Facetheory Glycomide Body Cream B1: First Impressions

 

Facetheory Glycomide Body Cream B1 jar

(Slightly Clickbaity) Headline

This cream is a bit weird but definitely effective

About my body skin

I haven't had this diagnosed but I'm almost completely certain that the bumps on my arms (and legs but we'll ignore that for now) are KP - keratosis pillaris.

Even if it's not KP, the pores are blocked and form little bumps like closed comedones. I started noticing it about 5-10 years ago and it just gets worse as I age! Booooo.

Even if I didn't mind the appearance, they're dry and itchy so I need to treat it or I'll scratch. They already leave pigment behind regardless of whether I scratch them.

10% urea is softening and moisturising, no more dry bits, but it doesn't get rid of the bumps or pigment.

So I'm adding a 9% glycolic acid body cream.

Cost of the Facetheory Glycomide Body Cream B1 

£15 for 170ml 

Introduction

I've tried a few Facetheory products and haven't liked any of them.

One didn't absorb well (vitamin c serum) one broke me out (eye cream) and one I just couldn't bring myself to put on my face (sunscreen). The sunscreen was fine on my arms but I just couldn't be bothered with it.

Sorry, Facetheory, it's nothing against you. I would have kept using the vitamin c if I didn't have such a long routine. And turns out I don't like primarily mineral sunscreens (probably, haven't tried many).

I think Facetheory would be great if you don't use too many products. Friends and family swear by them! But they also don't have a) a 10-20 step routine or b) a ton of beautifully formulated Sooryehan products.

Not that Facetheory is inelegant, and again, if you just use a few products, it's likely to be fine.

But nothing, nothing has come close to how well formulated Sooryehan products are, in my humble opinion.

Should I just change the name of this blog to Sooryehan Fangirl?

Packaging

It's in a jar. I mean, nothing much to say there.

It's easily recyclable, which is great. Former comments about glass recycling notwithstanding.

I don't worry about dipping my fingers in it, to be honest with you. Although maybe I should, given the info in the ingredients section.

Texture & Feel

Facetheory Glycomide cream texture in the jar

Here's the thing: it looks like a nice, gloopy cream, like if Cosrx 92, if the Cosrx had more structure - it's glossy like that, too.

Glycomide texture on my fingertip 

But as soon as you spread it, it becomes a white paste on the skin.

Glycomide texture partially rubbed in on the left (and after a while) full rubbed in on the right

Why? Why, why, why?

I do not like it. Gel to paste... Weird.

Ingredients

I may be missing something here but where's the preservatives? I checked Incidecoder and I don't see any ingredients that also function as a preservative, unless it's the AHA itself? There is a manufacturer of AHA that claims antimicrobial effects from glycolic acid but who knows if this product has that type or if it applies to all glycolic acid products 🤷🏻‍♀️

I shall be keeping a close eye on this cream to see if it goes bad. If so, I'll just get something easier to use and in a squeeze tube. Lol.

So 9% glycolic acid is the thing that will do the work of exfoliation here. The ceramide called out in the product name is right at the bottom of the list, I suspect the other ingredients are doing more work in terms of moisturising but I don't know for sure.

Aqua, glycolic acid (alpha hydroxy acid), sodium lactate (natural moisturising factor), glycerin (humectant), oryza sativa (rice) bran oil, stearic acid (fatty acid), glyceryl stearate SE (emulsifier), polyglyceryl-6 stearate (vegetable emulsifier), cetyl alcohol (fatty acid), vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry) seed oil, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, citrus bergamia (bergamot) peel oil (limonene 0.2259%, linalool 0.075%, citral 0.0075%), polyglyceryl-6 behenate (emulsifier), cetyl hydroxyethylcellulose (plant based thickener), tocopherol (natural vitamin e), xanthan gum (rheology modifier), olive glycerides (natural fatty acids), ceramide 3 (plant lipids).

Taken from Facetheory's website

Fragrance

Facetheory says "spicy, floral bergamot", sounds about right, it smells nice!

What Step?

This is my only body step, when I use it. I'm using it every few days on my arms, less often on my feet cos they seem a bit dry. It could be the glycolic acid working to break down the hard bits but I think I'll use it less often to be safe.

Experience

I got this to help with my KP and pigmentation. 10% urea is great for softening the bumps but it doesn't get rid of them and doesn't help with the pigment.

In all honesty, I don't like the Facetheory very much. It takes minutes to rub in, if you use too much it forms a white paste until you've rubbed it enough to get it to absorb. But if you don't use "too much" then it won't actually be enough to moisturise your skin, I suspect.

Even my super basic 10% urea cream (Altruist) feels nicer, it's easier to apply, absorbs better.

AB had ruined me because I pretty much only want to use very elegant products! What I'm hoping is that I can get away with a lower concentration of acids for maintenance once I've cleared the worst of my current KP. And if so, then I can use something AB!

Granted, I would just use Cosrx AHA Whitehead Power liquid on my arms but apparently carrying it from my daily-use skincare bucket to the bedroom for applying it on my arms is more work than I'm willing to put in.

I will only use something regularly if it's already in my bedroom and if it's not too much hassle - I'd rather use a one-and-done cream on the days I want to use an acid.

However: IT WORKS! (On the bumps, too soon to tell with pigment)

Waaaay less bumps, less dots of pigment and my skin is actually well moisturised. It's bringing bumps to a head, which i wondered if it means I was breaking out because of it but they're going down, despite continued usage so I'm pretty sure it's the AHA purge! So it's definitely working!

Is my complaint about how it absorbs justified? Maybe.

However, there's none of my avoid ingredients in this, like shea and cocoa butter / coconut oil. So finding an alternative would be a bit of a pain, if it's solely because of texture...

And it's pretty well priced, £15 for 170ml. Lots of similar products aren't so well priced for so much. I got discount, too, because I've done a few orders in the past (the failed products for myself and I order my mum's face products from them - although I am sending her little Sooryehan samples to see if she likes any of those!)

Schrödinger's Feminism

AHAs are an anti-aging thing but I want them here for practical purposes.

I will scratch bumps if they're dry. And I'd like to be a bit less pigmented.

The pigment thing is kind of an anti-aging thing. But it's not age as such that's causing it (unless KP is hormonal, which it probably is so it's inadvertently to do with aging?)

As I've said, though, the 10% urea actually takes care of the dryness so if it was just about dryness, I could carry on using it.

But clearly it's not just about that! Although, arguably, purely curing the dryness doesn't get at the root cause: blocked pores. So.....

Either way, as with a lot of skincare, it's probably half from column anti-aging and half from column bounteous moisture and comfortable skin.

Final Thoughts

I may well come to like this with time.

The gel to paste texture may be normalised for me. I probably wouldn't recommend it, not without caveats.

Plus, it's easier to keep using it than find something else and also to avoid the waste of a product.