Kahina Serum

When Jennifer Aniston proudly proclaimed how she’s in love with her laser peels, a collective sigh fell across beauty blogosphere because we were relieved to hear her finally 'fess up about how her gently tanned & pristine skin wasn’t a result of her much ballyhooed dedication to her yoga regime. It was...well, simply put...paid for. Cattiness aside, let’s get real here.

Trying to de-stress and keeping naturally healthy skin glowing in our post 30s can be a struggle, especially when those first few, fine lines creep up without notice. Science has reminded us over & over again how cell turnover slows down as we age, which means beauty mavens (like yours truly) opt for the occasional skin sizzling peels to keep top layers looking fresh. I’m not in search of some elusive, gravity-defying peel. I mean I’ll always shy away from any poke n’ prod Botoxing and fear the goopy fillers, but still insist on using a chemically light post-peel cream once I've dropped a wad at my derm's office. Hypocritical? Perhaps, I know. But, the high-brow audience gets this. Moving on…

Most derms will do one of two thing: 1) Send you home with a tube of Aquaphor to seal skin & moisture from atop; 2) try to upsell you on same skin saving serum that’s created for post-chemical procedures. I chose neither. I’m sure you’ve figured out where this is going. And, yes it is – going towards the almighty Argan. I first realized professionals were recommending Argan as the choice of treatment after a peel when the pro’s behind Makeup Artist’s Choice highly recommended only Argan oil after all of their peels. And, so I was armed for my two-part Cosmelan treatment with Kahina Serum ($90) to reduce any redness, minimize inflammation, and get rid of flakes on spot.

Sheepishly, I was stuck indoors the day after the peel, as my face was lobster red. Not poofy, not sore, and not crusty though I'll spare you the nitty-gritty pics. Let's just say skin just looked like I had spent a whole day at Malibu beach without any requisite slapdash of sun protection over my quick-to-burn olive toned face. While skin’s texture definitely had a toned freshness, it was definitely tight & dehydrated taking crepiness up to the eyes. Kahina’s Serum was godsend as this is the time you'll seek out the purest of oils & essences to moisturize. To prep for what I assumed to be was days of reptilian shedding, I pumped the serum onto face morning, afternoon and evening. And, guess what? I barely shed a flake or two. Kahina’s Serum effortlessly combated the severe yet inevitable depletion of moisture all through the day and night.

So what I have here is a serum – softer than silk - which melted into skin helping the rejuvenation process along. Argan is further boosted with organic Coffee, Carrot Seed & Sunflower Seed oils blended with Pomegranate Seed, Rosemary Leaf, and Seabuckthorn Fruit extracts. Nearly 98.8% of the bioactive ingredients are derived from organic farming. Coffee Seed and Pom seeds bring the antioxidants while Seabuckthorn brings skin brightening doses vitamin C and folic acid. And, nothing quite like the bountiful doses of Vitamin E from all of the carriers to nurture skin back to its balanced state. Reaching in deeper into skin is the Rosemary extract. The herby wonder is highly rich (up to 90%) in antioxidants, which prevents new spots from developing by fighting oxidation. A delicate floral scent helps the ridiculous trauma I put my poor skin through. The pairing of Lavender and Roman Chamomile truly shines in this serum, while the muted Neroli and Ylang Ylang lend their usual charm in the backdrop. The crisp, refreshing scent does have the teensiest bit of warmth with Myrrh, which suits the sheer floral notes. In other words, it’s a pretty oil to use when you’ve paid for some overzealous scruffing.

The hallmark signs of a deeper exfoliation - redness, irritation and inflammation - were long gone within 24 hours. A happy turning point came 48 hours later when skin regained its translucency & radiance without any snags or flakes. While I don’t miss the deep purr of a microderm session, I will say this peel was well worth the down time. I was ecstatic over the results. But, what I will never do is use an old-school Aquaphor (made up of 41% petrolatum) to simply seal off skin while it heals underneath. Kahina proves its merit by bounds as the choice of serum for any gal considering a form of derm maintenance that, today, has almost become de rigueur. Whether you admit it or not.

Skip the sticky goop in favour of this gauzy serum - slick, satiny, and a perfectly potent antidote to the harshness of peeling. There really should be no other choice for post-peeled skin when it aspires to something a bit extraordinary.