No more 911 for my skin - emerginC skincare

When I first started doing this product review thing, I promised that I would share any cool products with you that I stumbled on and tried out myself. I've been sitting on this one for a while - mostly just because I wanted to make sure that this stuff worked as well as I thought it did before I stuck my neck out there.

Y'all know I loves me some skin products. And hair products. And whatever else will make me the best-looking corpse at the funeral home. I've spent hours discussing the agony of bad skin as an adult, just when you thought that zits went away with the teenage years. Well, when we were in Las Vegas early last month I splurged one afternoon and went to the spa at the Wynn Las Vegas. There I had an amazing esthetician who introduced me to the emerginC line of skincare products

I was skeptical. I've battled with oily skin and breakouts since I was about 10. For the past few years, I was a diehard Philosophy fan and had been relatively fond of their products. However, I'd tried a few of their newer products lately with not-so-great results, like some breakouts and flaky skin. So when I got a full facial with the emerginC products and saw how great my skin looked, I went back to the spa shop and bought some of the products to take home and try out.

The regimen that she recommended was using the No-Comedone pore cleansing lotion twice a day, the Crude Control hydrating lotion twice a day, and the Micro-Scrub two or three times a week. And since I was already going whole-hog, I decided to go with some of the Deglazing Cleanser as well

The Deglazing Cleanser is soap-free, which immediately attracted me because if you're like me, you've been brainwashed for years that soap on your face is the root of all evil. The esthetician didn't recommend it, and now I know why. First, it has a very unpleasant smell and look - it looks like some kind of greenish-yellowish goop and has a sulfur-like smell to it. The good part is that it does get your skin clean - but for me, it is almost too drying and even using the hydrating lotion afterwards left my skin feeling tight. I will probably put this away to use for times when my skin is very oily (like the dead of summer or when everyone's favorite relative Aunt Flo is in town) and stay with a mild cleanser like Philosophy's Purity Made Simple for everyday use. Another positive is that it takes a very minute amount to work and make your skin clean, so one bottle will last a very long time

After cleansing, you should use the No-Comedone Pore Cleansing Lotion. To call it a lotion is kind of a misnomer to me - instead of a lotion-like consistency, it's liquidy like a toner. I put some on a cotton pad and wipe it all over my face. Now this stuff - this is gold. I have noticed a significant improvement in my skin - all the little bumps on it have greatly decreased and the quantity of huge zits has gone drastically down. I really think this is worth it's weight in gold, and the esthetician told me that if I only went home with one thing that this would be what she would recommend.

All this is followed by their lotion, Crude Control. The scent is almost a little sickly sweet to me, but it definitely leaves the skin feeling soft and supple. After my skin peel last week, the after-peel balm that I had been given by the facialist didn't do a great job of combating the flaking. Well, Crude Control did - I put a little extra on the flaky areas and it definitely helped without leaving me feeling greasy. Crude Control is also great under foundation and does a good job keeping the oil under check during the daytime - you still have a healthy glow but not like your face is sopping in oil and your foundation stays in place very well

A bonus that I bought was the Micro-Scrub. I was a big fan of the Philosophy micropeel kit, so I was a little afraid that I wouldn't like the Micro-Scrub as well. Well, I do. You need just a teensy bit for your entire face, it washes off cleanly, and frankly was a lot less messy than other scrubs I've tried before. It has done a great job both before and after the face peel that I have removing the dead skin and keeping a nice glow on my face.

So, you ask, how do I get these and am I going to have to get a second mortgage on my house to afford it? Well, the most expensive item is the Crude Control, which runs a stiff $48 for two ounces - however, after having it for a month, I still have half of a bottle left and have used it twice a day except for 3 days after my peel. You need so little that I think a bottle could potentially last you almost two months. I would probably avoid the Deglazing Cleanser unless you have super-oily skin - it's a more reasonable $24.50 for 4.4 ounces and you can use a dime-sized amount and get great results, so a bottle of that would last a long time. The No-Comedone Lotion is priced at $22.50 and in my opinion, the most valuable part of this entire equation. The Micro-Scrub at $28.00 is very nice, but you could do without it if you're watching your dollars. If I had to pick the must-have items from this collection, I'd definitely do the No-Comedone Lotion and the Crude Control hydrating emulsion.

Where can you get them? They're available at fine spas and salons throughout the country, but I found that you can order them directly from the emerginC website and the shipping was a flat fee of $6.50 no matter what you ordered. I just placed my first order directly from them, so I'll be anxious to see how quickly it arrives.

So why do I like it? Well, it's the first thing I've tried in a long time that had quick and noticable results. Even after my last trip to the facial place, I reverted back to the emerginC products after trying what the facialist recommended for a few days and my face revolted. After my face peel last week, I developed a nasty zit on my chin from using the after-peel balm, but after two days back on the emerginC products it is almost gone. I can't help but feel like I've stumbled on something special.

So, trot on over to emerginC's website and check it out. They have a ton of other products too, like some yummy face washes.