The Active Treatment Serum - A Transformative Treatment For Your Skin

Since sustainability and clean beauty have become such a large conversation in the health, wellness and lifestyle space, I’m experimenting with and evaluating more natural brands that include mainly plant-based active ingredients. I frequently check out Secret Skin, a clean beauty website that carries a curated variety of high-performance brands, both niche and popular, and specializes in toxic-free products. However, the dilemma is that beauty buyers don’t want to compromise on the efficacy of their products while seeking healthy alternatives to their maintenance regime. My end game in exploring more natural and clean beauty brands is to be able to find the ones that have offerings that meet the critical standards of the seasoned beauty consumer.

While browsing through Secret Skin, I came upon a brand that I hadn’t heard of before - RHUG Estate - which captured my curiosity mainly because it sounded more like a vineyard than a beauty brand. On doing a bit more research I discovered that RHUG Estate, in the heart of the serene Welsh countryside, is a way of life. The vision of Lord Newborough, the proprietor, is to create a completely sustainable ecosystem in caring for the land, the livestock and the vegetation under an organic system, untainted by chemical sprays, artificial fertilizers and GMO-free. They do carry organic wines amongst other interesting consumables though so I wasn’t too far wrong.

Since my immediate focus is beauty, I was excited to try something from Wild Beauty, their range of lotions and potions which contains handpicked ingredients foraged from the estate. I usually assume that because serums are concentrated and supposed to be highly potent, it’s a quicker indicator of a brand getting their formulations right.

THE VISUAL IMPACT:

I loved the simple square-shaped frosted and as expected, sustainable glass bottle. My first experience with the product was the natural fragrance, soft and pleasantly floral. I could smell a hint of rosehip but couldn’t immediately decipher much more; the composition had a complex mix of botanicals. The texture is best described as a fluid gel which is immediately absorbed by the skin on application. If you’re used to more oily serums which take a bit of time to sink in, you’ll be tempted to use more but about 2-3 drops are all you need to get the benefits. I usually use 2 on my face and 2 more on the neck. Remember the neck is one of the first places to show signs of ageing so don’t ignore the area!

THE BENEFITS:

What makes the serum so effective as an anti-aging formula is the potpourri of the phytoactive ingredients. The low-weight hyaluronic acid helps in reducing wrinkles and brings back elasticity to the skin to improve the texture and firmness. Just a note that not all hyaluronic acids are equal, it's important to check that any product you use has a low molecular weight for deeper penetration.

The squalane from olive gives the skin added hydration for suppleness and reinforces the skin barrier. Squalane is very close to the skin's natural oils and is non-comedogenic so it won’t block pores or irritate acne-prone skin. The organic rosehip oil is loaded with vitamins and antioxidants and also has retinol-like properties to promote the production of collagen for younger-looking, firmer skin. The list of skin-loving ingredients continues in this very well-balanced formulation to create a result-oriented product.

Since the texture of the serum is very lightweight, for people who have drier or dehydrated skins it's best to combine it with a rich moisturizer, especially in a colder and drier climate or if you use it as your night serum in an air-conditioned environment. However, I find that in hotter and more humid weather you can get away with just a gel-based second layer along with your SPF during the day.

If you’re looking for instant gratification from this serum or an immediate change in your skin, you might be disappointed but if you have a little patience you’ll see your skin transform over the month with lasting results. The serum works from within as a treatment and the result is a healthier-looking skin, all achieved with the satisfaction of using a toxic-free product with high-quality natural ingredients.

Shop the Active Treatment Serum from Rhug Wild Beauty at www.thesecretskin.com