This post is brought to you by Physiogel Calming Relief.
Hi everyone! I'm happy to report that my skin is soooo much better now and I have to thank the new Physiogel Calming Relief creams for that happy news!
Last month, I was at Bangkok for
the launch of the Physiogel Calming Relief skincare line—Physiogel's first entry into face care. There I found out that my oily skin is actually dehydrated and sensitive. What a horrible combination!
I can't stress enough how I've been feeling down and insecure with my face. Maybe because I'm turning 40 this year and I just got depressed with the fact that I'm still pimply? Will I wrestle with bad skin for the rest of my life?
I'm not the sort of woman who stays in front of the mirror all day, obsessing over her face. Maybe I should, come to think of it. Maybe if I had cared more, I'd have better skin. But I was too busy chasing after my dreams, building my career, and taking care of my family to be overly concerned with my skin. As I keep reassuring myself, I'm already married anyway so somebody loves me, pimples and all. Plus, I told myself, my kids love me as is, too. What more can a woman want? Well, one of those aforementioned kids stared at me one day and said, "Mama, your face has lots of boo-boos. You should go see a doctor."
I cried! There it was—the reason why I needed to pay more attention to skincare! My son didn't think I was ugly; he thought I was sick! So I finally went to a dermatologist and I finally stuck to a skincare regimen, and that regimen included Physiogel Face Calming Relief. And I'm soooo happy with the results!
Here's my face before using the product:
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| Sorry for scaring you! |
And here's my face after:
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| Much better! |
Let's look at that again side-by-side.
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| No makeup on the after photo (okay, okay, I had to put on my eyebrows so I'm not too pangit!). |
My skin feels hydrated, moist, plumped up. The flakiness and sensitivity drastically reduced. My face is no longer itchy. Pimples and whiteheads dramatically reduced. The only thing I need to deal with now is treating my dark and ice-pick acne scars!
Now I just want to say that Physiogel is NOT for treating acne. I'm undergoing acne treatment from a skin clinic. But the pattern of my treatment was facial - two weeks of rest - flare up - facial. So I really still needed to go back to the clinic every two weeks. But since I started using Physiogel, I haven't gone back. My skin got stronger and healthier, so my acne treatment became more effective.
Physiogel Calming Relief works by strengthening and repairing the skin's moisture barrier. When our skin's barrier is damaged by environmental factors (like UV exposure and pollution), unhealthy lifestyle habits (like smoking and a state of constant stress), and improper nutritional habits (like not drinking enough water and eating junk food), our skin becomes dry and sensitive. It literally cracks. We don't see it but these microscopic cracks mean bacteria, allergens and other harmful things penetrate our skin and cause irritation. Irritation can be anything from flakiness and redness to pimples. These cracks in our skin also mean we lose moisture and so our skin becomes even more dehydrated.
The secret of Physiogel is its BioMimic Technology. Mimic means copy. Our skin is protected by a layer of lipids. Lipids are natural fat cells that keep moisture in and irritants out. But if we don't lead a healthy lifestyle and if we live in a stressful and polluted environment (hello, Manila!), that lipid layer becomes damaged. That's where the Physiogel BioMimic Technology comes in. This formula contains an advanced complex of lipids that are almost exactly the same as the lipids found naturally in our skin. So if our skin is damaged, the lipids in the Physiogel Calming Relief cream repairs the damage and then strengthens the moisture barrier. Skin is healed, hydrated, strengthened and protected.
The Physiogel Calming Relief range is available at Mercury Drug and Watsons. There's a cream cleanser and a face cream. The Calming Relief Face Cream comes in two formulations: regular, Php 800, and rich, Php 850. I use regular in the mornings and the rich at bedtime so that my skin really drinks up the moisture. I'll do a more specific review of each product soon. Watch for it!
