Failing to check the weather on a sub-zero winter day usually means the wind gets through your jacket because you're not wearing enough layers. The same can be said for a compromised skin barrier.
Like bundling up during winter keeps the cold out while, a functioning skin barrier helps retain moisture and keeps the good stuff in and the bad stuff out. So when the barrier is damaged, it can manifest in dryness, flakiness, and redness.
While the environment (like dry, cold, winter air) can affect skin, so can potent products like at-home peels and exfoliators. Unsurprisingly, the barrier has become a focal point on social media for dermatologists as well as skincare brand founders.
Ole Henriksen is one such founder. And the skincare expert is kicking off 2022 with the addition of a new franchise to his wildly popular brand. STRENGTH is, you guessed it, a set of products strengthen and support skin barrier health. First up is the Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer, launching today at Sephora.
"The main focus with Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer is to strengthen the skin's moisture barrier to keep the good in and the bad out addressing dullness, dryness, aging and sun damage," Henriksen exclusively tells InStyle. "But we went beyond creating a deeply hydrating moisturizer by incorporating the concept of the skin's building blocks necessary for strong and resilient skin. The product not only hydrates, but helps skin hold on to moisture better all day."
Formulated for all skin types, the moisturizer provides hydration and helps skin retain it throughout the day, thanks to three types of ceramides, natural moisturizing factors, essential fatty acids, and plant-derived vegan collagen. In addition, a mix of humectants (sodium PCA, hyaluronic acid, and sodium lactate) hydrate and plump skin. Finally, a blend of eight amino acids and eight peptides boost elasticity, firmness, and provide further barrier support.
"It was like putting together the perfect 'skin strengthening puzzle,' combining an extensively researched and thoughtfully selected key ingredient combination that would address all the skin benefits and concerns we wanted consumers to get from this single, hardworking formula," Riva Barak, vice president, skincare product and technical development at Kendo Brands, explains. "For example, we have peptides that target the look of fine lines & wrinkles, ones that help visibly restore resiliency & bounce, and some that help build visible firmness and strength. It was all about constructing the complex puzzle that ultimately became what we feel is the perfect moisturizer – Strength Trainer."
To shop: $48; sephora.com
Because Strength Trainer comes with more features than the typical barrier cream, Barak says it took quite a few tries to get the formula just right – 100 to be exact. "The challenge was constructing the perfect puzzle – a combination of key ingredients that deliver results, a texture that services a broad range of skin types and building that 360º pleasurable experience the Ole Henriksen brand is known for," she says.
Mission accomplished. The brand sent me a sample to try ahead of its January 2022 launch. Find my honest thoughts on Strength Trainer, below.
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First Impression & Final Thoughts
This moisturizer's unique texture is what stood out to me initially. It reminds me of lemon meringue; it's creamy, but has bounce. However, it feels like a rich cream when it's massaged into your skin – minus the greasy residue. I love how plump and dewy it leaves my skin, and that it doesn't pill under sunscreen or makeup.
As for long-lasting hydration, Strength Trainer delivers on that, too. My skin still feels soft at the end of day, whether I've stayed inside my dry radiator-heated apartment or ventured out in the cold. I've been slathering the moisturizer on morning and night for about three weeks. I'm only halfway through the jar, but I'm already thinking about how sad I'll be when I scoop the last bits out of the bottom.
OLEHENRIKSEN STRENGTH Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturizer is available now for $48 at sephora.com and Sephora stores.
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