PRODUCT REVIEW: SELF/ISH EXFOLIATING PADS – THE BEST GLYCOLIC ACID EXFOLIATING PADS
SELF/ISH | EXFOLIATING PADS
Be sure to catch my recent selfcare Sunday video on my IGTV featuring the SELF/ish Exfoliating Pads titled, Today, My Selfcare Sunday Obsessions!
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I’m a long-time fan of the iconic acid-infused exfoliating pads from Dr. Dennis Gross. But two things prevent me from incorporating the classic Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peels into my regular skincare routine each week.
First, at $88 for 30 pads, they’re too expensive. That’s almost $3 each! And, second, they’re not only soaked in multiple beneficial alpha hydroxy acids, they’re also soaked in drying, skin-damaging denatured alcohol. Ugh.
So I always have my eye out for a legitimate replacement. And I found one with the SELF/ish Exfoliating Pads. If you didn’t catch me using them this past #selfcaresunday on my IGTV, be sure to check it out here!
The SELF/ish AHA-infused peel pads are just $25 for a 30-count jar, less than one dollar per application!
The SELF/ish formula contains 10% Glycolic Acid — an equivalent dose to Dr. Gross’ Alpha Beta Extra Strength Daily Peels — in addition to Mandelic Acid, Malic Acid and Lactic Acid.
There’s also an ample amount of natural BHA in the form of natural Willow Bark Extract to flush out pores of gunk that can lead to blemishes and weaken healthy skin functions.
The clean SELF/ish formula also contains multiple skin soothers and antioxidant botanical extracts. With all that goodness, as important as what’s in it is what isn’t — no drying alcohols! Why do brands like Dr. Gross put skin-compromising denatured (or isopropyl) alcohol into their products?
Because denatured alcohol is used to weaken the skin barrier for the purpose of enhancing the penetration of actives like beneficial AHA acids. That means better results — and better clinicals for marketing campaigns.
What does alcohol in skincare do?
There’s an excellent article from the Paula’s Choice Research Team on the brand’s website titled, Alcohol in Skin Care: The Facts. In it, the experts describe alcohol’s purpose in a skincare formula and its effects on the skin.
Bad vs. Good Alcohol in Cosmetic Formulas
When we express concern about the presence of alcohol in skin care or makeup products, we’re referring to a drying type of alcohol that you’ll most often see listed on an ingredient label as SD alcohol, denatured alcohol, or, less often, isopropyl alcohol. These types of volatile alcohols give products a quick-drying finish, immediately degrease skin, and feel weightless on skin, so it’s easy to see their appeal, especially for those with oily skin.
But those short term benefits end up with negative long term consequences.
When you see these names of alcohol listed among the first six ingredients on an ingredient label, without question they will aggravate and be cruel to skin. No way around that, it’s simply bad for all skin types. Consequences include dryness, disruption of the surface of skin’s microbiome and barrier (the latter being especially bad for skin), and a strain on how skin replenishes, renews, and rejuvenates itself. Alcohol just weakens everything about skin.
Just to be 100% clear, there are other types of alcohols, known as fatty alcohols, which are absolutely non-irritating and can be exceptionally beneficial for skin. Examples you’ll see on ingredient labels include cetyl, stearyl, and cetearyl alcohol. All of these are good ingredients for dry skin, and in small amounts fine for any skin type as they give a pleasing texture and help keep ingredients stable in products. It’s important to discern these skin-friendly forms of alcohol from the problematic types of alcohol.
Likewise, you may have heard that alcohol is a good ingredient because it helps other ingredients like retinol and vitamin C absorb into skin more effectively. Although it’s true that it does enhance absorption of ingredients, the alcohol also destroys skin’s surface and the very substances that keep your skin healthy over the long term. There are certainly other, gentler ways to get good ingredients into skin, without damaging its outer layer, an issue that causes more problems than benefits.
The use of denatured alcohol is how the Dr. Gross Daily Peels achieve such great results; yet, over time, they damage the skin as well.
Rather than using drying alcohol, the SELF/ish chemists had the wisdom to opt for Dimethyl Isosorbide, a legitimate alternate to denatured alcohol. DMI is a 100% pure substance, sustainably extracted from corn sugar. It’s used to stabilize, solve (or dissolve), and deliver active ingredients into the skin, similarly to alcohol. DMI has been proven to deliver significantly higher efficacy — without damaging the skin barrier.
This is true innovation and, at least for me, a welcome alternative to drying, skin-damaging alcohols. I love these pads — and have actually never experienced the kind of irritation I’m accustomed to with a 10% concentration of powerful Glycolic Acid. Bravo, SELF/ish!
FOR A LIMITED TIME: Get the SELF/ish Exfoliating Pads free thru Sunday 05/09/21. ($25 value + free shipping.) US residents only.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase the SELF/ish Exfoliating Pads for $25 here.
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The Ingredient List of the SELF/ish Exfoliating Pads:
Aqua, Glycolic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, DMI, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum (Sugar Cane) Extract, Willow Bark Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Extract, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Mandelic Acid, Malic Acid, Gallic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Ellagic Acid, Cyanocobalamin, Bakuchiol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Ethylhexylglycerin, Lactic Acid, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Linoleic Acid, Tocopherol, Linolenic Acid, Oleic Acid, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Palmitic Acid, Stearic Acid, Polysorbate 20, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Limonene, Linalool.
