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Brightenex – A Game Changer

The Vanity Lab - Brightenex

Brightenex – A Game Changer

Let’s talk about retinol. We’ve heard the word thrown around a lot when it comes to skin care, and many can be intimidated by it. However, retinol is simply a derivative of Vitamin A, that promotes cell turnover. Retinol also produces collagen and elastin which minimizes fine lines, decreases pore size, and promotes healthy epidermal turnover. This means accelerated skin exfoliation, which helps reduce the appearance of dark spots, age spots, and minimizes discoloration. Retinol also helps acneic skin by controlling oil production and pulling out impurities lodged into pores.

We usually hear of people being “allergic” to retinol or not wanting to start it because they’re “too young”. These statements are common misconceptions of retinol. Once we hit 20, the skin’s collagen production reduces by 1% each year. In fact, retinol can be incorporated into anyone’s skin care routine as needed. Growing up in my teens, I never had large amounts of active acne, but my skin was always dull, dry, sensitive, and texturized. Even though I didn’t have active breakouts very often, I was never confident in my skin. I used every single product found on the shelf of Sephora, hoping it would help with my enlarged pores, texturized bumpy skin, and uneven dull skin tone. Nothing helped. Once I switched over to the ZO Skin Health line, my skin started becoming brighter and clearer. But the one product that transformed my skin was Brightenex 0.25% (now known as Retinol Skin Brightener 0.25%) by ZO Skin Health.

What to Expect:

When anyone first begins retinol, they should start at the lowest concentration and build their way up. As you would use a medication, you would use a prescribed low dose, and as you build tolerance, you can gradually increase your dosage intake. It’s the same case with retinol as with any medical grade skin care product. When first starting retinol, you can choose to use it a couple times a week, and gradually increase to every night, or you can dilute it with your night crème so it’s not as potent. This way you can dip you toe into the water without diving in head first. For the first bit, expect your skin to be sensitized, slightly irritated, red, tight, and flaky. Most people commonly mistake this reaction as an “allergic” reaction. Retinoids are very strong and active ingredients, a reaction like this is to be expected as your skin is slightly in shock and will need time to adjust to their mechanisms of action. However, if you’re experiencing swelling or itching, then you may need to get that checked out. This phase can last anywhere from a five days to a couple of weeks, depending on how often you are using the retinol. I dove in head first and started using it every night since I wanted to get over the adjustment phase faster and not prolong it. THIS WILL PASS. Do NOT freak out, it’s so absolutely, positively worth it. I promise you. Keep in mind however to ALWAYS wear SPF every morning when you’re using retinol, as your skin can become susceptible to sun damage during this time.

Anyone that I have ever recommended retinol to comes back to me 3 months later thanking me, and re-purchasing their retinol without fail. Brightenex 0.25% is an absolute game changer. It’s one of my top products that I literally cannot live without. It solved my texture issues, pore size, and make my skin so bright and shiny people think I’m wearing highlighter all the time but it’s #allnatural baby. Not only does this product have all the amazing benefits of a retinol, but it also contains brightening agents in the ingredients. These help even out skin tone, brighten the skin, and reduce any pre-existing pigmentation. As an individual of middle eastern heritage, when I get any pimples or when I scar, it does not go red in colour, my skin discolors into a dark brown color in the area of my spot. Before using retinol, these pesky dark spots would remain on my face for weeks and would not go away. Using retinol makes them go away within days.

Brightenex has now become one of my holy grail products that I will never, ever, ever stop using. Even when I am my most tired, I always get that retinol on at night without a doubt. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it really is. You will not believe me until you try it, so bring on the brave ladies and check out Brightenex 0.25% if you’re frustrated with your routine and you need that extra push. Remember guys, downtime = results.

Xoxo,

Sanam