My skin / Vichy Normaderm experience

My skin / Vichy Normaderm experience

29.1.12

   Thought I would make a post about my skin, as, hopefully, sharing my experience with certain cleansing products  might be interesting / useful to others with similar skin to mine! Obviously I realise cleanser isn't the only important aspect of a skin-care routine, but I just wanted to share the major step I have just experienced in the improvement of my skin in terms of my cleansing!!

      I have pretty sensitive skin, which is extremely dry in places (most of my body, but also on the sides of my nose and sometimes my forehead), but it is also pretty oily in others (down the centre of my nose, sometimes my forehead and around my chin). To put it in better words, I have combination skin!

   Basically, for years my skin has been annoyingly 'blemish' prone. I am not claiming to have suffered from acne,  but I seem to constantly have blackheads and spots (ergh.. but I guess most of us get them from time to time!). I'm almost 20 now and although it's common for people to still suffer from hormone-induced bad skin at this age I had had enough of it.

   I have used loads of cleansers: anti-bacterial, tea-tree based, 'for sensitive skin' .. the list goes on - the last one I used before deciding I had had enough of my skin was the T-Zone cleanser, not a ridiculously cheap cleanser, but one that supposedly helps out spot-prone skin. I can tell you now, it really aggravated my skin. I only used this cleanser for about 3 months, I gave it the benefit of the doubt for about 2 and a half months (pretty ridiculous, I know, but I don't like to strongly put down a product unless it repeatedly fails to impress / wishful thinking that it wasn't the cleanser which gradually added to my blemish issues!). In Boots one day I ended up in the premium brands area somehow...! I came across Vichy Laboratories Norma-Derm Cleanser, which looks like this.

   It cost me about £10.50 (200ml), which at the time I winced at slightly! I'm always tentative when buying a product which looks all 'scientific' - Vichy has certainly been branded to appeal in that way!! 'Norma-Derm' is Vichy's range for acne-prone skin. I took time to read the ingredients - to me this was really important, as I didn't want any harsh chemicals in the formula that would cause my skin to react, so reading that it was paraben, alcohol, colourant, fragrance and soap free made me feel much more inclined to buy it! It is also hypoallergenic, which is a must for anyone with sensitive skin (as I have learnt over the years!). It is a one step cleanser, which only needs applying with a cotton pad and does not need rinsing off, which is an added bonus as when I remove my make-up I want it to be a quick and simple as possible!

   Unlike other cleansers I have used, I don't get that horrid tight, dried out face feeling after using the product. My skin still feels really refreshed from cleansing. The product definitely seems to reduce the frequency / severity (ha!) of blemishes. I use it twice a day and after 1-2 months of use I have only used about a quarter of the bottle, which isn't bad!

   I looked up the brand on the internet (out of curiosity) and discovered it also makes Dermablend, it also seems to be owned by L'Oreal. I can't lie.. I was a little disappointed to find this out. The marketing ploy - if I'm right! -  had worked somewhat! I'm probably being a bit harsh here, L'Oreal DO make good products, but I have probably been living under a rock not to realise Vichy before... Despite all this you can't put down a good product with proven results.

   There are other similarly branded / priced / formulated products out there, but because of the results I have had so far I strongly recommend that those of you with sensitive combination skin should give this a go!!  I'm definitely tempted to pick up some of the Vichy Norma-Derm Moisturiser in the coming weeks! Has anyone else been impressed by Vichy products?