February 01, 2011

A shot of Vitamin C: Derm10 Vitamin C Complex

Just about the time Eli's sister was threatening to slather her skin with lemon juice to give it a jolt of Vitamin C, I was contacted by Derm10 to review some of their products. I've never heard of this skincare line before, they claim to be from the US, Malaysia & Singapore but I had my doubts. My skin's never been the easiest to please, but with some back and forth emails I found the lady who contacted me to be very forthcoming, friendly and professional. She helped me identify silicone free formulations that would be great for my skin. So after awhile I decided to try this Vitamin C Complex serum and their Comodone Complex (I haven't started using this yet as I only test one product at a time). After a month of using the Vitamin C serum, I have to say I'm impressed!


The formulation
The trick with Vitamin C is to find a stable yet effective form of it that works well with the skin. This formulation uses 2% Ascorbyl Glucosamine. Some research via Google says it is a pretty stable form of Vit C BUT is most effective at 10% concentrations. So 2% is rather low. 

Texture
Completely silicone free (YAY!) this serum sinks right into the skin. After spreading it on it feels sticky for a moment and then disappears. One pump covers my face and neck if I'm REALLY fast and it smells faintly of Redoxen. 

Use
As I have yet to find a sunscreen that works well with my skin and Vitamin C does make your skin more sun-sensitive I've only been using this serum once a day, at night, daily for the past month. 

Results
Absolutely NO breakouts. Hurrah! Also, while the concentration is low, I noticed my skin had a slightly more even tone by the end of a week, and a healthier glow in the morning after three days. It's most effective when used after a cleansing scrub and mask routine and I find my skin feels really silky soft and smooth with continual use. However after a month the effects seem to have plateaued. Good news is, despite fatigue and a lot of late nights I don't look haggard and have been told I look fresh even when I feel like keeling over and curling up in a fetal position to die.  Yay for makeup and skincare!

Conclusion
I really like this stuff. But RM168 is an exorbitant price to pay for a low concentration of the active ingredient, a  no-brand skincare line (not really a problem for me, BUT I do realise that a high portion of what we pay is for the brand) with a website that mixes up "stable" with "staple". Argh. Because a little goes a long way I may buy myself a fresh bottle if the one I'm using lasts me a year. YEP a YEAR. 

Anyway this is the last review I'll be posting for awhile. I'm taking a long long vacation to New Zealand and for my sanity I'm also giving myself as much of a break from writing as I can - I write for a living and run two blogs so while it's something I really enjoy I think I'm starting to burn out a little. 

Have a great Chinese New Year folks and a good break yourselves. See you on the week of Feb 21!

Edit: Vitamin C Complex serum  is available for purchase online. Click the link!

5 comments:

weinice said...

I also using vitamin C serum...I oso try to find other brands,..but it is difficult to find de suitable for my skin at the market...Coz i bought at clinic one..the price also same as this..I wanna ask whr can buy this product. U can email me de details.
sugababenice@yahoo.com

thks..

Kahani said...

Hi Weinice, you're right I should have mentioned.You can buy it online, the link's in the first para of the article. =)

Ashley*Nicole said...

This is interesting, I haven't used Vitamin C on my face before. Perhaps I should do some research!
-Ashley Nicole
http://ashleynicolewilson.blogspot.com/

Connie De Alwis said...

I've been looking for a vit C serum that doesn't contain silicone. Yay! :D Me no likey the TBS vit C skin boost

Derm10 said...

Hi there,

First of all, we at Derm10 would like to thank Kahani for her flattering but informative review of our Derm10 Vitamin C Complex. Hopefully our humble Comedone Complex will be able to please her skin as well.

Anyways, thought I'd add a few more info on some 'queries' within her review.

1. 10 years ago, Derm10 Perfect Skincare started as a collaboration between Dermasthetic Inc (American company) and Dermasthetic Sdn Bhd (Malaysian company). Now it is solely a Malaysian-owned brand. A few years back, we penetrated into Singapore. Hence, the countries stated there just refer to our brand presence.

2. Our formlation of 2% Ascorbyl Glucosamine is set because 10% might be most effective but as Malaysians, we are constantly exposed to harsh sunny weather. Higher percentage of AG causes more risk of skin's sun sensitivity. Our Vitamin C serum is low in concentration but our trials prior to launching the product has shown that 2% is effective enough to show signs of firming and radiance, minus the usual side effects of high concentration Vitamin C serums.

3. Derm10 is not a well-known salon brand in Malaysia because in the past, we started off distributing them through clinics, as the founder was a skin doctor (one of your readers also stated she bought our products through a doctor). Only in the past few years we began focusing on skincare salons. Now our brand is available through our salon partners nationwide.

Please visit our website at www.derm10.com should anyone needs to contact us for more information.

Thanks So Loverly and pretty for reviewing us!