I am one of those people who strongly believes in the power of chemical exfoliation. Not to the point where I'm out in the streets handing out fliers, but I do incorporate AHAs and BHAs into my regular routine. Not sure what I mean? I'm talking hydroxy acids, people. The most common ones are probably salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and lactic acid, so if your products contain those ingredients then you're experiencing the power too.
Today I'll be doing a review of Radical Skincare's Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads, which contain both BHAs and AHAs. Holy cell turnover, Batman.
Product description:
These AHA and BHA acid pads exfoliate, support natural cell turnover, and accelerate the performance of Radical Skincare products. Its antiaging ingredients are proven to tighten and firm skin, reduce the appearance of pore size and lines, and preserve skin's hydration and nourishment. Excess sebum is removed while leaving the good oils to nourish and hydrate the skin. Enriched with chamomile for soothing and calming, it is perfect for sensitive skin. [They are] formulated WITHOUT: Parabens, Sulfates, Phthalates.
The pads are housed in an ENORMOUS plastic jar. Seriously, it's massive. Large enough to be used as a paperweight or maybe even as the unlikely murder weapon in a cheesy detective novel.
Ingredients:
It should be noted that alcohol denat appears sort of high in the ingredients list, which means that this product is sort of drying. I found that to be the case, anyway. Not the end of the world, just make sure you follow up with a good moisturizer. It looks like someone already ran this product through the COSDNA database here, and the only thing that got flagged as a potential irritant was the alcohol. So far so good.
The Sephora product description page says "Research results: 50% reduced crow’s feet in two weeks" so I decided to test the pads out for two weeks. I wasn't expecting miracles in that period of time, but since that's the claim I figured that I should at least be able to see the beginning of results, right?
Observations/my experience:
First of all, these pads don't have a pleasant scent - they smell sort of like chemicals. However, that has been true of every other exfoliating pad I've tried, so I certainly won't hold that against them.
Left: Stridex pad - Right: Radical Skincare pad |
I photographed the Radical pad next to a Stridex pad for comparison purposes. The Radical pads are ever-so-slightly smaller than Stridex, but still more than adequate in their surface area. They also have a slight bumpy pattern on them just like Stridex pads do. You're supposed to use them once per day - the box recommends using them at night after cleansing.
These pads give my skin a definite tingle - no redness or allergic reactions or anything, but a legit tingle. I found that the sensation went away after a few minutes, but if you have extremely sensitive skin you may want to keep that in mind.
As for my (purely anecdotal) results: I didn't really notice much difference with my crow's feet, but mine are not exceptionally deep to begin with so I don't know if I'm too bothered by that. I did notice, however, that my skin felt WAAAAAAY smoother after using these once a day for two weeks, and I had a dramatic reduction in pimples. Not just getting rid of ones I already had, but keeping new ones from cropping up. I'm actually a bit scared for when I run out of pads, because I'm worried that my face will immediately be re-invaded by spots, haha.
One other thing worth noting: This product costs $75 for 60 pads (2.5oz/75g). I am usually sort of hesitant to offer commentary on prices, because obviously different people have different budgets, but I do think they're a teensy bit expensive. With that said, I found them to be far more effective than plain old BHA pads, so they're definitely still worthy of praise.
Bottom line: I think the Radical Skincare Age-Defying Exfoliating Pads are effective for smoothing out my skin and reducing acne, though it may take longer than two weeks to see anti-aging results. Folks with very sensitive skin should be cautious, as these gave my not-so-sensitive skin a tingle.
Where to buy: Radical Skincare is now available at Sephora, hooray! You can find the Exfoliating Pads here. Folks in Europe can get them from the Radical Skincare website.
Have you tried anything by Radical Skincare? What's your favorite chemical exfoliant?
Disclosure: The product featured above was given to me for review purposes. I did not receive any other form of compensation for this post and the opinions expressed above are 100% honest. This post contains affiliate links. For more information, check out my full disclosure policy.
I love Radical Skincare. Their instant revitalizing mask is one of my favorite skincare products ever!
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