Radical Skincare Review

Every so often a new brand comes into your life that completely changes your routine; for me that brand was Radical Skincare.

As the typical male consumer, even with a love of grooming products and slight obsession with my skin, I have always striven (mainly from laziness) to keep my skincare routine as quick and as simple as possible: moisturise daily and exfoliate up to three times a week.

But when examined properly even I have to admit that this routine was substandard. As a whole, my skin was OK - it wouldn’t have made anyone look twice for being good or bad. But it was far from perfect. I didn’t use cleanser or clean my skin properly apart from shower gel at the gym, and I would still occasionally break out with blemishes. I also had uneven skin tone with red areas across the centre of my face – something I was recently informed is actually a mild case of rosacea.

I was asked to attend an event with Liz Edlich, one half of the founding sisters of the skincare brand Radical. At the core of this brand is a strong, heart-warming story. The sisters’ father, a renowned surgeon globally recognised as a field leader, who spend 50% of his career bound to a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis, inspired the sisters to want to make a mark in the world and leave their own legacy.

Motivated by Rachel’s severely inflamed skin – also diagnosed as rosacea– the pair embarked on a journey to create dedicated skincare that could heal her skin, calling in contacts throughout the cosmetic and scientific worlds. From this, Radical Skincare was born.

What’s inside?

The holy grail of the brand is the patented Trylacel technology. With the main cause of skin aging being free radical damage, Trylacel helps focus antioxidants to combat the symptoms, by preventing antioxidants from losing their potency.

The antioxidant complex, alongside repair actives and skin calming agents, (known together as the Power of Three), are concealed in a bi-lipid membrane to protect their purity. In simple terms, the membrane mimics that of a human cell, so when applied to the skin it is absorbed faster and at a higher potency. This means that Radical Skincare products have up to 300% high potency than other leading brands.

The Radical Rescue Kit

I was given the Radical Rescue Kit to test. At first, it was slightly daunting to have to find the additional time to fit in the four-step routine, most of which had to be repeated morning and night. I persevered, however, and one month later it is now a seamless part of my daily routine - and one I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon.

It did take a few goes to pick up the routine, but once I had it - and I remembered the order - it was reduced to just a few minutes.

Step 1: Hydrating Cleanser

Guys will love this product, it’s a 3-in-1* cream that cleanses, tones and hydrates the skin and thus saving on additional toners. It’s light and non-sticky and gentle enough for sensitive skin types. Apply it to dry skin, then either wash of in lukewarm water and pat dry or simple wipe off without water.

*A little tip for you, I like to make this a 4-in-1 cream and every few days I mix it with the Aesop Tea Tree Leaf Facial Exfoliant (a dry mix) to make my own exfoliant.

Step 2: Youth Infusion Serum

Again a light and easy-to-apply product, the Youth Infusion Serum isn’t a thick, oily serum that you’d expect. The serum acts as an additional hydration boost – lifting and rejuvenating the skin.

Step 3: Peptide Infused Antioxidant Serum

A slightly thicker consistency, this where the heavy-hitting ingredients come in to play: the serum infuses the skin with much needed antioxidants, protecting, repairing and firming the skin.

Step 4: Anti-aging Restorative Moisturiser

The final step of the routine provides additional skin protection; repair and also evens skin tone. The moisturiser goes a long way with only a little needed.

The instruction do say to cover the neck as well, which I would normally agree with, but as I wanted this to last as long as possible to really test it works, and that my neck skin is pretty clear, I kept usage to my face alone and used a regular moisturiser on my neck. Almost eight weeks in and I still have about a third left to use.

Results

The results I have seen from the range are remarkable. My skin tone is even, with my redness having near totally faded – at a recent treatment review elsewhere, it took a Hi-Def camera to pick up on the redness. I haven’t had a single spot in nearly two months, something I haven’t experiences in a long, long time. My skin feels balanced and hydrated and I can’t help but smile. As someone whose skin condition plays a lot on confidence levels, I’ve never been as content.

Out of all of the products, I would definitely say the Peptide Infused Antioxidant Serum and the Anti-Aging Moisturiser are the key players, so if you didn’t want to invest in everything I would recommend those two. Other products from Radical definitely worth trying are the Age-defying Exfoliating Pads or for a super boost, the Advanced Peptide Antioxidant Serum.

I’ve recently added the Eye Revive Crème and the Multi Brightening Serum to add to my battle for even skin tone. They are slower burners than the rest, but after a few weeks, my dark circles are reducing – but I am also aware it would help them if I actually slept once in a while. Stay posted for a follow up review on them.

Radical Skincare is available at Radicalskincare.com

You can buy this Rescue Kit from Harrods.com

See the Radical story below:

This article first appeared as part of my Groomed column for Notion Magazine