One of the things that I love about the skin care industry is the constantly evolving body of knowledge and the ingredient innovation that keep things exciting, and keep me forever working on our product formulations.
When we created our first Alchimie Forever products, back in the late 1980s, we used parabens (we also loved big hair and worked out to Jane Fonda). We no longer use parabens anymore of course, and the process of removing them from our formulations was not easy (imagine making your grandmother’s tomato sauce with cherry tomatoes instead of heirloom tomatoes and wanting it to taste exactly the same). That was Alchimie 2.0.
The improvements continue, as we move from Alchimie 2.0 to Alchimie 3.0.
Recently, we updated our Purifying gel cleanser formulation, removing sulfates, and replacing them with more natural, gentler alternatives – while preserving the beautiful foaming texture of this product.
We also just improved our hero SKU, the Kantic® Brightening moisture mask. For all of you out there who have used and loved this product for decades, and who do not like change (I am in this group), here is more information on exactly what we changed (starting with Lot Numbers 10151J21 and 11041K21).
We removed the following ingredients, in our continued effort to make our formulations as clean (yet still effective) as possible:
- Phenoxyethanol (preservative, slightly controversial)
- Dimethicone (silicone derivative, texture ingredient, can clogg pores)
- Trimethylsiloxysilicate (silicone derivative, texture ingredient, can clogg pores)
- PPG-15 Stearyl Ether (ethoxylated ingredient, slightly controversial)
- PPG-20 Methyl Glucose Ether (ethoxylated ingredient, slightly controversial)
We replaced these ingredients with the following cleaner alternatives:
- Coco-Caprylate/Caprate (non-controversial alternative to silicone)
- Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate (non-controversial texture ingredient)
- Caprylyl Glycol (non-controversial texture ingredient)
Rest assured: while we have made the formula “cleaner,” we have not changed any of the active ingredients that give the mask all of its wonderful properties and benefits. You will still get the same glow, hydration, calming and anti-redness effect, as you have for years.
And remember, as our products do not contain artificial dyes, the color may vary slightly with each production batch. Similarly, the viscosity (how thick the product is) is a range, as it cannot be replicated 100% batch to batch without a purely synthetic formulation. This means that sometimes the mask will be a little thicker, and sometimes it will be a little more watery.
But the Kantic® Brightening moisture mask, in all of its iterations, remains our best-selling, first ever product, and hero of our brand. And your favorite!
