Never have I been so happy that it is hat and scarf weather. And it’s not just because I like the chunky, cuddly knits. No, it’s because at the moment I look like Gollum with a bout of leprosy. And I don’t want to frighten the small children now that Halloween is over.
What is the source of my current disfigurement I hear you ask (from afar obviously, as you listen to the bells jangling around my neck)? Well, it is a beauty treatment gone awry, an errant epidermal episode.
And the orchestrator of my facial downfall is StriVectin.
StriVectin had long been on my list of products-I-must-try-because-the-hype-says-they-are-fab. My first purchase was the SD Intensive Concentrate for those frown lines we get on the forehead, the little 11 we see between the eyebrows or the tree trunk grooves that develop on the neck.
I quite liked this cream and had started to see results so I continued like a little slack-skinned, furry-footed hobbit on my StriVectin adventure.
So I picked up their Tightening Kit which promised to firm up the skin on the face and neck. It’s a three piece collection with a face serum, an eye serum and sculpting cream.
Advertised
One of the most important ingredients in this trio of products is the patented NIA-114 molecule. This little fella is supposed to strengthen the skin’s natural ability to hold collagen, which contours and lifts the skin.
It comes with the warning that it may cause some flushing and reddening of the skin on the first few applications. You would think that this would set off alarm bells in a sensitive skinned soul like me. There was a faint jingle but it's nothing in comparison to the sound my leper bell now makes.
I wanted to believe the hype and to discover the Holy Grail of youthful skin. It suffices to say that, for me, this is not it. It’s more like the Holy Cheese Grater.
Next in the queue, please.I woke up the next morning with WELTS on my swollen eyelids and my mottled neck. They are red, raised and angry. I scuttled off to pharmacist shouting “Unclean, unclean!” and came away with a bag of soothing creams and emollients that I am applying with the fervour of a scratchy leper.
StriVectin yields great results for some but if you are of a sensitive disposition, I’d advise you to look away.
Advertised
Now if you’ll excuse me, I must find my precious knitting needles to craft a balaclava.
Have you ever tried StriVectin? Have you ever had a reaction to a product? To the comments with your warnings and tips!
