Krave Beauty Great Barrier Relief

2 Reviews

1. 

   mellowPorpoise2

   Reply

   I want to preface by saying that I have combination, acne-prone skin with very oily T zone and normal everywhere else. This serum is perfect for my skin type. I have finished about half a bottle so far and it has been working great.

   One of the main ingredient is Tamanu oil which despite being an quote on quote oil is in fact drying. I personally don’t think this would work for someone with dry skin. Even for my combo skin this serum alone is not enough for the drier/cooler months. I had to layer this serum with hydrating toners and essences in order to keep my skin moisturized.

   What I like about this serum is that it does not break me out. I have very acne prone skin and there are not a lot of products that doesn’t cause a breakout. I always check the ingredients whenever I buy anything because I know what my skin does and doesn’t like. I tried this out because I liked the ingredients. I have had success with Tamanu oil before (as a facial oil) and I wanted something in serum form. This serum keeps my skin moisturized and does calm my skin down. My skin always looks bright the next morning. I have not seen any improvements in my acne scars though.

   Would highly recommend those with combo, acne-prone skin to give this try!

2. 

   adoringHoopoe5

   Reply

   I have been testing this product over 2 weeks now. My skin type is combo(can be dehydrated depending on the season)/acne-prone/sensitive skin. I don’t deal with severe acne, it’s mild and occasional. I managed to fix my damaged moisture barrier by using: Cleanser – Moisturizer – Sunscreen, after years of exfoliation/acne treatment in my younger years. Focusing on the moisture a lot these past years. When I heard about this product, I really wanted to try it based on how it was described as. Such as fading hyperpigmentations and helping heal the moisture barrier. Good for aging/dry skin etc. Fragrance-free and great ingredients overall.

   The first day I applied it, I felt a slight stinging/burning sensation throughout the day/night. It may have been the niacinamide in it since I heard that this could happen with this particular ingredient. I had that happened in the past but more intense and those symptoms didn’t subside over a few days, it was a higher content of niacinamide I believe. This one contains 2%. Those sensations subsided over the next 2-3 days.

   However, from the first day I applied this serum, my face felt “tight”. In the sense where it was making my skin feel uncomfortable. It felt like tight/dry, but not flaking. As an example, it’s like having a clay mask drying/absorbing all your oils/sebum from your face and not be able to wash it off. That sensation. I put on my heavy moisturizer as usual but it wasn’t enough. Even if I used a “very thick” layer of cream it didn’t help much, it was only bearable. I believe using it during the very cold winter/low humidity would be not a great idea. It wasn’t helping with moisture/hydration at all. I tested the serum during end of winter/start of spring season and it still felt tight/dry. I tried applying on wet skin and tested different ways. I still felt this tight feeling. I was kind of dreading applying this serum because of that. It didn’t feel like a “relief” for my skin for 2 weeks. When I don’t apply this serum, my skin wasn’t as tight anymore. I don’t even have dry to very dry skin and my skin felt “dry/parched”. I’m not sure which ingredient does that though. Maybe the oils.

   As for breakouts, after one week of use, I notice that some of my occasional random acne were gone/less inflamed. I didn’t have a lot. Some, not all, previous small red marks faded a lot faster. However over the next week, I had some random acne appear. It was random. Clogged pores, more blackheads on the nose area, whiteheads, small inflamed acne… (no cystic acne though) but then some will go (leave a red mark), but then some other will appear. Sometimes on parts of my face I usually don’t breakout and sometimes on parts of my face I do breakout. I pushed through because I was in “denial” and felt like it will get better after since I was hoping for great results. Seeing before and after pictures on their website and the statements on how tamanu oil is great. I didn’t want for it to not work for my skin. However I figure this product wasn’t for me as when I didn’t use this product my skin didn’t breakout in that pattern.

   The good thing is that my skin looked smoother/brighter than usual. As if it has been “exfoliated”, even though it’s not an active product. The texture of this serum is smooth, looks/feels like a lotion type (slightly thick) with a light green color, applies well and the finish leaves a slight oily sheen over the skin.

   Redness was also diminished a little bit but not that much because I experienced some slight small red patches, like how it looks when you over-exfoliate. My skin also became so parched at some point during the last week of using this serum that it made the redness more apparent. Take note that my skin is very sensitive/reactive, so it might be the oils in it that weren’t compatible with my skin.

   After adding this product into my skincare routine (Cleanser – (Added serum here) – Moisturizer – Sunscreen). I was disappointed that it didn’t help with my skin barrier that much. It felt like it worsened the progress I have made so far. Which is why I would not repurchase this product. My skin is quite sensitive and easy to react, so I believe some ingredient made it worse over the course of 2 weeks of twice per day uses (2 pumps). I didn’t think much at first but it was gradual how it made my skin worse.

   Right now I’m dealing with a few acne spots/new fresh red marks (I didn’t have these new spots before starting using this serum), parched skin and this tight/drying sensation as a result. I stopped using it yesterday. Also this is a serum which shouldn’t break you out like an active. So I’m certain this serum was just not for me. I didn’t experience a rash or anything big like an allergy. But it was random/persistent side effects like I explained earlier.

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   EDIT May 12 2019: My skin has healed a lot since stopping this serum. It’s healthier looking, less acne spots/CCs, no more tight/dry and parched skin. I gave my mom this serum to try since she isn’t acne-prone and it dried out her skin badly after 3 days of uses. I could see that she was starting to have lines on her cheeks because it was so drying on her skin. Plus she told me she felt that her skin was so dry every morning since starting using this serum. She has mature/aging skin and has never used any active before. This was supposed to be a hydrating serum, however it wasn’t hydrating at all. She only used this serum as a moisturizer. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this product.