Tuesday, November 1, 2011

A non greasy moisture option

Recently I was sent a moisturizing cuticle cream for review ...
Dermelect Cosmeceuticals Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail and Cuticle Treatment.  And by recently I mean months ago.  I have had the last few months to try it out and see what it has to offer.

As you know I am a tyrant when it comes to moisturizing nails and cuticles.  It is one of the most important things you can do for your nails, if you want them to be strong and flexible.  I have preached several times on the topic in the following posts:

1. Have you moisturized today?
2. In a pinch here is a possible substitue
3. Moisturizing Nail Polish Remover ... i.e. Zoya Remove + substitute and the video here.
4. My face telling your face that you need to moisturize

If you have previously perused the posts you know that I favor a combination of two ingredients ... oil, followed by a waxy cream/balm/butter to seal in the moisture.  However, moisture delivery is a highly individual thing.  For example many people don't like the greasy feeling or have had  unfavorable reactions to oils.  I hope to show you that perhaps Dermelect Cosmeceuticals Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail and Cuticle Treatment would be a good alternative to your moisturizing routine ... I'm talking to you Abby and Lena! <3

First a few vitals:
Product: Dermelect Cosmeceuticals Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail and Cuticle Treatment
Size: 1 oz.
Price: $18
Can be found here

Now some pictures:
Here is the humungous pot you get.  I am not sure if you realize, but 1 oz. is a lot ... especially when you're only putting it on your cuticles!  Therefore, the $18 price tag is not as frightening.  It will last you a long time.


The product itself looks heavy, but is surprisingly light on the skin (more on that when I get into the ingredients).  It has a very light scent of roses, but not old lady roses, because that crap stinks.





  I would normally take a small bit out ... like so ...










Put a small bit on each finger.  Actually you can put waaaay less than what I have done, but surprisingly either way your hands will not be greasy.  Your skin will just be left hydrated.












Then start working it in by massaging each finger nail and cuticle for a few seconds.  Stimulate those cuticles!  Hopefully this will get the blood flowing and encourage faster nail growth.<--not a proven fact, I'm just a dreamer.

It makes no difference whether you have polish on or not, as long as you moisturize frequently and consistently!

I love that the directions on the box tell you to use it 3-4 times a day, hell yes! Listen to them ... see I am not the only one spreading the crazy moisturizing love.





The product seeps into your skin and leaves your cuticles and skin hydrated and silky.  I was pleasantly surprised and thought this would be the perfect option for those ladies who can't stand greasy fingers.

Since I would put more product than necessary, I would just let the stuff sit there for 5 min or so then massage again.  This is probably overkill, but hey ... I have a problem, this we know.


After a second massage it is nearly gone, but I leave what is left on my cuticle and go about my business.  The non-greasy formula allowed me to do this.

Now the result ...










So hydrated, but NOT greasy!










Don't forget to moisturize under your nails too.




A brush is totally unnecessary for application, however, if you are feeling fancy, do eet!









I have to include the following two pictures because I used my mouth and chin to take them, enjoy!


Work it in!



Polish: Color Club - Alter Ego

Find more pictures of it here.







I must discuss all of the great stuff in the formula.  Many of the ingredients are not the simple moisturizers, waxes and butters that we are used to seeing, although they can be found in there as well.

First I am going to group a whole bunch together, then go over individual ingredients I find interesting:

Emolliants, conditioners and lubes galore!:
cetearly alcohol
dimethiconol
isododecane
cyclopentasiloxane
glycerin
shea butter
almond oil
vitamin E
Isoparaffin
panthenol

The other more interesting ingredients:

Alkyl Benzoate - the main skin conditioner that allows for the non-greasy silky goodness. 

Wax - yes you are my friend.  Not that interesting, but I love you. <3

Hydrolyzed Keratin - Like the keratin in nail treatments, I am not truly convinced they do anything with regard to cross linking to my own nail keratin, but I like having it in there. You can read my thoughts and opinions on protein based nail treatments here.

Allantoin - I love this ingredient.  It does so many things.  It has the capacity to increase the hydration levels in the skin and has exfoliating properties.  Read this if you want more info.

Saccharide Isomerate - marketed as "Pentavitin", it is essentially a moisturizer that has a unique method of delivering hydration.  It contains carbohydrates similar to some found in your skin.  Their interaction apparently results in longer lasting water retention.  I would love to see published scientific research on this, but okay.  

Sodium Hyaluronate - Like Hyauronic Acid (HA) ... but better.  I first heard of (HA) watching Adrien Arpel on one of my favorite TV channels.   This is a great ingredient, but this is not the time or place to go into how it works.  In short, it is a moisturizer, but belongs in it's own category. One day I may write a post on the topic.  Until then, it will suffice to say, when I see it in an ingredient list it makes me happy.

Retinyl Palmitate - not to be confused with Retin-A, which I LOVE, but similar to retinoic acid, it does have complicated anti-aging and conditioning properties that I will not go into in this post.  I will leave it as a possible future post.


Short comings:
1. The container is really large.  It makes it quite cumbersome to carry around and apply 3-4 times/day.  However, like my other cuticle moisturizers, I would happily distribute the product into smaller containers.  Doing this makes it quite easy to reach for and use often.  You can place it anywhere you occupy space ... house, car, purse, work, etc. 

2. Price.  I would consider this a higher end moisturizer, however the ingredients are well worth it and speak for themselves.  You will achieve hydrated healthy nails and cuticles with these high quality ingredients. A price comparison to other popular cuticle moisturizers:

Lush Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter: $15/1.5 oz. = $10/oz
Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream: $6/0.6 oz.  = $10/oz
Hard as a Hoof Nail Strengthening Cream: $7/oz
Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula: $1/oz (not popular, but cheap and good) :D
Olive Oil:  $0.29/oz (wow! I never did this calculation before, but I like it)

Conclusion:
I looked at the ingredients alone and fell head over heals over this cuticle treatment.  After having tried it, I am highly impressed with what it is able to do.  Dermelect Cosmeceuticals Rejuvenail Fortifying Nail and Cuticle Treatment is a superb, high quality moisturizing option for the lady (or gent) that does not like greasy fingers!

Remember, no matter what you choose to moisturize your nails and cuticle with, just make sure to do it frequently and consistently!

*The product in this post was provided by Dermelect's PR department ... thank you!*

17 comments:

  1. Wow, what an informative and well written review. Seriously, thank you! I find it hard to find reviews that actually "review" if you know what I mean. Geesh, you even listed the ingredients and scientifically whipped them! Brilliant!

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  2. Currently, I moisturize my nails with goat poo oil. Okay Argan oil and it works out fine. I usually stay away from high end cuticle creams but this one at $18 for 1oz is not bad. I need to try this one as soon as I run out of the oil.

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  3. Great review! I have always wondered what allantoin was - I'm a chronic ingredients-reader and stuff like cetearyl alcohol would never have jumped out at me as moisturizing. Nail-specific learning!!!

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  4. I love reading the ingredient break down! Can you do this for every product in my life? lol

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  5. Loodie, I totally love your form of education!! Knowledge IS power! I truly can see the difference in my nails and cuticles after the last few months...buffing the splits down, and moisturizing at least 3 times a day...awesome chicky!

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  6. Aaahahahaha, you kill me! "Used mouth and chin to take picture"!!! ROFL! XD

    You're a science GODDESS!!! That moisturizer sounds divine, I use Lemony Flutter, but it really makes my hands greasy and thus I don't use it as often as I should. And I just love anything that smells like roses. <3

    PS: I neeeeeed to get Alter Ego, it's so gorgeous! I thought to myself when I saw that the post was a review of the moisturizer "I really hope she says what polish she's wearing"! ;)

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  7. Moisturizing UNDER your nail?!? Duh! I need to start doing that. I apply cream/oil maybe twice a day if I'm lucky, but I do try to moisturize my hands multiple times. In my line of work, I'm constantly washing my hands, so it is a must!

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  8. Thank you for the shoutout - I think you know me too well! Fantastic post though. I didn't know the tip about moisturising under the nail as well, so will have to being implementing that. *salutes* Loving your breakdown of the ingredients list, as well!

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  9. awesome and very thorough review and I completely trust your wisdom and judgment my nails have never been better since reading your posts, I will definetly be getting some.

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  10. I love your post with explanations to ingredients lists, I am just amazed that you know so much about things that I can hardly pronounce the names of! Awesome!

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  11. Currently, I use a combination of oil and cream on my cuticles. I am seriously going to have to try this out! I love trying new products and like how you are not too proud to tell us you took pictures with your chin! You are such a dork! But we love you anyway! And yes I do the underside of my nail-but without the brush!

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  12. PS and why is it that every time you post-you cost me money??????

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  13. Wow, normally I hate text posts but yours are great to read. The thing that wondered me is moisturizing under your nails? Never heard of that before!

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  14. Oh Anna, two things: 1) what would I do without your blog?! (re: amazing info), and, WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT YOUR BLOG!?!?!?! (re: hilarity!) lol

    Agree with Deborah that I normally hate wordy posts but I actually read yours in their entirety. Thank you for so much great info, oh great nail pubah. You rock.

    ~runs off to moisturize nails/cuticles~

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  15. @annie - Knowledge is power. I am just glad I didn't bore everyone!

    @Olivia - And I need to try poo.

    @mariebeedee - haha, yea!

    @GothamPolish - lol. I do it in my brain all day, every day.

    @Gottwinkies - Music to my ears. :D

    @Solveig - ;P You must try taking pictures like this ... blogging becomes exercise.

    @Angie, The Student's Guide To Nail Polish - yea, totally. That's why I love oil. I put it under the nail and let it flow and flood the cuticle. So easy.

    @♥beauxs mom - It's a fancy cream full of goodness that is well worth the higher cost. Especially, if you are not a fan of oils.

    @Cactus - awww, thanks! :D

    @Finger - That's why oil is so nice, no brush required! ... and I'm sorry (not really), reading blogs does that to me as well.

    @Deborah - oh yea, try it. Bathe your nail in moisture :D

    @beauty-obsessed.com - lol. Thank you, you are so sweet!

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  16. I really wanna try this but you can't buy it in sweden and the shipping is crazy if I would order it from USA..I just need to go there I guess..;)

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  17. If you're like me, you probably have several bottles of half-used lotion in your bathroom cabinet that just don't match up to the advertisement you saw on TV. And then I discovered Made from Earth's Holistic HONEY Body Lotion. I first received it as a gift from my dad (I'm a girl) and I LOVED that it was ORGANIC and HEALTHY! Well, I was more than surprised when I first put Made from Earth on my skin. I haven't used anything else on my skin for over a year now. The texture of this moisturizer is thick and smooth; it absorbs easily into your skin, leaving it moist but not greasy. I apply the Made from Earth Honey Lotion at night before going to bed and then very lightly in the morning and my skin stays moist all day. It's great in the winter, especially if you live in a cold/dry area like I do. And the scent is mild enough that perfume/cologne can be worn without too many over-powering scents. To put it simply, this is the best lotion I've ever owned.

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