Blender
Joined: 20 Oct 2006
Posts: 19
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 Posted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:56 am Post subject: On men's skincare products.....again! |
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Hi, some of you may be able to answer this question.
My girlfriend uses the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Cream, which is one of the best mainstream anti aging moisturizers available, atleast judging by the rave reviews it has received.
Like many companies, Neutrogena has a men's line. Recently, I bought the Neutrogena Age Fighter for men, and looking at the ingredients on the box, it is VERY similar to the Healthy Skin anti wrinkle cream which is marketed towards women.
However, there are a few differences. This is what it says on the back of the women's version:
| Quote: | Active Ingredients: Enzulizole 1%, Octinoxate 6%
Inactive Ingredients: Water, C12-C15 Alkyl Benzoate, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Retinol, Camellia Sinensis Extract, Titanium Dioxide, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Cetearyl Glucoside, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polysorbate-20, Methylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene Glycol, BHT, Carbomer |
And this is the men's version:
| Quote: | Active Ingredients: Ensulizole 1.0%, Octinoxate 6%
Inactive Ingredients: Water, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Cetyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Triethanolamine, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol, Retinol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, BHT, Tocopherol, Cetearyl Glucoside, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate-20, Carbomer, Disodium EDTA, Titanium Dioxide, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Silica, Alumina, Methylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben |
So looking at the ingredient list for both products, it's obvious that they are mostly similar, but the men's version has more "stuff" in it.
However, the women's version says it will produce results in a single week, whereas the men's version says it needs two weeks to see results.
This made me curious.
I wondered whether the percentage of retinol in the men's version was lower than the women's, which would account for the longer time it took to see results.
So I called Neutrogena and asked them if they had any information on the retinol percentage of either product, and to my dismay, they didn't have it. According to them, it was "propietary" information, and as such, would not be listed.
Anyway, I decided to use BOTH versions to see if there were any noticeable differences which I could discern in practice, and not just theory.
So I used the women's version on one side of my face, and the men's version on the other, for about a week, and from what I experienced, the products are definitely DIFFERENT.
The men's version had a much stronger exfoliating effect. Actually, it stung a bit on the first few applications, though I could not say why as the ingredients doesn't really list anything acidic to my knowledge.
The women's version did not sting at all on the other hand, and was very mild.
In the end, the men's version made my skin smoother than the women's version at the week's end!
So, there is something in the men's version which actually causes it to work faster, although the product states it takes two weeks to see significant results, compared to the one week for the women's version.
Knowing all this, it seems that Neutrogena may have taken into account the fact that men have thicker and oilier skin than women, and thus outfitted it's men's line with EITHER a higher percentage of retinol, or some other ingredient(s) designed to exfoliate the skin faster.
On the other hand, the women's product either has a lower percentage of retinol, or it doesn't have any exfoliating ingredients seeing that women having thinner and drier skin.
That is my theory.
However, since I can't find a way to determine the percentage of retinol in either product, I decided to ask the more learned board members on this website whether they could find anything in the ingredient lists I posted above for both products, which would account for my experience with both products.
Thanks for any input! |
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