Calm Skin
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free skin care · Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:19 am

AAAAUUUGGHHHHH Mad

I really wanted to like this product line, as I have over sensitized skin after a year on CPs and exfoliation methods..
Alas I don't.
2 emails to customer service unanswered. 2 Phone calls,VM only, unanswered.. If Calm Skin is less complicated then 302, and one doesn't need a professional to walk you thru it; then I'd hate to try and negotiate the 302 line..

2 applications over 3 days: cleanser, Soothe, Mist My skin is RED, ITCHY, broken out.
I am not subject to acne-this is inflammation.

free skin care · Thu Jul 30, 2009 6:39 pm

Alien wrote:

AAAAUUUGGHHHHH Mad

I really wanted to like this product line, as I have over sensitized skin after a year on CPs and exfoliation methods..
Alas I don't.
2 emails to customer service unanswered. 2 Phone calls,VM only, unanswered.. If Calm Skin is less complicated then 302, and one doesn't need a professional to walk you thru it; then I'd hate to try and negotiate the 302 line..

2 applications over 3 days: cleanser, Soothe, Mist My skin is RED, ITCHY, broken out.
I am not subject to acne-this is inflammation.

Oh no, I'm so sorry you had such a bad reaction Sad

And their customer service doesn't sound terribly impressive, either Neutral

The 302 line is actually not that complicated at all, since we have an excellent esty (Jennifer, from 21st Century Skin Care) who will give free email consults (or free phone consults if you prefer).

Jennifer's very responsive, she uses the line herself & on clients and knows it inside out, she's in close contact with Dr Huber and will consult with him directly if you have a particularly challenging situation, and best of all, you can return the products for a refund if they don't work for you. The prices are very similar. She'd be happy to point you in the right direction, whether you decide to try 302 or not.

Just an option to consider - I hope your skin is back to its usual self soon! I'm sure it will be fine with some TLC, but yikes, what a headache Sad

Edited to add:
Here's jennifer's email: 4beautifulskin@comcast.net

and her store link:
http://www.21st-centuryskincare.com/index.htm

free skin care · Fri Jul 31, 2009 6:21 am

Thank you Lowbrowscientist... A Calm Skin Rep did finally return my call and respond to the emails. But, only, it seems to talk me into keeping the products. Perhaps, he suggested, I'm not applying them correctly. It is rather hard to screw up: cleans, apply Soothe, Mist when needed Rolling Eyes

My skin has cleared with 24 hour TLC Very Happy

I may try the 302 when back from Holiday in Scotland..

free skin care · Fri Jul 31, 2009 9:41 am

UPDATE:
Today a Mr Peterson(sp) called from Calm Skin and apologized for tech difficulties their email service was having. he did spend time going over the Inro routine for the line and asked me to "tweak" my application process. He also generously offer to supply me with the Body Bar for cleansing gratis, to see if that help.

OK I'm willing to try Cool

I will update in a few days.

free skin care · Fri Jul 31, 2009 11:09 am

Alien wrote:

UPDATE:
Today a Mr Peterson(sp) called from Calm Skin and apologized for tech difficulties their email service was having. he did spend time going over the Inro routine for the line and asked me to "tweak" my application process. He also generously offer to supply me with the Body Bar for cleansing gratis, to see if that help.

OK I'm willing to try Cool

I will update in a few days.

Sounds good, Alien!

By the way, did you start Calm Skin immediately upon stopping acids and cp's, or even other products (with or without acids)? What you experienced is a textbook rebound effect, so depending on your timing, maybe that's something to consider?

Dr Huber has everyone go on a bare-minimum 2 week "transition period", where you quite literally cleanse and then use nothing else, no moisturizers, lotions, nothin', and only minerals for sunscreen if absolutely necessary - this is important because you're almost definitely going to have some rebound issues after stopping the acids/cp's. It seems that lots of people now are using the mist and Ointment (302's version of Soothe) during the transition, but that's still "cheating", to a degree - most people do alright with it, but the recommendation from Dr Huber is to use nothing else after cleansing. For those who just feel they absolutely cannot go without *something* on their skin, he recommended using a small amount (as in, a few drops or so) of jojoba oil massaged into very wet skin, again, only if necessary.

Anyway, it might be worth trying a 2 week (or more, if necessary) skin care "vacation" to get everything back to baseline before adding in the CS products. I know it seems like a hassle, but it's actually very liberating to NOT have to slather on several layers, or even one layer of creams/serum/whatever before going to bed, or heading out the door - huge time saver Very Happy

Edited to add: Using the mist and Ointment/Soothe during transition *is* permitted by Dr Huber, by the way; it's just not necessarily the way to get best results.

free skin care · Fri Jul 31, 2009 11:55 am

Well, I did nothing to my skin for a month prior to Calm Skin. OOPs did have a brief try at NOTCH product that was not helpful.

The rep from Calm Skin conference call between me and Dr Huber- who was VERY concerned that I had tripped my skin into a completely product intolerant syndrome..Thar's a little scary! Sad

Dr Huber's instructions were to do and use NOTHING for a couple of weeks and evaluate if the skin calms on it's own. Then a very supervised gradual experimenting with products...

free skin care · Fri Jul 31, 2009 12:21 pm

Alien wrote:

Dr Huber's instructions were to do and use NOTHING for a couple of weeks and evaluate if the skin calms on it's own. Then a very supervised gradual experimenting with products...

Well, it sounds like you did everything right, and just had bad luck Neutral

Maybe it's as simple as needing a longer transition time.... some of the first EDSers to give 302 a try were transitioning for months until they really were doing a complete 302 regimen. Either way, I'm really glad they got Dr H personally involved.

Please let us know how it goes, if you're up to it - I'm really interested in seeing how you progress!

free skin care · Sat Aug 01, 2009 11:48 am

Alien - I'm happy to read that CS finally contacted you, with support from Dr. Huber, no less! I do hope your routine can be tweaked to work for you.

It would be nice to see feedback from other CS users on this thread as well.

Looking forward to your update, Alien! Very Happy

free skin care · Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:38 am

Just letting the thread know I haven't forgotten you... As per Dr. H's instructions, I've done nothing the last 4 days but wash once a day with my Aveeno-extra gentle.
I will contact the good Dr today, Monday, for further instruction.
It seems there is a syndrome occurring out there due to the over use of actives and topical that make the skin INTOLERANT of any product Sad

Once the skin has been "pushed" beyond the point of no return, it reacts to EVERYTHING including water............

free skin care · Wed Aug 19, 2009 10:43 am

OK, I am back from my holiday in Scotland. I didn't use a darn thing except oatmeal soap that I make myself and has never caused any irritation.
Today re starting the Calm Skin basic line. I'll report back

Wed Aug 19, 2009 3:49 pm

wow, what a bad experience,

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 5:35 am

OK as promised, a follow up:

I gave my face a rest and used nothing but an oatmeal soap to cleanse once a day. No topicals not even moisturizer for 10 days.

I then contacted Dr. Huber, who was very patient and informative, on how to restart Calm Skin. We added one product at a time, ending with the cleanser.

POW- after just 2 uses I awoke this moring to RED, ITTCHY, INFLAMMED skin to the point my eyes were swollen shut.

I guess Calm Skin is not my answer... Sad

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:07 am

Alien wrote:

OK as promised, a follow up:

I gave my face a rest and used nothing but an oatmeal soap to cleanse once a day. No topicals not even moisturizer for 10 days.

I then contacted Dr. Huber, who was very patient and informative, on how to restart Calm Skin. We added one product at a time, ending with the cleanser.

POW- after just 2 uses I awoke this moring to RED, ITTCHY, INFLAMMED skin to the point my eyes were swollen shut.

I guess Calm Skin is not my answer... Sad

Alien, I'm so sorry Sad

Have you considered something like Dr Hauschka? I don't know much about Dr Hauschka products but I've heard that they're gentle and made with naturally-based ingredients. I wish I had other suggestions, but I don't really know any other lines. Hopefully someone can chime in with some ideas....

In the meantime, if you need something to deal with the redness/inflammation, a few drops of straight jojoba oil applied right after washing your face (while it's still wet) should help to calm things down.

Also, if Calmskin hasn't turned you off to the idea of 302, the Active Recovery Drops (which are made to be used on broken, chemo-depleted skin) and Recovery Mist might be a perfect option for you. They'll keep your skin safe and protected while it helping it to *slowly* regain it's normal metabolic function. The rosacea drops are also very calming and gentle - my impression is that these products are both much gentler than anything in the Calmskin line.

I recall at least one other person having trouble with Calmskin causing them sensitivity and irritation, and when they switched over to 302, they were much happier. The prices are comparable.

Best of luck with whatever you try next!

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 8:08 am

The good doctor was in the process, as of yesterday, was supplying me with some sort of unfragrenced drops. But, I'm leary of trying anything now...

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:40 am

I would discontinue these products. They do not agree with you. Sounds like an allergic reaction. You have gone above and beyond trying to use them. They should give a refund.

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:17 am

If I could get them to return a phone call or email that's what I'ld be asking for Confused

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:56 am

Alien wrote:

Well, I did nothing to my skin for a month prior to Calm Skin. OOPs did have a brief try at NOTCH product that was not helpful.

The rep from Calm Skin conference call between me and Dr Huber- who was VERY concerned that I had tripped my skin into a completely product intolerant syndrome..Thar's a little scary! Sad

Dr Huber's instructions were to do and use NOTHING for a couple of weeks and evaluate if the skin calms on it's own. Then a very supervised gradual experimenting with products...

Hi Alien,

I alerted Dr H about your problems. He has been extremely busy in the lab lately. In your prior post, it sounds like Dr H was concerned you may be developing a case of Cosmetic Intolerance Syndrome (CIS). It's a real dermatologic condition. I think it's also called Sensitive Skin Syndrome. You can google for info about it, but it's a condition where people who have been using topicals and exfoliants for a long time develop a sensitivity to everything (eventually even water) and it sets off a rashy, itchy, reaction which eventually can spread to the entire body. You had a similar reaction with the NOTCH product which makes it sound like it could be a possibility. Or you could be allergic to something in the formula. Here is a description this syndrome from the 302 thread. Hopefully, I'm wrong and you can find a skincare line which you can tolerate. You should have no problem getting a refund:

CIS is a new clinical description – it begins on the face, usually from an extreme regime of exfoliation and retinoids that soon spreads a rash or itching to the rest of the body. Intolerance to even water is not uncommon and the pain is such that opiates are often employed. There is very little in the literature about this, see Maibach et.al. in tech journals – it is a very new observation – and a direct consequence of thoughtless esthetic practices. If you get it, there will be no doubt and your life as you know it, is over. Be very, very cautious about peels and retinoids in combination – there are no predispositions, no warning signs, nothing. It is, however, a growing problem.

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:03 pm

I would dump the calm skin products and get 302 instead.

Earlier this year I bought the calm skin cleanser, sooth and mist (using that $20 off deal they have on the website). The sooth had a weird texture, the cleanser just meh, and the mist made me itch. Over all not impressed.

After reading huge chunks of the 302 thread I decided to give them a try, and received the rosacea cleanser, rosacea drops, calming mist and ointment a week ago. It's still very early days, but 302 products are much better. My skin felt calmer immediately after use, and I wake up with nicer feeling skin, no dryness, no oil on my T-zone, just healthy feeling skin.

Tue Aug 25, 2009 1:44 pm

So sorry to hear this, Alien. I agree with the others that it almost sounds like an allergic reaction. I tried the Calm Skin Intro Kit too and found two of the three products too much for my skin:

havana8 wrote:

I liked the Calm Skin Soothe SPF-22 (very similar to 302's RX Ointment but with a slightly different texture) but found their Cleanser too strong for my skin and the Mist irritating on its own. In contrast, I found both the 302 Sensitive and Regular Cleansers to be quite gentle. I've not tried the 302 Mists. HTHs!
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?p=473374

Red, prickly and irritated pretty much sums up my experience with them.

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:03 pm

tarapaca wrote:

I would dump the calm skin products and get 302 instead.

Earlier this year I bought the calm skin cleanser, sooth and mist (using that $20 off deal they have on the website). The sooth had a weird texture, the cleanser just meh, and the mist made me itch. Over all not impressed.

After reading huge chunks of the 302 thread I decided to give them a try, and received the rosacea cleanser, rosacea drops, calming mist and ointment a week ago. It's still very early days, but 302 products are much better. My skin felt calmer immediately after use, and I wake up with nicer feeling skin, no dryness, no oil on my T-zone, just healthy feeling skin.

Hi Tarapaca, I'm glad you're having a positive experience with 302 so far! Hopefully that will continue. I guess it really goes to show how different the two lines really are, even with the same active ingredient and similar secondary ingredients. Having different formulators must make a big impact on the final product.

Alien, I agree with Boski - you won't have any problems getting a refund as soon as you hear back from someone at Calm Skin, or from Dr Huber. He is really the person to be giving advice at this point anyway, so maybe you could ask him what, if any, products might be helpful for you right now (from 302 or elsewhere).

If you *do* actually have CIS, I don't know if my earlier suggestions (Recovery Mist, Active Recovery Drops or Rosacea Drops) would be helpful for that. In fact, I get the impression that using nothing at all might be your best shot, but Dr Huber can steer you in the right direction with that. Since you can tolerate the oatmeal soap, though, I think there's still at least a *chance* that it's not CIS. Either way, I'll be sending good thoughts your way Pray

Once you're in touch with him, I'd love to hear what Dr Huber has to say about the whole thing.

free skin care · Tue Aug 25, 2009 3:52 pm

havana8 wrote:

So sorry to hear this, Alien. I agree with the others that it almost sounds like an allergic reaction. I tried the Calm Skin Intro Kit too and found two of the three products too much for my skin:

havana8 wrote:

I liked the Calm Skin Soothe SPF-22 (very similar to 302's RX Ointment but with a slightly different texture) but found their Cleanser too strong for my skin and the Mist irritating on its own. In contrast, I found both the 302 Sensitive and Regular Cleansers to be quite gentle. I've not tried the 302 Mists. HTHs!
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/viewthread.php?p=473374

Red, prickly and irritated pretty much sums up my experience with them.

I told Dr H about the problems with the Calmskin intro products, and he wanted me to pass this info along to you guys. Calmskin is formulated and run by a totally different group of people than 302, but Dr H consults with them apparently:

I know that the Calmskin cleanser was changed a few weeks ago – more like the 302 Sensitive Cleanser. I think too they changed the Mist recently – the ECGC was so high in it that it caused more problems than it solved – tell everyone that formulas are always in flux until they get it right – a lot of times in trials everyone LOVES it and then you bring it out and everyone HATES it – so you start to put the pieces together to find out what is really going on – I know from our eye irritation tests on human subjects that these products were virtually non-irritating but it really doesn’t matter if the consumer is throwing it out the window

See ya,R

free skin care · Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:57 am

boski wrote:

know that the Calmskin cleanser was changed a few weeks ago – more like the 302 Sensitive Cleanser. I think too they changed the Mist recently – the ECGC was so high in it that it caused more problems than it solved – tell everyone that formulas are always in flux until they get it right – a lot of times in trials everyone LOVES it and then you bring it out and everyone HATES it – so you start to put the pieces together to find out what is really going on – I know from our eye irritation tests on human subjects that these products were virtually non-irritating but it really doesn’t matter if the consumer is throwing it out the window

See ya,R

Well MY eye irritation test says hell yeah throw it out the window. This kind of flippant attitude makes me glad I took photos of the extreme reaction. And since I have to see my derm today because my eyes are STILL swollen, I'll be consulting with my attorney about their refund policy........Some people should just keep there mouths shut

free skin care · Fri Aug 28, 2009 10:49 am

CIS is a new clinical description – it begins on the face, usually from an extreme regime of exfoliation and retinoids that soon spreads a rash or itching to the rest of the body. Intolerance to even water is not uncommon and the pain is such that opiates are often employed. There is very little in the literature about this, see Maibach et.al. in tech journals – it is a very new observation – and a direct consequence of thoughtless esthetic practices. If you get it, there will be no doubt and your life as you know it, is over. Be very, very cautious about peels and retinoids in combination – there are no predispositions, no warning signs, nothing. It is, however, a growing problem."

I have scheduled a phone consultation with Dr. Howard Maibach, the researched noted by Dr. Huber, on Monday. I will be asking as many questions as he can tolerate about CIS and will report back.

free skin care · Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:26 am

My scheduled consult with Dr maibach is 3:00pm EST. I'll report back to the thread with his take on CIS. He was incredulous that it was suggested I had this after just a couple of topical reations...

free skin care · Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:53 am

You can use rosehip oil or the moisture mask (Avene) like a night cream.

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