A total of 1 review of this product on Reddit.
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Hoo, boy, this is a tricky one. Also, if you’ve looked at my Instagram lately, you’d probably know that I just had an epiphany — a legit I-have-now-seen-the-light, movie-worthy moment — about my own moisture barrier: namely that it had been suffering quietly for decades under the tyranny of unsuitable cleansers. So pardon me if my confidence in giving advice about moisture barrier health is at an all-time low.
Regarding product breakouts, may I know which Dr. Ci Labo product that you have tried? I know that Rosette Ceramide Gel has macadamia nut oil in it, which is why I can’t use it (mild allergy; it gives me the itch). I would be more worried of things like nut oil than squalene, since the latter is also produced by our skin cells, making a reaction to it less likely.
Personally, the thing that has made the most difference to me in terms of moisture barrier health is the switch from a foaming to non-foaming cleanser, but I remember you saying that the Naturepeau really agrees with you, so perhaps that’s not the problem. (Come to think of it, I think I have samples of the Naturepeau cleanser….) In terms of things that I own that has had a positive impact on my moisture barrier, in one way or another and in varying degrees, are:
Mochitto Mochi Mochi Face Wash,
Mochitto Mochi Mochi Face Lotion: just like the cleanser, except it stays on my face instead of getting rinsed off,
Tunemakers Ceramide 200 booster: I mix this with the Liquorice Extract, Aloe Vera, and Honey to get a soothing and barrier-repairing mixture,
shiro Oatmeal Lotion: the skin becomes slightly but perceptibly bouncier and more supple, but this thing is pretty expensive for what is basically oatmeal extract (Edit: This is also the only oat-based product I’ve seen in Japan, so if you’re hell-bent on getting oats locally, this might be your best bet.),
Plaskin Essence: various types of ceramides sitting pretty high up on the ingredient list, but this is expensive and contains placenta extract and some fruit extracts. (Edit: Oh, and it contains guaiazulene, if you’re curious about that ingredient! It’s moderately soothing.)
Since I found out that I had been abusing my moisture barrier, I, too, have been researching about ceramide-rich products to try out. These are the stuff sitting in my Amazon Wish List. You might want to check them out, both the products and the brands (no affiliate links):
Derizum, but this one has plant extracts,
Edit: Duplair — this one looks especially promising, but it does contain various plant extracts (supposedly soothing).
Curel also has a ceramide-heavy face cream, but something in Curel’s formulation turn me into a literal tomato, so I can’t comment on the efficacy of that.
Ceramide is classified as simple sphingolipids, so if you see products claiming that they contain rice-derived sphingolipids, they probably have some barrier-protecting ability. (As a bonus, I find rice soothing.) My personal rec would be Kuramoto Bijin Hakumai Hakkou Milk, but I have also been curious about Keana Nadeshiko rice line.
Also, calling the other Japan residents, since this is the type of question that will benefit from having more people sharing their experiences: /u/2catsinjapan /u/urbanflora /u/itzmizzy /u/StrangerClegane
