SYNERGIE FACE WASH
Beauty soaps was and is still widely used for bathing and for washing of face. It surely is refreshing to have a bath irrespective of hot or cold shower and soaps had quite a revolution working up fine as eliminating all the dirt, sweat, body odor and bacteria that thrive on our body like pests. I didn’t quite a brighter idea on such bacteria until discovery channel once aired a program on microorganisms, which showed all these creepy creatures magnified several times. It scared me so much I even had nightmares since. I then switched to medicated soaps – medimix and dettol etc. But these left my skin very dry. Very very dry! There were even white marks left on my skin, especially in winter, necessitating the use of moisturizers or some skin creams (Synergie Vitamin E and Vitamin C (orange) are my favourite). Then I saw these advertisements about face wash. They all claimed to be soap free – a concept, which I felt to understand, being so used to soaps!
I have used face wash ever since – the best smelling was Pears Orange face wash and I did not like Lakme’s because of that peculiar cosmetic smell. All that until I purchased the Synergie face wash from Laboratories Garnier, Paris. It is nice and transparent, almost colourless but there is faint tinge of green. And the smell is also pleasant (I still like smell of Pears face wash though).
The face wash gel is soap-free, which means no more dry skin and white marks and a saving on moisturizers. So what are the contents? A moisturizing agent, it claims without giving any hint. A cleansing agent, that helps to remove, all the oil and sebum on the face with all dirt and grime. And it is effective in this area, I can say with conviction, since I live in Mumbai, India where the climate is extremely humid and walking 10 steps or moving away from under a ceiling fan can make you sweat profusely. This necessitates me to wash my face often (I fear all the pimples…luckily I don’t have one).
Then it has AHA, which is broadly mentioned on the tube. Sounds refreshing, Aha! It is Alpha-Hydroxy-Acids. It also claims to be pH balanced. Often I wondered whether different companies advertise some compounds, some chemical name, which the user has no idea about. I told my grandmother that it has A-H-Acid and she was like, “What! It has ACID. Oh my God! Don’t use such things. Use soap instead.” So I did decide to find out what it means.
AHA cosmetics are believed to have derived from “chemical peels” used by dermatologists for years. The peels, typically trichloroacetic acid, resorcinol and salicylic acid, help removal undesirable signs of aging, such as discoloration, roughness and wrinkling. These chemicals cause the skin to lose its outer layer, or peel off, revealing a fresh-looking layer of skin. The process is known as chemical exfoliation.
The AHAs used most often in cosmetics are glycolic acid and lactic acid. In Synergie these are obtained from natural extracts of black currant, apple and lemon. Since it is pH balanced this AHA concentration is 10% or less so that overall pH of the gel is around 3.5. So what is pH?
pH is mathematical symbol for acidity/alkalinity and is on a scale of 0 to 14. A pH greater than 7 is alkaline and less than 7 is acidic, while 7 is neutral.
Human skin is acidic because of the acid mantle protection barrier, which protects skin from harmful substances including bacteria and hmmm…water??? WATER? Now isn’t water supposed to be neutral? (acid + alkali = salt + water….remember?). Actually most of Earth’s water is above 7.00 making it alkaline and incompatible with the pH of human skin. This alkalinity (even soap is alkaline…medicated soaps are more alkaline) dries the skin and bacteria thrive in alkalinity. Oh! Am I scaring you? So the gel is maintained between 3.5 to 6.5, which matches the skin’s natural pH balance.
So, I though I use soap for rest of my body, I prefer this gel (Synergie) for my face. The method is also simple. Just wet your face, apply the gel. The idea is not to just rub the gel on hand and put on your face. Ideal method for application is to make small circular motions with your fingers (like massaging) on your face (with gel on your finger tips, of course). This helps in exfoliating…similar to applying scrubs. Then rinse your face with water. Actually it doesn’t quite seem to wear off and requires more water splashing on face, but that way its more refreshing. Dab your face with towel (don’t rub this time). There you are left with a nice smooth and glowing face and that refreshed look.
Well impressed? Go get the face wash now. The name: “SYNERGIE face wash with AHA” from GARNIER.
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