youth in revolt.
Beauty treatments shouldn’t be rocket science. Maybe coming off of reviewing a very wholesomely marketed beauty product was what made me bristle at Enspri’s more elegant application of science, and less “salt of the earth” approach, but overall its complexity ended up wow-ing me and my complexion.
Step one of the treatment is “100% ultra-fine marine collagen in a unique powder form”, while the second component, a clear Vital Hydrator gel, includes Aloe Vera, Cucumber, Green Tea Leaf Extract, Vitamins E, C, and A. Both are free of unwanted chemicals and preservatives. “Using Enzyme Engineering Technology, Enspri has naturally extracted collagen peptides at a greatly reduced molecular weight,” their website elaborates. “Translation: finer particles lead to increased absorption, giving your skin the full benefits of collagen. Combined with Enspri‘s Vital Hydrator, Ultra Collagen provides a complete, skin-revitalizing treatment in a matter of minutes.”
One scoop of the collagen powder is combined with three pumps of the step two gel, “in mixing bowl”– a ramekin from the kitchen I guess in my case, but the full-sized kit comes with mixing tools. The mixture is spread evenly over a clean face, and allowed to dry. Five to ten minutes is recommended and the manufacturer warns to not exceed the time limit. See, doesn’t that sound less like a spa treatment and more like science fiction? Maybe I’m just paranoid. (Or maybe I’ll get super powers?)
The resulting mixture was a little thin and tough to work with but the maqsue dried very taut. The instructions guided me to follow up the treatment with a warm water rinse and towel dry. Results are supposed to include improved skin texture, structure, and elasticity, reduction of the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as well as age spots and blemishes, tightened and toned skin, less noticable pores. It really was pretty impressive how clear my ordinarily blotchy face looked and felt. My acne scars looked softer, and existing blemishes were much better afterward. The texture of the mask made me certain I’d end up a little ruddy and rough, it was more like feeling freshly moisturized, though– but cleaner. The contrast between my expectations and the reality were surprisingly stark.
Two to three times a week of this rigmarole, as instructed, feels excessive to me, but apparently I’m not the slave to beauty that I actually kind of thought I was. The kit, the two components and mixing tools, retails for right around one hundred dollars at enspriskincare.com. Are results like this worth the investment of time and resources? — Casandra Armour
