Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Striking Skin Care

Imagine my delight when I discovered Striking Skin Care, a product line for women over 40 that helps restore radiance and firmness to the skin through the use of SmartPeptides. The peptides target skin that is showing signs of aging, with symptoms such as dryness, lines and wrinkles, loss of elasticity, loss of firmness and definition, hyperpigmentation, uneven skin tone, rough texture, and thinning. My first reaction was Eureka! I will admit to some of these symptoms. Little wrinkles, dryness, uneven skin tone, and thinning are my own demons.

Striking Skin Care was developed to mitigate the effects of perimenopause and menopause on our skin. In August, I wrote that anti-aging products are a growth industry. The statistics tell why. At any given time, there are approximately 45 million women going through a menopausal transition in the United States! Given that our life expectancy is now 84 years, some of us will spend 50% of our adult lives in some phase of menopause. Cheery, huh? During menopause and the years immediately preceding it, many women experience the signs of aging for the first time. Forty seems to be the magic age when we start to experience hormonally challenged skin.

Helix BioMedix, the biopharmaceutical company that makes Striking Skin Care, has been researching bioactive peptides for over 10 years. However, their entry into the skin care market has been relatively recent and, I'd say, conservative, given that they had flown under my radar for nearly a year. Really (as Seth and Amy would say)! How could they have escaped my notice when I pride myself on knowing about great anti-aging skin care products?

I already knew from my research that peptides are among the hot ingredients in leading-edge skin care, so I was intrigued when I leaned about Striking Skin Care's patented and trademarked SmartPeptides. I have mental images of molecular madness when I think about attacking the signs of aging and add up the various effects of my favorite products to achieve the right cocktail.

Each peptide used in the Striking products helps rebuild and refresh time-worn skin. How? The company identified the specific amino acid sequences related to age-related changes in our skin to find just the right peptides to use in their anti-aging products.

I had to try Striking Skin Care. At my request, the company sent me three of their products to try. I tested Striking Multi-Vitamin Cleanser, Striking Restorative Moisture Creme, and Striking Rejuvenating Eye Creme for over a month. The only product I didn't test was the Striking Multi-Peptide Serum, which I plan to purchase. Yep, that good!

All of the Striking Skin Care products are dermatologist-tested and free of parabens, fragrance, artificial colors, pore-clogging ingredients, and formaldehyde triggers. Here are the trial results seen by 30 test participants in just 14 days. If you follow test results for anti-aging products, you'll know that these are phenomenal results.
  • 94% of serum users reported firmer skin
  • 84% of serum users reported a noticeable reduction in fine lines and wrinkles
  • 93% of eye creme users reported their skin was smoother
  • 83% of eye creme users reported a noticeable reduction in fine lines and wrinkles
  • 97% of creme users reported firmer skin
  • 93% of creme users reported an overall improvement in the appearance of their skin
What was my experience?

I started with Striking by using the Multi-Vitamin Creme Cleanser ($28). Not one to jump into a new line with both feet, I figured that if the cleanser contained something that would make my reactive skin complain, I could quit while I was ahead. There was no need to quit! The cleanser is a wonderful rich and creamy liquid that removes makeup effortlessly and leaves behind clean, moist skin. I really like the fact that I can tell by feel when the cleanser is totally rinsed off. I'd recommend it to anyone, not just those with aging, dry, or sensitive skin. The cleanser is the only one of these products without SmartPeptides. It does contain vitamins A, E, and C; evening primrose oil; sea buckthorn; carrot; and avocado oil - all nourishing or antioxidant ingredients.

The Restorative Moisture Creme ($42) has Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14, complemented by emollient botanicals (such as green tea, rosemary, and soy) to nourish and replenish the skin and age-fighting vitamins C and E to neutralize free radicals. Sodium Hyaluronate provides moisture to the skin, drawing 1,000 times its own weight in moisture. Linoleic Acid is an omega-6 fatty acid important in cell membranes. When I first saw the lightweight texture of the creme, I was afraid it wouldn't be powerful enough to moisturize my dry skin. Silly me! It is extremely moisturizing, spreads nicely because of its creamy texture, and works equally well as a day or night creme.

The Restorative Moisture Creme did something very exciting that I didn't expect. It tightened my pores without any feelings of dryness or tightness - feelings that are characteristic of most firming products. I started by using it at night, and in the morning I noticed that my face was very smooth, the pores in my T-zone were reduced, and my skin tone had improved. I asked the company how the creme could be feel so emollient and moisturizing and still firm my skin enough to minimize my pores. The company's scientist said that the Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14 in the creme has a tightening effect due to cell migration and collagen rebuilding.

The Rejuvenating Eye Cream ($35) is thicker than the face cream, probably to keep it from migrating into the eyes. It does exactly what you expect of a good eye cream: reduces fine lines and wrinkles and minimizes puffiness and dark circles. Hexapeptide-21 controls visible photo-aging while calming and soothing the skin around the eyes. The other ingredients, which include shea butter, squalane, and dimethicone, replenish lost moisture and add a protective barrier.

The one product I haven't tried yet, the Multi-Peptide Serum ($65), has two peptides: Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14 and Heptapeptide-7 to help rebuild lost collagen and reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Other ingredients include Trehalose, a naturally occurring saccharide that helps protect the skin from dehydration and restore the skin's moisture balance; Palmaria Palmata to brighten the skin for a more luminous complexion; and Thermus Ferment, an antioxidant that detoxifies and helps to restore collagen.

OK, so this was a long review, and I may have lost you with skin science. I love these products, so I wanted to give you plenty of information. You can read more at Striking Skin Care's Web site, where you can also purchase their products. They offer value sets as well as free shipping for purchases over $75.

Striking Skin Care gets a Best Things in Beauty rave. The products worked very well for me. I would recommend them to any woman - no matter what her age - who suffers from dry or sensitive skin or who needs a good anti-aging regimen.

Update: Right after I wrote this review, I found a press release from the company describing the results of three new clinical trials. It's all good and worth reading.

Photo courtesy of Striking Skin Care

10 comments:

Joyce said...

If you could only buy one which one would you buy?

Charlestongirl said...

Hey there, Joyce,

That's a tough choice. Of the three I tested, if I could only purchase one, I would buy the Restorative Moisture Creme. Second would be the Rejuvenating Eye Creme. The reason? They have SmartPeptides, and the cleanser doesn't.

I will be testing the serum soon, and I can let you know more about it going forward. I think it's going to be fabulous, and I love serums!

Amberjewelry.com said...

Hi Adrienne, I also got the chance to try Striking's Duo recently (eye cream & restorative creme) & agree with the overall sense of Best Things in Beauty as reported here- I feel that Striking Restorative Moisture Creme is a wonderful & deeply moisturizing product.

It actually reminds me of Kinerase C8 Peptide formula (not quite as intense, but then, definitely not as expensive!) (of which I must confess I only tried a sample of!) which is to me a big compliment.

The forumlation has a terrific feel & this is one cream where (warning- cliche) a little really does go a long way unlike many face creams- something to which they all claim to aspire, but which most fail to deliver. It also absorbs in an incredible way, skin just drinks it in.

The scent is pleasant too, familiar to me but I couldn't quite put a finger on it. As for the eye cream I liked this very much too- it literally makes one "dewy-eyed"- which doesn't seem like it has any meaning- but, if you do two applications to one eye a few minutes apart & compare it to the other, you'll see! :D

These smart peptides are pretty darn smart, I'd say.

Charlestongirl said...

Hi, Amberjewelry,

Thank you very much for that wonderful and comprehensive information! It's always nice (and validating) to know that others shared my product impressions.

The fragrance comes from the ingredients because there is no fragrance/perfume added. There is a subtle and quickly disappearing fragrance in the creme. I didn't try to figure it out from the ingredient list because it dissipated so quickly.

And YES...the price is so nice.

Thanks again for your comment - and for reading!

Margarete said...

I have been using the Striking serum and can truthfully report that I have noticed an improvement in my skin texture and firmness. It has been dramatic enough that I am planning to purchase the restorative moisturizer as well as the rejuvenating eye creme. As I continue to use the serum and begin using the other products, I will report on progress, improvements, and my overall satisfaction with the Striking skin care line.

Charlestongirl said...

Glad you like it! I sure do.

InkyW said...

I am the winner of the Striking Skin Care contest and I've been using the Striking Skin Care line for a couple of weeks now. I am already noticing a smoothness and better feeling to my skin. It seems softer, the flaky area on my forehead/t-zone is almost gone, and just the over all tone and coloring of my skin is improving. Looks like they've hooked themselves a new loyal customer ;)

Stylinhedz said...

Where can I get these...domain website gone

Stylinhedz said...

Where can I get these products...website domain is gone

Charlestongirl said...

Marsha, I don't know. Maybe they went out of business?