Product Recommendation - Vivite Vibrance Therapy

Packed with restorative antioxidants and glycolic compouds to lighten and brighten skin, Vivite's Vibrance Therapy is a great natural alternative to hydroquinone. The product claims a 70% reduction in skin pigmentation problems (uneven tone, hyperpigmentation discolorations and overall lighter skin). The active ingredients include licorice extract, mulberry extract, retinol, green tea (mild topical antioxidant) and methyl dihydroxybenzoate and glycolic acid. It comes in a 1 fl oz pump bottle, which is designed to keep the active ingredients fresh.

The reviews I've been reading about Vivite's Vibrance Therapy are very good. Some claim that it reduced their melasma or dark patches by 95% which is amazing. Other say it is a fantastic all over skin lightener which has become a staple in their skin regime.

Judging from the ingredients alone, I can say that the product would definitley work and come through in all it's claims. A 70% reduction in pigmentation issues is a huge claim, however the Licorice, Mulberry and glycolic acid triple combination can be very powerful. AHAs work well with botanical lighteners since they create a synergistic effect (the glycolic acid exfoliates the surface, which allows the melanin inhibiting ingredients penetrate deeper within the stratum corneum).

Vivite Vibrance Therapy also contains retinol, which is a precursor to tretinoin. The retinol content in this product is not that strong (note: the higher the ingredient name is on the list, the more concentrated it is. That is an FDA requirement by all companies) so this product can also be mixed or diluted with your prescription retinoid (Retin-A, Tazorac or Differin) without risk of irritation. The skin lightening effect of an rx retinoid and a lightener like this (one that has glycolic acid, antioxidant green tea, licorice, mulberry) can produce some significant breaking up of pigmentation.

I wouldn't worry too much about the magnesium ascorbyl phosphate content in this product, it is a very weak form of Vitamin C (albeit very stable). It won't mess around with the retinol, since the form and the potency is so low.

There is evidence that topical green tea products have antioxidant abilities. Topical antioxidants = free radical protection which in turn means some effect on melanin. Don't expect green tea extract to be as powerful as Vitamin C though.

In terms of consistency, the product is said to be quite hydrating but not too emollient or greasy. A very seurm-like texture. I am sure this product can work with all skin types except for extremely acne prone, reactive types. The prescence of squalene can be comedogenic for some, and is probably the reason why it is hydrating. However, most skin types can use this without any problems, especially since there is glycolic acid in this lightener which exfoliates pores.

Vivite Vibrance Therapy comes at a high price though. Generally throughout the year the price is about $115.00! Now that it is the holiday season, the product has gone down at most online vendors to about $81.95. So I encourage anyone who is interested in purchasing this, to do so now since this is holiday pricing. It can be found at skincaremd, shopping.com, amazon.com, skincarerx.com and a bunch of other sites. If you have the money to splurge, or want to treat yourself or somebody else I would recommend this product. It really is a great, solid skin lightener combining retinol, AHA, antioxidants (mild), and botanical skin lighteners.

Ingredients:

Purified Water, Glycolic Acid and Ammonium Glycolate, Glycerin, Sucrose Cocoate, Sorbitan Stearate, Ceresin, Steareth-2, Isohexadecane, Glyceryl Stearyl, PEG-100 Stearate, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate Butylene Glycol, Methyl Dihydroxybenzoate, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Morus Nigra (Mulberry) Fruit Extract, Camellia Oleifera (Japanese Green Tea) Leaf Extract, Grape (Vitis Vinifera) Extract, Tocopherol, Bisabolol, Dimethicone, Retinol, Polysorbate 20, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Xanthan Gum, Diazolidinyl Urea, Feoniculum Vulgare (Fennel) Seed Extract, Lycopene, Soy Isoflavones, Squalane, Methylaparaben, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Propylapraben, Olea Europaea (Olive) Leaf Extract, Allantoin, Glycyrrhetinic Acid, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Superoxdie Dismutase, Iodopropynyl, Butylcarbamate