La Roche-Posay Effaclar astringentni tonik sa salicilnom kiselinom

Quite suiting for the recent subject of exfoliation, our next review is about a face product which has virtually simplified everything regarding scrubbing away those pesky dead cells for me. La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Micro-Exfoliant Lotion has changed my mind and inspired me to have a different approach to facial toners. I've always thought of facial toners as that extra step in my skin regimen. Something special to add, not really a necessity. I found that toners are that last step in caring for the face. They take off remnants of facial cleansers and even those tiny bits of make-up, dirt and sweat even a face cleanser presumably missed. Tightened pores are always a plus and I alway felt a bit grossed out (pretty shocked too) whenever I noticed that my cotton pad soaked in toner actually took off those pesky bits and they showed up. But this LRP goes even further, much further that that even.

Recenzija o slijedecem proizvodu mi dosta prilici u odnosu na prethodni post o eksfolijaciji. Ovaj mi je proizvod bukvalno pojednostavio cjelokupan proces i teznju ka otklanjanju viska mrtvih stanica koze. La Roche-Posay Effaclar Astringent Micro-Exfoliant Lotion mi je promijenio donedavni stav i inspirisao me da promijenim pristup ka tonicima/ tonerima kao vrsti beauty proizvoda. Uvijek sam ih smatrala dodatnim korakom u njezi. Bas su mi bili vid posebnog dodatka u beauty rutini ali ne i neophodni. I zaista, toneri jesu onaj posljednji korak u njezi koze no ne i najmanje bitni. Oni uklanjaju ostatke cistaca za lice pa cak i one najsitnije ostatke sminke, prljavstine i znoja koje cistac eventualno nije otklonio. Suzene pore su uvijek dobra stvar a svaki put bih se zgrozila kada bih primijetila da mi je na blaznici namocenoj tonikom zaista ostalo svih tih nezeljenih stvarcica nakon ciscenja. Medjutim, ovaj LRP tonik ide i korak, dva dalje.

Since I've barely touched the topic of alpha & beta hydroxy acids, some may feel a bit confused when they realise that I'm now writing about neither of them (well, a derivative of one of them to the exact). This specific facial toner contains Lipo-hydroxy acid or capryloyl salicylic acid which I find to be invaluable for the beauty industry. I will explain why I love it so much and how it aied me personally, but for starters, let's go over some basics regarding this acid. Beta-hydroxy acid is an organic acid that's either biosynthesized or extracted from the bark of a willow tree. In fact, it's a derivative of Aspirin and also is known as the BHA or Salicylic acid. Now, the lipo-hydroxy acid is the ester of salicylic acid and is frequently called LHA and is a relative newcomer in the beauty industry. It's categorized as a BHA (it is a BHA ester) that works as an exfoliant, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic. The way it works is that it exfoliates the skin by making the epidermis (upper layer of the skin) to peel, shed faster and easily. That automatically makes place for new cell growth. Differing from alpha hydroxy acids (which are water soluble), beta hydroxy acids (and its esters) are lipid (oil) soluble. That's why they, along with upper skin exfoliation, penetrate deep inside the epidermis and exfoliate dead skin cells and oil excess which build up inside the pores. This is why LHA is often used to treat blackheads, whiteheads and acne. While many other exfoliants (for example, AHA’s) often irritate the skin, salicylic acid does exactly the opposite by reducing inflammation. This is due to the fact that it shares a similar chemical composition as Aspirin (a well known analgesic and anti-inflammatory), and thus shares many of Aspirin's functions as well. This amazing property makes LHA more suitable for people with sensitive skin.

Posto sam se ipak jedva dotakla teme alfa i beta hidroksilnih kiselina, neki od vas bi se mogli zbuniti kada shvate da sada ne pisem uopste niti o jednoj od njih (pa dobro, radi se o derivativu jedne od njih). Ovaj tonik sadrzi Lipo-hidroksilnu kiselinu tj. capryloyl salicilnu kiselinu za koju licno smatram da je nemjerljive vrijednosti za beauty industriju. Objasniti cu zasto je toliko volim te na koji mi je nacin pomogla ali, za pocetak, ne bi bilo lose dotaci se nekih osnovnih informacija o ovoj kiselini. Beta hidroksi kiselina je organska, prirodna kiselina koja je ili biosintetizirana ili ekstrahirana iz kore vrbe. Ustvari, ona je derivat Aspirina i takodjer je poznata i kao BHA odnosno salicilna kiselina. Lipo-hidroksi kiselina je ester salicilne kiseline i cesto je krace zovu samo LHA. Ova kiselina je relativno novo otkrice u beauty industriji. Kategorizovana je kao BHA (jer ipak je ester BHA) koji funkcionise kao eksfolijant, protuupalno i antisepticki. Konkretno, radi tako sto pilinguje kozu tako sto cini da se epiderma (gornji sloj koze) lakse i brze ljusti. To automatski daje mjesta rastu novih celija. Razlikuje se od alfa hidroksi kiselina (koje su topive u vodi) jer su beta hidroksi kiseline (i njihovi esteri) topivi u lipidima tj. ulju. Zato oni, uz to sto pilinguju povrsinski sloj koze, prodiru dublje unutar epiderme te takodjer pilinguju mrtve stanice i visak sebuma koji se nakuplja unutar pora. Iz ovih razloga se LHA cesto koriste u tretiranju mitesera, komedona i akni. Dok mnogi drugi eksfolijanti (npr.AHA kiseline) mogu nerijetko izazvati iritacije, salicilna kiselina cini upravo suprotno tako sto umiruje iritaciju. Tako se ponasa zato sto dijeli slicnu hemijsku strukturu kao i Aspirin, poznati protuupalni analgetik. Zbog ovih prilicno cudesnih svojstava su LHA podesne i za ljude osjetljive koze.

That's some basic info for you regarding LHA as an ingredient and as such, it has placed LRP Effaclar Astringent Micro-Exfoliant Lotion amongst rare products in 2012. which contained it and worked wonders. The number of products which contain LHA has increased during 2013. but I feel that this lotion/ toner is still amongst best. This toner comes in a 200ml bottle of a bluish tinge. The actual liquid is clear. The design definitely oozed that pharmaceutical “flair”, if we cal call it that. To cut it short, it's something that looks like it came fresh from the pharmacy. I like it because when acids and chemicals come to play, I at least prefer to be assured (superficially even) that professionals in white coats had their fingers mixed in this concoction. Retro botlles and jars aren't particularly attractive when this kind of product comes to mind, for me at least. This exfoliating toner has a mild and fresh scent which isn't strong at all. I notice it if I sniff it from the bottle directly, it isn’ up in your face at all. This bottle has a very controlled lid. This is important because you don't get a huge gush of product at once. It drips instead so there's no wastage.

To sam otprilike odabrala za neko prvo upoznavanje sa LHA kiselinom kao sastojkom i kao takva, postavila je LRP Effaclar Astringent Micro-Exfoliant Lotion medju rijetke proizvode u 2012. godini koji su je imali u svojim sastojcima. Brojnost proizvoda sa LHA kiselinom se povecao tokom 2013. ali imam osjecaj da je ovaj losion/ tonik jos uvijek medju najboljima te vrste. Dolazi upakovan u bocu od 200ml koja je plavicaste boje. Sama tecnost je prozirna. Dizajn ima onaj karakteristicni “smek” (ako to uopste mozemo tako nazvati) kakav ima vecina apotekarskih proizvoda. To mi se dopada jer kada su u pitanju kiseline i hemikalije, barem volim da budem (makar povrsno) razuvjerena i da sam dojma da su profesionalci u bijelim mantilima upleli prste u kreiranje ovakvog proizvoda. Retro bocice i teglice mi nisu privlacne kada su ovakve stvari u pitanju. Ovaj eksfolirajuci tonik je blagog i svjezeg mirisa koji uopste nije napadan i osjetim ga samo kada tonik pomirisem direktno iz bocice. Boca ima cep koji pruza iznimnu kontrolu u doziranju. Ovo je bitno jer se nece desiti da odjednom izace previse tonika. Blago kapa i zato nema uzaludnog trosenja.

The real thing about this product is the effect it has on my face. When I use it, I completely forget to manually scrub my face because I feel that there's no need to. It's incredibly soft and plump. Skin looks youthful and the biggest thing for me – pores are unclogged. I don't remember when was the last time I had an actual blemish. In conjunction with other LRP products, I have managed to achieve that baby soft and clear complexion – visible even with no foundation on. Foundation/ BB cream I use just to perfect my skin, to achieve that flawless-ish look. I have nothing to conceal which is, on its own, a small miracle. I have noted that during first 7 days of use, my pores first seemed a tad wider because they were unclogged and clean to the fullest. After that initial phase, they have rapidly shrunk. I actually never noticed any changes regarding my pores before this toner. I am extremely satisfied with the results and have ordered my second bottle because I don't want to be left without it. I love how it provides a fantastic smoothness of the skin without the use of any harsh or irritating manual scrubs. No redness, no stinging, no tight feel – just a perfectly balanced skin. Just one tip though. I use this toner daily, sometimes once a day, sometimes twice. My skin isn't sensitive but if you want to use this toner and you have sensitive skin – cut the use down to 1-2x a week, just in case. You'll get the full benefits of LHA and won't feel it getting too abrasive. Oh, and it doesn't contain parabens. It's official – I'm having a love affair with French skincare!

Ono sto je mozda najbitnije u cijeloj prici je efekat koji ovaj tonik ima na moje lice. Koliko ga vec koristim, stalno mi se desava da zaboravim da manuelno pilingujem lice jer jednostavno nikada nemam osjecaj da mi je manuelni piling potreban. Koza mi je nevjerovatno glatka, mekana i popunjena. Dosta mladoliko izgleda a ono sto je meni najbitnije – pore su otcepljene. Ne sjecam se kada sam posljednji put imala bilo koji vid bubuljice (da kucnem o drvo). U sinergiji sa ostalim LRP proizvodima sam uspjela da postignem kozu meku, glatku i cistu kao kod bebe – sto je primijetno cak i kada nemam puder na licu. Puder/ BB krema mi samo sluze kako bih usavrsila kozu i postigla skoro pa savrsen izgled koze. Prilicno mogu reci da nemam vise nista da prekriti sto je samo po sebi cudo. Primijetila sam tokom prvih 7 dana koristenja da su mi pore djelovale nesto uocljivije nego inace a to je bilo zato sto su bile potpuno prociscene. Nakon te pocetne faze, naglo su se suzile. Prije ovog tonika, mislim da nikada prije nisam primjecivala promjene kada su mi pore u pitanju. Iznimno sam zadovoljna rezultatima i vec sam porucila svoju drugu bocu jer ne zelim da ostanem bez njega. Super mi je sto mi pruza glatku kozu bez upotrebe nekih agresivnih i iritantnih manuelnih pilinga. Nema crvenila, nema peckanja, nema zatezanja – samo savrseno izbalansirana koza. Imam jednu opasku. Ja ga koristim dnevno, nekada 1x a nekada 2x dnevno. Moja koza nije osjetljiva ali ako vama jeste i zelite isprobati ovaj tonik, preporucila bih da ga za pocetak koristite 1-2x sedmicno. Na taj nacin cete dobiti sve pozitivne efekte LHA kiselina a sansa da vam bude jak ce biti svedena na minimum. I da, on ne sadrzi parabene. Zvanicno je – ludo sam zaljubljena u francuske proizvode za njegu koze!

* Kupila sam primjerak sa slike i onaj koji je na putu do mene sa Escentual.com stranice na snizenju za £9.60 (inace je puna cijena £12.00)

* I have purchased this piece and the one that is yet to arrive from Escentual.com on a sale for £9.60 (regular price is £12.00)