This is a true story. It happened today!

Being in the natural skin care manufacturing business, I get to try a huge number of beauty products from many different companies, learning about what works well, what doesn't, what ingredients to consider and what to avoid when developing any new Alchemilla products.

One kind of product that estheticians sometimes ask us for is an Alpha Hydroxy Acid-containing exfoliator for them to use on clients. 

Although I have a strong feeling about the irritation potential and long term safety of AHA's and BHA's on the skin and probably won't be releasing such a product any time soon (our Exfoliating Face Wash Cream does a marvelous job already, even on sensitive skin) we have had the opportunity to try the odd few AHA and BHA products with a view to educating ourselves about the short-term results versus potential adverse reactions and possibly re-visiting our decision not to manufacture them. 

Which is why it so happened that a few days ago I was handed a tube of AHA-containing product and suggested I try it on my own skin.

I went ahead and applied it the first day according to the instructions.  A little tingling but nothing significant considering a slight amount of discomfort is expected with these types of products.  The second day a little more tingling but again, nothing significant.  The third day (yesterday) a lot more tingling, but it disappeared in a few minutes. 

This morning, however, I awoke to find I had broken out overnight in red acne bumps - about 8 spots on the sides of my nose and 10-15 over each of my lower cheeks - more spots at one time than I have ever had in my entire life!  Although I have sensitive skin and have had the odd hormonal 'spot' since my teenage years, I have never before had so many spots at one time on my face!  It truly gave me a sense of panic, but more importantly a deep compassion toward those who have to deal frustratingly with chronic acne on a daily basis.

Aside from the initial horror this latest skin fiasco of mine triggered, believe it or not it has actually been a truly positive experience for me. It has not only solidified my feeling about avoiding chemical exfoliants, but given me the opportunity to really put to test our anti-irritant skin care products!  (Sometimes I secretly hope for a mild skin reaction so that I can re-confirm how wonderful our anti-irritant botanical remedies are!)

I got to work immediately on restoring my skin to its original creamy smoothness, not thinking for a moment that this would clear up any sooner than a few days at least!  I immediately cleansed my face with Alchemilla Calming Cleansing Milk (to get rid of any residual AHA product that might continue to irritate), rinsed off then gently blotted my skin with a clean towel and applied about 10 drops of Calming Lotion to the irritated areas and rubbed that in gently until it was almost undetectable.  Finally, I applied the usual amount of Rosebay Willowherb Cream (my daily moisturizer) to my entire face.

It has been about 7 hours since I did this and my skin has shown a remarkable recovery - about 80% better than it was this morning. Our skin care products were created with my own skin in mind because of a natural tendency of my skin to react to many stimulants - eg. from skin products, the garden, inside the home, even plastic bags - so I have complete faith in our products to do what they say they will do, but this incredibly quick response is beyond what I could have hoped for even from our incredibly effective formulations!

Along with Calming Salve, the above Alchemilla products are truly excellent botanical-based organic products for sensitive skin and highly effective natural remedies for calming irritation reactions. If you have sensitive skin or skin that has a tendency to react to certain chemicals, it is worth having them on hand.

I am relieved that my skin is almost back to normal so quickly. Some people are not so lucky and have to deal with these problems over a longer period of time (I remember a school friend who for many months had to apply all kinds of steroid creams to get her reactive skin under control after contact with some common cleaning chemicals).  For me this has certainly created a stronger conviction about steering clear of AHA products, especially if one has sensitive skin that tends to break out in response to allergens the way mine does.  I just don't think it's worth it when there are much gentler, effective alternatives available, like the organic skin care products made by us at Alchemilla.