When I was a younger teenager I went through the unavoidable stages of puberty, we’ve all been there and if you’ve not you will be soon! The worst way it affected me was my skin, it went quite oily but was intermitted with periods of dryness too. Now my mum will argue with that, she’ll tell everyone that my mood swings were the worst, I was up and down from the ceiling like a yo yo but I still maintain that it was my skin which was the real curse of puberty.

* The Range *

Other products included in the Dermalogica range include: -

* The Product *

Kaolin – This is defined as a fine, white clay which is very pure in character. Kaolin’s main properties involve absorbing moisture and helps stop skin from shining or appearing oily. You may also like to know that if digested it contains anti-diarrhea properties too – what a bargain!

Sambucous – Just a posh name for the flower elderberry which is known for it’s soothing and softening abilities, discovered first by the Egyptians who believed it to improve the complexion – and it still does!

And so there you have it; I bet you never knew how many flowers and anti-diarrhea products went into a simple skin cleanser!

I always feel slightly disappointed when I use this product; the packaging to me just lacks imagination and creativity. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t buy a product purely based on it’s packaging, that would just be stupid (honest) and I know the Dermal Institute prides itself on injecting all it’s money and knowledge into producing the best quality cleanser but couldn’t they just add a little bit of colour?! For those of you who have never seen the packaging it’s in quite a plain, plastic, grey bottle with 2 shades of grey – a lighter grey as the general colour with the writing in a darker grey. The medium sized bottle has a useful pop open lid which makes application so much easier than screw tops so thanks for that at least and the large bottle has a pump dispenser - bargain!

The actual product claims to be fragrance free and to an extent it is free from all additives and unnatural aromas but the smell of menthol is almost overpowering. Think of the Head & Shoulders shampoo and you’re half way there – it’s not entirely unpleasant but it is quite an acquired smell. To me it does remind me of the sea for some reason, and also tea tree oil – both renowned for their cleansing properties so maybe that’s the general idea – cleanse by word association?? It’s clear in colour, quite runny in viscosity properties and that’s about all there is to say on that aspect!

As it’s very runny you have to be careful to only apply a small amount, it’s recommended you apply with either finger tips or a cotton pad – I opt for the latter as it’s easier to ensure even application by just wiping it over your skin. It’s best to leave it for approx. 30 seconds so it has time to cleanse your skin and then merely either wipe or wash off – I always opt for the latter as it’s easier. The only disappointing thing to note here is the lack of foam, I’m used to cleansers that foam slightly or at least smell nice but this one does neither! It's recommended that you go through this procedure twice - as once isn't often enough to completly cleanse skin - personally I couldn't be bothered with this!

After the initial application my skin is always left feeling slightly tingly, never irritated as such but tingly none the less. It always feels remarkably cleaner, like I’ve just had a facial or a face mask applied and it does often leave that slightly tight-ish feeling you often get after a face mask. It does feel slightly drier and less oily than usual as well as much fresher.
After a week's application the oil content had visibly reduced, my skin appeared much clearer, less greasy and more balanced. To the touch it was neither dry nor oily.
In the long term it is an ideal way to reduce and control oily skin – within a fortnight of regular usage (twice daily) my skin was already a great deal clearer as well as much less oily. A word of warning is not to use for long continuous periods if at all possible, after using it for about a month my skin did start to dry out. It’s best recommended for using when your skin is at that oily stage, perhaps just before that time of the month, or for a short time when you hit puberty, now I just keep it handy on the shelf and tend to use it for a couple of days a few times a year when my skin is unexpectedly greasy – apart from that soap and water does me fine!

Now here’s the big downside, the price. As with all good quality products we’re always reminded that we pay for what we get and I’ve found that for the majority of products that’s true (although sometimes you do discover a little golden egg that’s priced very cheaply indeed) and this product is no exception. The average sized bottle contains 237ml (like the average shampoo bottle) and prices do vary depending where you buy it.

Priced at £33.10 for 473ml from Jason Shankey (www.jasonshankey.co.uk)
Priced at £26.48 for 473ml from Beauty Flash (www.beautyflash.co.uk) – special promotion

I do have to say I’d recommend this product to anyone who suffers from oily, greasy or spot prone skin as it really does do the job – if you can live with the smell and the price then you’re half way there! It’s had an excellent write up from the press too, here’s a few snippets I’ve managed to collect to sell it to you even more: -

In Style – “The product that the experts find indispensable – Dermal Clay Cleanser, best facial cleanser for oily or combination skin.”