resulting customized blend details are freshly prepared by an expert licensed dispensary (compounding pharmacy) and shipped within a few days to your door.
So now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, I’d like to tell you about my experience.
The Skin Assessment
I arrived at the Vancouver Laser Center fully expecting to be disappointed if truth be told (isn’t that terrible? I’m such a skeptic these days).
My skin, nearing its fiftieth year is showing many signs of aging. Sun damage, resulting in broken capillaries, pigmentation, scarring from acne and the oh so lovely sagging that comes with the years were all on the table.
Admittedly, I have it better than most as I’ve been diligent with sunscreen. Oh and oily skin, which ages slower than those who have a dry skin. At least there’s that.
I met with Dr. Braun and the good people at Blend and Boost to get a skin assessment and prescription for a cream that would target my myriad concerns.
An in-depth skin analysis was performed, in which they asked me what I wanted to improve, with some rather on-point discussion of what they thought needed work. They didn’t beat around the bush when it came to diagnosing my skin’s plight, which I suppose is the point. It needed help! They were kind about it too which I liked.
My answers were entered into the Blend and Boost database which then came up with a customized blend of three boosters and a base cream that suited my skin’s issues. You can see in the photo above that the boosters are written on the bottle, 12, 13 and 9.
The Base
The base we chose is an ultra-lightweight purifying lotion that leaves a refreshing and matte after-feel. It also contains skin-balancing ingredients and is fragrance-free and paraben-free. It’s perfect for the upcoming summer months when my skin will be oilier than in winter.
The Boosters
I lucked out and got the maximum dosage of 3 boosters for my skin concerns. Might as well go big right? Here they are.
- CM Glucan H ~ Helps the skin recover from environmental stressors and improved fine lines and wrinkles.
- Ac. Net™ ~ Helps reduce skin shininess and improves the appearance of blemishes.
- Niacinamide PC ~ This is vitamin B3 which helps improve the appearance of pores, soothes and evens out skin tone.
After the consult was complete my prescription was sent to a local compounding pharmacy for blending. There was no need to pick it up as it was delivered right to my door.
It was recommended that I use my formulation twice a day for optimal results and it was also suggested that because my formulation had 3 boosters and therefore a very active combination, that I could expect my skin to get worse before it got better.
Before Using Blend and Boost
In order to be entirely objective, I took a photo of my skin before starting to use Blend and Boost. It was taken outside around 11 am and in full daylight. Here it is.
You can see the overall and underlying redness, pigmentation and the wrinkling around my eyes and on the bridge of my nose. I’m not wearing any makeup and this photo has not been retouched. As if you couldn’t tell right?
Is it working?
As the days turned into weeks I have to say that I was getting skeptical. I wasn’t seeing much change in my skin although I did notice that it felt better, it was less tight and it was definitely less shiny. Once I was ready for my follow-up appointment I thought I’d better take another photo to measure the results, if there were any.
After Using Blend and Boost for Six Weeks
The after photo was taken in the same place and around the same time of day however as I am looking at these photos again I think one of them got flipped around ( I might have taken a selfie in the first one, hence the flip) as I can see the scar above my left eyebrow is on the other side!
After comparing the two photos side by side I have to say I am still impressed. The lines around my eyes and the puffiness are significantly reduced, the overall redness of my skin is better and the breakouts really did settle down.
So why didn’t I notice the changes? Well…I wasn’t wearing my reading glasses when I looked in the mirror. Who does that? But unretouched photos don’t lie my friend.
One bottle of Blend and Boost will run you $150.00 but with results like these, it’s worth every nickel. It has a shelf life of three months (because, no preservatives) and if you use it twice a day you’ll have plenty.
It is your day and night cream and because you can use this product around your eyes there’s no need for eye cream. Blend and Boost can be used with Vitamin A and Vitamin C products to treat sun damage and pigmentation as well. Just be sure to consult your dermatologist.
So what do you think? Are you going to try it? Tell them I sent you!
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