iS Clinical Active Serum Review – Should You Buy this Serum?
Active serum is the flag ship and one of the most popular products of the iS clinical line of skin care products.
Active serum is a special plant based serum designed to help reduce fine lines, reduce wrinkles, improve the quality and texture of your skin and reduce the frequency of blemishes or acne.
Overall it’s supposed to help increase the quality of your skin and act as a supplement to an existing skin care product line.
But does it actually work?
Let’s dive into this product a little deeper to figure out if it’s worth the money…
More…
At A Glance: iS Clinical Active Serum
Overall rating:
Overall Quality
VERY high quality product (especially compared to most serums on the market)
Price
Price is moderate to high, but worth the spend if you can justify it
Personal Rating
Can be added to existing products and skin care lines to enhance results (I use this almost daily)
Who should use it:
Ingredients (Active & Inactive):
- Anyone looking to improve the overall quality of their skin
- People with aged skin, sun spots, photo-damaged skin, etc.
- People who suffer from occasional acne or blemishes (those with overt acne will do better with other products)
- People who suffer from large pores
- People looking for a high quality addition to an existing skin care line
- Aqua (water)
- Glycerin
- Glyceryl polyacrylate
- Butylene glycol
- Alcohol denat.
- Saccharum officinarum (sugar cane) Extract
- Vaccinium myrtillus fruit leaf extract
- Triethanolamine
- Salix Alba (willow) bark extract
- Arbutin
- Polyporus Umbellatus (mushroom) extract
- Menthol
- Phenoxyethanol
How to use it:
Why it works:
- Apply 2-4 drops directly to your face after cleansing (you can also apply these drops to your fingers or palm of your hand and then dab them on your skin)
- Spread a thin layer on the surface of your entire face (and neck if you desire as well)
- If using as part of a skin care regimen use after moisturizing your face either in the morning or the evening
- Contains powerful naturally occurring sources of salicylic acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid and arbutin
- This combination of plant based ingredients naturally improves your skin without damaging your skin in the process
Recommended product:
What is Active Serum (more detail)?
What makes active serum so special?
When it comes to facial products the best facial products often are plant based as opposed to synthetic based and that’s exactly what active serum is.
It’s really a combination of special plant based products that naturally help improve the quality of your skin.
These plant based products are effective at brightening the skin and complexion as well as controlling acne.
Most people will see a significant difference in using this product in as little time as 4 weeks (of daily use).
Active serum is best classified as an “anti-aging” product because, while it helps several areas, its main focus is to improve the general quality of the skin.
In addition to improving the skin you may also notice (this varies from person to person) an improvement in your complexion, a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles, a reduction in break outs, and a fading of age or dark spots on your face.
Main ingredients
These benefits are produced in large part due to 4 main botanical ingredients:
- Sugar cane extract (a natural source of glycolic acid) –> Glycolic acid helps exfoliate the skin and slough off dead skin cells making the skin look fresh and new
- White willow bark extract (a natural source of salicylic acid) –> Salycylic acid helps renew the skin and reduce the size of your pores
- Bilberry extract (a natural source of lactic acid) –> Lactic acid helps nourish and moisturize the skin and prevent breakouts
- Arbutin & Mushroom extract (natural skin lighteners and brighteners) –> These products naturally inhibit melanin in your cells to reduce hyperpigmentation and even out the color of the skin
You will notice that some products contain the synthetic version of Glycolic acid or salicylic acid and these synthetic version can have more dramatic and harsh effects on the skin (depending on the concentration).
The advantage to using botanical version is that they tend to be less irritating to the skin but still provide much of the same benefit.
Side Effects
Does active serum have any negative side effects?
It is true that most people will not experience any issues using this serum some people may have irritation, redness or dryness with daily use.
This is not a reason to necessarily stop using the product!
Instead you may just need to drop back down to every other day use until your body becomes “accustomed” to the serum.
Some people may also experience slight tingling with daily application and this is completely normal!
Again, this is not an indication to stop using the serum.
Because it contains plant based formulas of products it tends to be well tolerated.
Information Before you Buy
If you are interested in purchasing iS clinical active serum please see all of the information below:
Frequently asked questions:
Does active serum have paraben in it?
No! Active serum is a paraben-free product.
Does this product contain retinol?
No! Active serum doe snot contain retinol.
This means it can be used in conjunction with retinol containing products (both over the counter and prescription retinol products).
You can read more about retinol here.
How many ounces is in each bottle?
You can get active serum in 0.5 ounce and 1.0 ounce bottles.
It’s a better deal to get the 1.0 ounce bottle so I would recommend that.
If you aren’t sure if active serum will work for you then you can purchase your first bottle at 0.5 ounce and then buy the 1.0 ounce bottle for future purchases if it works for you.
How long will the product last?
You only need to use 1-3 drops per day (depending on the surface area of your face) because of this the bottle will last 2-4 months.
You can also make the bottle last longer by applying the serum to the places that you have issues with.
For instance:
If you have age spots on your cheeks, then you can only apply 1 drop to this area (which will make the bottle last up to 6 months or more).
How often do I need to use it?
It is recommended that you use this product every day if you tolerate it (preferably after cleansing the face).
Is it produced in America?
Yes! Active serum is produced in California.
Is tingling normal when I put it on my face?
Yes! Some tingling is normal and is caused by the concoction of botanical ingredients in the product.
The tingling may fade over time.
Why does the color vary from bottle to bottle?
The color of the serum may change due to the harvesting of the plants and the time of the year that they are harvested.
A slight change in the color is not an indication that you have purchased a poor quality product and may simply be caused by the different dates in which the botanical ingredients were harvested.
This is normal and the product will still work.
Can the active serum be used by itself or do I need to use it with other products?
Active serum can be used by itself or in conjunction with other products.
It’s really meant to be used as an addition to a 3 step skin care combination: cleanser, toner and moisturizer.
If you already have a skin care line in place then you can simply add it to your existing regimen.
If you aren’t familiar with basic cleansers or toners you can read more here.
What is the difference between Active serum and Pro heal?
Both products can be used for anti-aging purposes but the pro-heal contains different ingredients as well as 15% Vitamin C serum.
Vitamin C serum has many benefits for the skin and can be added as part of a regimen and even used in conjunction with active serum.
If you are interested in learning more about vitamin C serum I recommend you read this post.
Before and After Pictures
From the manufacturer:
Finals Thoughts
Is Clinical Active serum is a great addition to an existing skin care regimen or if used by itself.
Active serum works so well because of its botanical and plant based ingredients and naturally concurring sources of powerful skin care ingredients.
If you decide to use active serum make sure you purchase it from a reliable source!
Now I want to hear from you:
Have you used active serum before?
Did it work for you?
Why or why not?
Leave your comments below!
