Help for Aging Skin and Wrinkles: Refinity Rejuvenating Lotion 15% AHA

I first heard about Refinity at my dermatologist’s office and a sam­ple of their cream (with­out AHA) was given to me after a chem­i­cal peel to help calm my skin.

The Refinity prod­ucts are avail­able only through physi­cian offices, and include an in-office peel con­tain­ing glycolic acid and home-use prod­ucts con­tain­ing lactic acid.  The Company behind Refinity is Inamed Corporation and announced the Refinity prod­uct line since 1998.

The main ingre­di­ent high­lighted in Refinity in the at home prod­ucts, which are in cream and lotion form is AHA or Alpha hydroxy acid.  AHA is a gly­colic acid, which reduces cell adhe­sion in the top layer of the skin.  This action pro­motes exfo­li­a­tion of the out­er­most layer of the skin account­ing for smoother tex­ture fol­low­ing reg­u­lar use of an AHA prod­uct applied top­i­cally.  In sum­mary, reg­u­lar usage of this prod­uct will help dimin­ish the appear­ance of fine lines and wrin­kles, and improve skin tex­ture and tone.

Pros:

• Helps against wrin­kles and fine lines with AHA
• AHA is a proven ingredient
• The prod­uct line has been tried in pro­fes­sional offices
• High AHA ingre­di­ent with low irritability

Cons:

• The prod­ucts has two parabens: Methylparaben, Propylparaben
• Test out the prod­uct and it’s ver­sions: lotion, cream or gel for your skin type and com­bine with sunscreen

Alpha hydroxy acid prod­ucts sold to con­sumers must have a con­cen­tra­tion of less than 10%.   Professional cos­me­tol­o­gists and der­ma­tol­o­gists can use alpha hydroxy acid prod­ucts that have a con­cen­tra­tion of 20% to 30%. These chemical peels give results that are sim­i­lar to micro­der­mabra­sion — eras­ing fine lines and giv­ing the skin a smoother appear­ance with 1 to 3 appli­ca­tions.  Refinity cre­ates prod­ucts for both the pro­fes­sional and con­sumer mar­ket, only sold online.

The Refinity home-use skin care prod­ucts are spe­cially for­mu­lated with the anti-irritant and include mois­tur­iz­ers with an AHA con­cen­tra­tion of 15%. The three-step home-use prod­uct line con­sists of (1) Purifying Cleanser, (2) Protective Toner for­mu­lated with COSMEDERM-7, and (3) one of three mois­tur­iz­ers con­tain­ing COSMEDERM-7: Rejuvenating Lotion (for nor­mal skin), Rejuvenating Cream (for dry skin) or Rejuvenating Hydrogel (for oily skin).

I used the Rejuvenating Lotion.  The prod­uct is stronger than most AHA prod­ucts in the store and one with a high con­cen­tra­tion of AHA.   The lotion did not feel very mois­tur­iz­ing for com­bi­na­tion skin but very non irri­tat­ing for an exfo­li­at­ing prod­uct with chem­i­cal acids.  Be sure to use sun­screen with a high SPF and broad spec­trum pro­tec­tion since this can increase the sen­si­tiv­ity of your skin to the sun.

Testimonial from TotalBeauty:

One of my favorite prod­ucts of all time!

by Gingerdaze

This is one prod­uct I can NEVER run out of! I did once, and I can’t believe what a dif­fer­ence I felt in my skin when I used it again. That’s when I real­ized just how great it really is. I apply in the day­time, under my mois­tur­izer and eye cream.

December 12, 2007, 3:04 am

Best Price: Amazon $36.99 for 2.0 oz

Ingredients
Water (Aqua), Lactic Acid, Strontium Nitrate, Cyclomethicone, Sodium Hydroxide, Isocetyl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Cetearyl Glucoside, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 60, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA.