Wednesday 10 March 2010

Suki skincare

A couple of years ago I was given a Suki skincare starter set. The Suki range is described as '100% natural, non toxic and cruelty free skincare' and was created by Suki Kramer when she could find nothing to ease her very sensitive skin.

I'd describe my skin as more fragile or delicate than sensitive, but I found the skincare worked well for me and I really liked two products in particular. I went on to purchase full sizes of the exfoliating lemongrass cleanser (now called exfoliate foaming cleanser) and the concentrated facial toner with shitake, burdock and olive leaf (now called nourishing facial toner - shitake). I loved them so much that the last time I went to New York, I brought back three bottles of each as they were still hard to get hold of in the UK.

The cleanser is recommended for all skin types, except Rosacea. Both the cleanser and toner are vegan.

As well as lemongrass, the cleanser contains natural sugar, chamomile and non gm rice flour. It smells absolutely wonderful - very citrus-zingy and refreshing. Initially, it's a little alarming as the texture feels like that of a very harsh scrub because it's packed with sugar crystals. However, it is not harsh on the skin. The directions tell you to take a fingerful of product and massage (not scrub) gently between moistened palms, then onto face and decolletage. On first contact with your wet palms, the product starts to foam gently and the sugar starts to melt. It continues to melt as you massage the face and then you rinse it off. It always leaves my skin feeling clean and smooth, but not tight or irritated at all. You only need a small amount each time you use it, so a jar lasts quite a while. It took me about three months to get through a jar (using it once a day).

The toner has quite a strong smell which I find appealing but I can imagine some would hate. It smells slightly earthy thanks to the shitake extract, but also a bit like dandelion and burdock as it also contains natural burdock extract. It looks a bit like real ale, particularly because it has 'bits' floating in it, which I've helpfully documented for you with pictures:


The toner is 'a medicinal grade antioxidant tincture' that helps revive, strengthen and fortify the skin. I either spray it straight on to my face after cleansing or spray some on cotton wool and wipe over my face. It leaves my skin feeling very clean and ready for moisturiser. In summer I love it for reviving and cleaning my make-up free face when it's just too hot to contemplate applying cosmetics.

Suki skincare is now more widely available in the UK. I've seen it at beingcontent.com and bathandunwind.com. I'd definitely recommend it. Having tried one of the starter sets, the foaming cleanser is the stand out product for me, but it's all very nice and good quality. The starter sets are a really good way to find out which full size products you might like.

I would repeatedly buy these products, as exemplified by the fact that I already have. My one reservation is that the skin on my cheeks is delicate and increasingly prone to broken capillaries, so I'm trying to get away from using physical exfoliants. Although the sugar does melt into the foam of the cleanser, it's still a little bit scrubby for the first couple of seconds. It really is a brilliant product though - totally unlike anything I've ever used before. Ingredients lists for the Suki skincare range can be found on both the websites I've linked to above.

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