When it comes to green skincare, I had my start with a balm.
I rubbed that balm of pure plant oils in between my fingers and onto my face, watched my makeup melt away, and I was like, “Wow…awesome…” And then I wiped the residue away with a warm washcloth and I was like, “Wow…even more awesome…” And then I moisturized with it. My mom and my sister were incredulous, “How can you moisturize and cleanse with the same product?!” With the power of organic plant oils, that’s how…
Unfortunately while I liked the balm, my face didn’t get along with it. (My mom and my sister blamed it on the double-duty cleansing and moisturizing–false!!) The same thing happened with coconut oil (though I’m sure I didn’t get a pure enough form), and at this point my face was screaming unhappiness in the form of face-wide breakouts.
That was when I began cleansing with pure, raw honey, after removing makeup with jojoba oil and a warm washcloth. I followed with argan oil for moisturizing. My face calmed down within the next couple months, but it was still a bit traumatized, breaking out, and starting to get drier from the winter weather. After coming back from this last winter break, I decided it was time to put away my DIY fairy and put my face in the hands of Dr. Alkaitis.
1). In the morning and at night use our Organic Purifying Facial Cleanser. It cleans the skin gently, deeply and thoroughly. It removes old skin cells and leaves the skin moist, soft and refreshed.
Put a little on your middle finger, scoop up some water and gently massage your face until foam avoiding the eye area, rinse with lukewarm water and dab dry.
2). In the morning and evening after cleansing, apply our Organic Soothing Gel, it is a moisturizing gel that leaves your skin soft, supple and refreshed. It is an antibacterial tonic, good for sensitive skin and inflammatory conditions such as acne, eczema and rosacea.
In the palm of your hand dispense a dime-size amount apply over entire face, using only your fingertips. Massage gently for full absorption.
3). Before bed after the cleansing and the gel you did earlier, apply our Organic Nourishing Treatment Oil. As the day wears on your face gets oily and we apply the Ayurvedic philosophy “Oil cuts Oil.” But that’s not the only reason you have to use the treatment oil, there are other ones, This oil will have both a therapeutic effect on your skin and will bring unbalanced skin into balance, it absorbs quickly and holds moisture which is very important and I’ll tell you why, it will soften the sebum that causes the acne and in the morning you will be able to wash some of it off.
This oil. I love this oil. I had only played with single ingredient facial oils like jojoba and argan before, so this was my first blend. It is so beautiful. It’s a rich golden color, and smells like a dream when I’m patting it onto my face. This is a bit of a heavier oil in comparison to argan, so I give it a little more time to sink in before heading to bed or putting on sunscreen during the daytime. This makes my face feel so moisturized, plump, and soft. And the ingredients are awesome, including Rosehip oil, St. Johns Wort, turmeric, otherwise known as healing, also healing, and extra healing.
Results
Using these products together have resulted in really wonderful results for my face. The small bumpy patches of irritation on my cheeks–diminished. The acne scars littered across my cheeks–lightened and healed significantly. My forehead barely breaks out. While I can still count on hormonal acne visitors each month, they heal within a week. My skin texture is smoother and my redness has decreased. I am more confident about only spot-concealing instead of going for full coverage. I’ve even had a couple no-makeup days! Only a couple months ago, I was too embarrassed to go outside my room after removing my makeup, so I cannot tell you how glad this makes me.
Of course, I must mention that these results did not happen overnight and my skin is still far from perfect. This was a gradual process and of course what you put on your face only goes so far–diet plays a role as well (I admit…I still eat bacon). I also had a month of dabbling where I tried adding in some of the creams for extra moisture, but I came to the conclusion that my skin does not yet require the power packed in those lovelies (but maybe I will in 10 years or so). The eye creme, also very powerful, is also very lovely, and I know I don’t need it, but I will use it until I run out of the sample. I will just say that my eyes are practically never puffy anymore, and I often opt out of under-eye concealer because my dark circles are not as dark anymore.
As far as full-size purchasing goes, I am gradually decanting the full-size Cleanser and Soothing Gel into my trial-size bottles for convenience. The only reason I have not purchased the full-size Nourishing Treatment Oil is because there are so many great oils out there that I want to try…however, I know what to come back to if my face misbehaves again.
As a footnote, I must also mention that the prices are very deceiving. The sizes for all of these products are actually very generous. The Cleanser is $65 for 4oz ($16.25/oz), Soothing Gel for $60 for 4oz ($15/oz), and the Nourishing Treatment Oil $80 for 4 oz ($20/oz). Just looking at the oil–twenty dollars per ounce for that powerful blend is a great deal! There are oils out there that are $100+ per ounce!
As a second footnote, while I am obsessed with the smell of these products, it may not be for everyone, as are the various herbs and essential oils, which is exactly why I started with the Trial and Travel Kit, which is also a great value and really gives you a good taste of Dr. Alkaitis.
Have you tried any Dr. Alkaitis? What are your thoughts and experiences?
Don't you just love the brand? This is one of the first brands I tried when I switched to all natural and pure organic skin care. I love the ethos and Dr. Alkaitis is a very smart man! So I trust him. Although I have stopped using his products, I must say that I am still tempted to buy my 3rd jar of their enzyme mask and the green mask. They're awesome, literally feels like I'm feeding my skin with nutrients and what not. Love it!
The price is also economical if you look at it in the long-term. ALLL his products last so long, I finish the full size products within 6 months, so there it goes, bang for the buck.
You use Vered toner??! Please give us a review on that. I have been wanting to try out Vered products for so long!
Yes! I really love the idea of "feeding the skin." How did you like the masks? I had a small sample of the Universal mask, which I liked in my mind but I couldn't grasp how my skin felt about it. I am thinking of eventually buying it so I can get a better feel.
And yes! Definitely great bang for buck. Six months?? That's great! I often see reviews commenting on how pricy his products are, and I just want to shake them, and say, "But wait! Look at the price per ounce!"
I just started using the Vered toner a week or so ago. ^_^ I'm going to give it some more time (along with the Therapeutic Balancing Face Oil), but for now, I have to say, they smell spicy and sexy, and my skin is liking the combo of Dr. Alkaitis + Vered so far (Vered in the morning, Dr. Alkaitis at night). I will keep you updated!
I just started exploring facial oils (having tried the popular ones from Rodin and whatnot) and just got my bottle of the Dr.Alkaitis Nourishing Treatment Oil, I am in love. I just can't get enough of the scent and the golden color! Totally agree with you, it is sooooo good! I have a sample of the mask as well, I don't know if it did that much for my skin but I agree with you, it really aligned with the concept of "feeding skin" since the ingredients are a simple powdered combination of foods.
I also just switched out my Vered Toner for the Yuli Metamorphic Elixir. I don't think my skin enjoyed the alcohol and essential oils, but I have been really loving the Yuli elixir for my skin, it smells like aloe and roses which is more calming for me.
Also, sorry for using the anonymous but all the other "comment as" options needed me to fill out a website and I don't have one.
Hello anon! It's no problem–actually I just tried commenting only using the Name section of the Name/URL option and it went through, so no worries about not having a website 🙂
Yes!! The scent and golden color–love it!! Rodin, though! I'm curious, what did you think of that one? And yeah, I had a similar experience with the Universal Mask sample, but I am contemplating trying the full size. Feeding the skin great foods can't hurt that much, right?
Ah Yuli!! Yeah, the Vered does have a lot of essential oils, and I was worried they would be too much for me, but I think it has been okay so far. But Yuli has beautiful products as well! I tried out the Panacea Elixir, and loved that, except I went through it in a month. I'm hoping to try some of their other elixirs and oils sometime in the future–they all seem very powerful.
Those two masks that I tried are great and they're for all skin types.
The enzyme mask is basically an exfoliator using fruit enzymes. I actually see a big difference after using it although not too drastic. My skin looks brighter and smoother. It is only recommended that you use it once or twice a month due to its high potency. However, while it kinda helps with my congestions, those bummers keep coming back more often than I wish haha.
The universal mask is oh so gentle. It has that gummy texture when you put it on and it's left on for 20-30 minutes which is sooo difficult because you have to keep it moist. I really like the mask but keeping it moist is very bothersome sometimes. But the result is worth it, I haven't used anything else that would calm my face as effectively as this and the mask can be used twice a week to re-energize.
Haha, I have used skin care products such as his and May Lindstrom's. They are very pricy at first sight but once I use them.. I keep asking myself "when is this stuff going to finish?!". With ingredients that are uniquely combined, skilfully crafted, without unnecessary fillers, it is too much of a good value. And his treatment oil.. 4 oz for $80 filled with awesome raw living ingredients. I can't say anymore.
The vered products look & sound so beautiful! such an eye-candy *___* I love the bottles. Yeahh! I have been putting those two products on my SBL wishlist, but was too scared to use something that is filled with so many essential oils. Yvonne who commented on one of my posts have tried both oils from Vered and really like it! So I think you both convince me enough to buy! haha!
Oh lovely. Yeah, it's an neverending fight with congestion…Actually, in my conversation with the Alkaitis team about which products I should use, and they suggested out of the three masks, I should use the enzyme mask. But since I got the kit, I just went with the Universal. It was nice and gentle–after having used the Aztec Indian Clay mask for so long, it was very welcome! Now I'm almost even too scared to go back to straight clay! I kept the Universal moist by applying it right before hopping in the shower, and I figured the steam would keep it moist.
I absolutely agree with you about the value. Just too good.
Ahaha oh yeah, the Vered glass bottles are so lovely. I know Beauty Huile also did a post on both Vered oils and wrote poetry about their scents and benefits. I remember your post about the Dr. Alkaitis Soothing Gel and how you were a bit sensitive to that, so hopefully the same won't happen with the essential oils in Vered!
What a great, in-depth review! I'm pretty enthralled by Dr. Alkalitis' products too and the trial set has a very good price point. I've read a few blogs that the trial size does last quite a while. Too many items on my wish list now, hmm decisions, decisions!
Thank you! Yes, the trial set has a great price point for amount of product/price and the trial sizes last forever, not to mention the bottles and pouch are totally reusable. Heh! Let me know if you decide to get them 🙂