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