Reviva Labs Vitamin K cream - a review

Hello all!

Time for another review!
As I mentioned in my post on the Acnicyl cream, I have been struggling with rosacea for the past few years and I always keep an eye out for products that might help treat the redness and spider veins associated with the condition. When I first suspected that I had rosacea I started googling various treatments and remedies, but there weren't really that many other solutions than laser treatments and antibiotics. I do remember reading something about vitamin K creams, but I couldn't find any good reviews on it so I never really got so far as to try it, so it's about time! I'll just get into it.

I'm a huge fan of iHerb.com which is an amazing source and online store for natural/eco products and I tend to spend hours browsing their site! So, a couple of weeks ago I came across this Vitamin K cream by Reviva Labs  The company claims that it "can treat bruised and reddened skin, and also the appearance of broken capillaries, spider veins, rosacea, and any reddened, irritated areas on the face".

Now, for the ingredients. They list Vitamin K as the fourth ingredient so the content will be fairly high. They also list lactic acid as the sixth ingredient and I would presume this is to balance the skin out, but as an added bonus lactic acid is amazing when it comes to combating blackheads and acne. As far as I can tell, there are no scary ingredients in this cream and no silicone whatsoever, which I am very happy with.

I'm pretty sceptical of skin care that contains vitamins, but I decided to give it a go cos I don't really like taking antibiotics for longer periods of time. I wasn't really expecting much when I started using it and man was I surprised! I have now been using this cream religiously for almost two weeks, applying it morning and evening as per the directions, and I have seen such an improvement in the redness and spider veins that I can hardly believe it. I've seen the redness reduced and the spider veins are less visible, almost as if my skin is thicker somehow or just the walls of the veins themselves are less red. I might add that I finished the course of antibiotics that I was on before I started using the cream, so the results I have seen are genuinely due to this cream.

They do recmmend performing a skin sensitivity test before beginning treatment, which I now completely understand. I didn't do one, but I had no adverse reactions. However, my cheeks do flush quite a bit just after applying it, but this tends to normalise within half an hour. Obviously, this is just my personal experience and may not happen to you at all. There is no scent to the cream and it's very lightweight. My skin feels a little bit tight just after applying it, but I think that's due to the fact that you need to rub it in with moistened fingers. It's not very moisturising, so if you have quite dry skin you may want to apply another cream on top after an hour or so. I say an hour because the cream should be left to sink in properly before you add another product.

From my training in the health foods industry, I know that vitamin K is beneficial if you have weak bones, but that it is also used to prevent blood thinning, aka it helps the blood with clotting. It's also used to help speed up skin healing after surgery. I know that vitamin K supplements taken orally are widely used to treat and prevent varicose veins on the rest of the body. I might give that a try myself and let you know how it turns out.

All in all, I adore this cream! I've had amazing results so far and I'll post some before and after pictures as soon as I can. I'm having some trouble with uploading photos at the moment. Let me know if you have any questions!

Acnicyl Cream blackhead and acne treatment - a review

In the spirit of the randomness in which this blog was created I've decided to start it with a little rave/review. Even though it's a given, I will remind you that everyone is different and your skin might not respond like mine has.

First a bit of my own story: I've had various issues with my skin for the past 2-3 years that we now think is due to rosacea. For the past 6 months or so I've been tormented by painful acne and I was prescribed antibiotics for it. I'm so pleased to say that I've not had any new pustules since starting the course :)

I've always had blackheads on my chin and nose which has really bothered me, but seeing as my skin is so sensitive I can't really use any of the exfoliating products that are on the market. Partly because of the rosacea my skin reacts to products with alcohols and suphates in them and pretty much every single cleanser, soap, exfoliators and shampoos contain this stuff. To be honest, sulphates are bad for all of us and not just rosacea sufferers. For this reason I've completely changed up my skin care routine which only consists of organic and eco products, but I'll come back to that later!

A few months ago I found a product called Acnicyl cream but I've only just started using it. The active ingredient is lactic acid, which essentially clears out build-up in the pores. It also has anti-inflammatory properties and restores the moisture balance in the skin. The cream does contain some silicone (dimethicone) which I normally stay clear of, but this product does the job so well that I will allow it. The product series comes with a cleanser and another cream that I haven't tried. I've been using this cream once a day for two weeks or so and I have no visible blackheads anymore! I am so impressed with this product that I had to spread the word. The cream itself has a really nice, light texture and is not greasy or sticky at all. It does have a sort of yoghurty smell to it but contains no perfume whatsoever which is essential if your skin is sensitive. The trick is to be consistent and stick with it. I believe it can help reduce any kind of acne or blackheads if used regularly.

I have to add that in addition to using the cream I do weekly facial steaming and I've concocted my own facial toner with distilled water and a few drops of Lavender essential oil. Lavender oil has antibacterial properties as well as having a soothing effect. Facial steaming is good to do before a deep cleanse as the steam opens the pores and makes loosening the build-up alot easier.I also use an electric toothbrush to exfoliate my skin every three days or so LOL it really works, but obviously I use a clean brush head.

The link above is the only international site I could find Acnicyl available, but I hope this post has been helpful to someone nonetheless. I would also recommend taking a look at my post on healthy haircare. Even though I've written it specifically for hair, your skin actually feeds off of the same nutrients as your hair and some of the points are applicable :) If you also have rosacea, you should really check out this review