Having extremely sensitive skin is quite the challenge. My skin reacts to almost every food, and of course every topical skincare product. My eczema combined with keratosis, means my skin is usually dry which also causes my acne to flare up. When my skin is sufficiently moisturized, my face dries out. It’s a constant struggle to maintain balance with my skin.
When I was contacted by Kamedis Dermatology to try their botanical based skin care products, I put in a request immediately. They were kind enough to send me 4 items: one from their eczema Calm line, and all 3 products from their Clear acne line.
I’ve been using them for a few months now and here are my final thoughts.
CALM: Eczema Therapy Cream ($20.99)
The eczema therapy cream was by far my favorite product that I was sent. This cream is made with botanical rhubarb, known for its soothing propertied. It is also dye, paraben, fragrance, and steroid free. It is also clinically proven to reduce eczema flare-ups by 50%.
I have two forms of eczema; a mild version all over my body that I am able to keep under control but makes it hard to maintain moisture in my skin, and a more severe version on the palms of my hands and fingers that results in severely dry flakiness, blisters, and almost constant itchiness at night. I also have Keratosis on my upper body, with constant skin flaking in my pores that gives the appearance of blackheads on my back, chest, and arms.
This product helped with all of my symptoms. It immediately calmed the itchiness on my hands, my body was moisturized, and the appearance of my keratosis was greatly reduced. Because it worked so well, it was the first product I ran out of so the only improvement I’d ask for is offering it in a 300ml or larger container.
CLEAR: Acne Face Cleanser ($10.99)
The acne face cleanser claims to clean, treat and clear up break outs. It contains botanical purslane, known for its anti-irritation properties. It is a non-drying formula, that is free of parabens, steroids, dyes, and benzoyl peroxide.
To be honest, all face washes pretty much work the same in my opinion, but I gave this a try. When I used it, I wasn’t that impressed. It burned my eyes quite a bit, and in my experience products that burned as much as this one does told me that the ingredients aren’t natural. Given that it is an acne wash with 1.0% salicylic acid, this may be the reasoning.
I also noticed that it felt there was a filmy residue on my face after washing. After using this cleanser, I had to follow up with micellar water for my skin to feel completely clean.
CLEAR: Acne Spot Treatment ($13.99)
The acne spot treatment is step 2 in the Kamedis clear regime. It moisturized while it clears acne prone skin, and features purslane, amur cork tree, rhubarb, great burnet, zaikai skullcap, and chrysanthemum botanical extracts. It also contains salicylic acid 2.0% acne treatment. It also claims to be clinically proven to result in clearer skin within 12 hours.
I have never really had any luck with over the counter acne spot treatments in the past, and unfortunately this one was no different. It didn’t really make a difference with any blemishes I had beyond soothing any irritation. The one element that I disliked the most is that it has an amber tint that doesn’t absorb into your skin, and will rub off on your skin or clothing throughout the day.
CLEAR: Acne Face Moisturizer ($17.99)
The moisturizer from the line also contains purslane, rhubarb, bail skullcap, chrysanthemum, salicylic acid 2.0% and has the same claims as the other two products from the clear collection.
This was the product I liked the least. It wasn’t as moisturizing as I’d like, due to my skin being partial to hyaluronic acid and other serums that have extreme moisturizing properties. I used it a few times and shelved it. I will probably end up using it as a back up for when I run out of my preferred face lotions.
Final Thoughts
I was really impressed by the eczema therapy cream, and fairly underwhelmed by the acne products. If I do purchase from Kamedis, I will definitely be more inclined to repurchase the cream, as well as try the other 3 products from their Eczema product line.
If you are interested in trying any of these products yourself, you can purchase them from Kamedis USA online.