Facing it

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Kiehl’s deep-skin analysis tells you what you need to know

MY SKIN and I have never been close friends.

At the sidelines of a meeting with L’Oreal’s Country Managing Director in Greenbelt early this month, ����ý was taken to see and test the Kiehl’s Derma-Reader Deep-Skin Analysis, using its Derma-Reader Pro. Using AI, it takes multiple pictures of one’s face and compares it to faces with otherwise perfect skin. From the data, eight skin issues are identified and addressed, after which a Kiehl’s Customer Representative (KCR) discusses the skin issues with the customer, who is then given samples that will address the skin issues.

“With the guidance of our Skin Experts, each customer will experience a comprehensive deep-skin analysis to help uncover their skin’s unique needs and to learn about the targeted treatments and usage tips that will help them achieve their individual skin goals,” said Cammie Cannella, Kiehl’s VP of Global Customer Experience & Education. “To complement this signature personalized consultation experience, we are thrilled to introduce the Derma-Reader Pro, our new advanced diagnostic tool to help customers literally change the way they see their skin.”

I did change the way I saw my skin. Prior to the test, I did joke that I used Kiehl’s products at night — I use the more expensive stuff during the evenings, to take advantage of the rest and healing that takes places during sleep. The KCR assigned to me assured me that my skin was fine, but I had doubts. Memories of my dull, boring skin while under the care of Cetaphil’s Daily Facial Moisturizer SPF 15, which I had used since high school all the way until 2014, haunted me.

Like many people, I took care of my skin during the pandemic (what else was I supposed to do in lockdown?) From years of switching products (so long as I wouldn’t have to go back to my old moisturizer, unless in an absolute emergency), I had managed to streamline my routine with a few choice products, based on the recommendations of friends. I would use Good Molecules Niacinamide Brightening Toner (P875, lasted me a good eight months), a matching niacinamide serum from Luxe Organix (P474, a bit runnier than I had hoped for, but a good enough workhorse), and Hyalure’s Moisturizing Lotion with hyaluronic acid (P450). Niacinamide helped my skin even out and brighten up (as well as reducing the appearance of my pores, if I say so myself), while the hyaluronic acid in my moisturizer helped with hydration.

At night, I used the same toner, Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream (P1,450) but especially Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate (P3,250), arguably the most expensive product on my dressing table. A colleague had sworn by it, while an editor claimed it worked like a good night’s sleep. It’s formulated with lavender and evening primrose oil, and the website proclaims it as being able to reduce fine lines, refine skin texture, and boost radiance — “in just one night.”

I went for the skin test, which took less than 10 minutes. Years of vice, sleepless nights, and living in Quezon City could not have prepared me for my results.

On a scale of 100, I received scores of eight for Clogged Pores, and fives for Wrinkles and Fine Lines, Texture, UV Damage, Red Areas, and Visible Pores. These test scores placed me under the Excellent Skin category — trust me, I am just as surprised as you.

I received terrible marks for Surface Spots and Emerging Brown Spots (76 and 48, respectively). I also had a strong skin barrier with a score of 80, and a low hydration level at 78 (that was from the drinking and smoking).

The KCR explained to me that emerging brown spots happen in areas of pigment beneath the skin’s surface where melanin collects, “which may or may not rise to the surface to become visible brown spots,” according to the booklet she consulted. They occur due to overproduction of melanin in the skin, triggered by inflammation due to UV exposure and other causes. Surface spots are the emerging brown spots which had risen to the skin’s surface, also caused by UV exposure.

I felt betrayed, since I had been using Belo SunExpert Transparent Mist SPF50 and PA+++ (P520), and, aside from one bad sunburn in Coron from not reapplying after a swim, I felt that it had done a good job for the past three years of using it. The KCR said that the problems may have been caused by not applying sunscreen indoors (which was true).

The KCR gave me samples in sachets and a routine to follow: The Calendula Deep Cleansing Facial Wash (P800) and Toner (P1,050), the Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution (P1,975), the matching moisture treatment (P3,450), and told me to keep using the Midnight Recovery Concentrate, and their own Ultra Light Daily UV Defense — Kiehl’s PH (P3,300). The KCR said that my skin was “good enough, but you have to maintain it.”

I looked at my skin and its care before as a necessary evil: something I had to do to prevent disease and fit in. Armed with what I learned from that short session, it had occurred to me that to take care of my skin would also mean a reflection of how much I could learn to care for, and love myself.

(But let’s be honest: I wouldn’t have said that if I received worse scores.)

The Kiehl’s Derma Reader Pro service is free, and is available at three branches: SM Mall of Asia, Greenbelt, and Alabang Town Center. — Joseph L. Garcia