Here we go, a guy blogging about skin care. He's going to invite us to a spa party to educate us on exfoliation and pampering with floral essential oils, right? Not quite.
Here's a fact: Skin is skin. It's the people underneath it that are different. The Sensé skin and body care line is designed for skin care, plain and simple. It doesn't care if you're male, female or otherwise. The main factor that differs is how oily or dry your skin tends to be - and with that, you choose a different moisturizer for each type.
So what makes Sensé different?
It's made by a company dedicated to nutrition, science, and effectiveness rather than packaging, buzzwords and fragrance. They describe it best on the Sensé main website:
Sensé beautiful science® skin-care products offer an innovative approach to skin care. With groundbreaking, patented Self-Preserving Technology, Sensé™products contain no added chemical preservatives—meaning they stay fresh naturally—so they are more gentle and healthy for even the most sensitive skin. Our skin-care specialists have carefully formulated exclusive antioxidant complexes in every product using ingredients proven to revitalize skin cells, leaving skin looking younger and more radiant.
Developed by USANA Health Sciences, Sensé products are formulated to properly nourish and hydrate your skin’s cells. The Sensé beauty regimen is designed to be a comprehensive approach to skin and hair care that takes into account the nutritional needs of both the skin and body.
I've tried several products within this line. Here are my notes:
Body Care:
- Shampoo - Very effective. Minimal fragrance, but it does the job a shampoo should do - with less quantity used; my bottle from May is still about 2/3 full. Comparing to an organic tea tree oil shampoo, this doesn't irritate, but does seem to heal the scalp at least as well. Compared to Head & Shoulders, it's much lighter and doesn't seem to leave a film after rinsing.
- Conditioner - Like the shampoo, it doesn't leave a greasy feel. Leave it on for 3-5 minutes and once rinsed, it's quite obviously done its job. A lot of other conditioners feel like they won't wash out.
- Shower Gel - This has a natural orange scent which helps one wake up in the morning. It works well, but as far as I can tell, the shampoo has the same cleaning effect and is interchangeable. From a science perspective, I'm probably wrong, but my point is that both are very good.
- Intensive Hand Therapy - I haven't tried this myself, but I have a friend who has. He works with irrigation systems and his hands are in water 8-10 hours a day, so he'd come home with blackened, cracked hands every day - even with several of the leading lotions. A few days with this, and he's highly impressed at the healing ability. Nothing else compares. Notice a trend?
Face:
- Gentle Daily Cleanser - I've tried dozens of other face cleaners, and none come close. This is quite simply the most effective product I've ever found. A few dots of this cleanser will cut through average oil production, but won't leave a film. It does its job - very well - and doesn't add any unnecessary fragrance. You need so little that one bottle will last months.
- Hydrating Toner - I don't really understand toner well enough to judge effectiveness. My experience is that it tightens up the pores without the sting of alcohol. It's supposed to be used after the daily cleanser, to prepare for one or more of the following, among others.
- Night Renewal Creme - This may sound strange, but this stuff is amazing. Its intended purpose is to feed and moisturize cells overnight. That sounds like it'd make for a greasy pillow, but it soaks into the skin within seconds and does whatever it does to heal the skin at the cellular level.
A fellow associate at the 2009 convention told me she used it to heal a cut instead of Neosporin, so I tried it. It doesn't have antibiotics in it to kill an infection, but from a skin healing perspective, it's far more effective. Neosporin and other ointments are, beyond the antibiotics, simply moisture barriers so the skin can heal itself. The Night Renewal Creme actually feeds the skin cells so that they heal themselves - sometimes seamlessly without scarring. In my experience, after a potential infection is neutralized, two days with this is more effective than two days with Neosporin. - Rice Bran Polisher - This is where we exfoliate, ladies and gentlemen. Apply a thin layer and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then rinse - thoroughly. Dead skin cells will be gone. No tingling, burning or pain - but you'll want to rinse before about 30 minutes is up, when the enzymes start up on the live skin cells. Even after an hour, it doesn't really burn - but it's obviously been on too long. Ask me how I know.
- Nutritious Creme Masque - A thick white mask that's used to moisturize, then dries out and flush the pores when rinsed. I don't have much experience with other masks, but this works very well, with no irritation or noticeable fragrance.
After using the skin care line, I have a new appreciation for the art of skin care. It has an oddly rejuvenating effect - and I've had people comment that I look thinner. I obviously didn't lose 15 pounds in a day, so think about it - what makes a person look old? Their face looks "rough" - meaning skin isn't smooth; you can see pores and various imperfections that aren't usually present on, say, the face of a child. Repair the skin and you'll appear younger - which can help give you the edge in a sales meeting or interview, where a mature and successful appearance is key. Maybe it's the equivalent of a suit and tie compared to jeans and T-shirt, but visible mostly to the subconscious of the person that sees it on the other side of the table.
I'm not holding a spa party anytime soon - that's not my thing. But to anyone that asks, I'll fully admit that this stuff rocks. And because it does, it makes for a heck of a resale business - spend a few bucks on samples to give to a prospective customer, and there's a high likelihood they'll buy. The products are so good they sell themselves within minutes. You just need to say, "try it."
* I've been asked about acne and similar issues; since this line is not medicated, it's hard to say it will work against acne or eczema. But I have read that the various products are so effective at the core values of healing skin cells so they can fight infection, that those conditions are less of a problem for a lot of people. The fact that they're designed to be gentle probably factors in.
** If you're ordering from the website link above, and it asks for Associate/ Sponsor ID, give this information:
3970090 - Mark Holmes / Mobile, AL
If you've visited http://supergeek.usana.com, it should already have the info saved.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
