Product Review - Vichy Oligo 25 Foaming Face Wash

Photo Credit: Amazon

The Vichy Oligo 25 range is one of the first lines of products designed to combat dull skin. It’s not a skin brightening or skin lightening set, but it introduced me to the effects of microcirculation, and its impact on overall skin radiance.

To learn more about microcirculation and its impact on the look of your complexion, refer to the blog entry I made last year:  Achieving Luminous Skin & Microcirculation

Light reflection and luminosity are two terms that are rarely discussed in skin care. What many people do not know is that the skin itself can be ‘treated’ so that it reflects light better. When we think skin lightening or skin brightening we only think of the skin tone, but skin texture plays a vital role in the look and health of our skin - especially in getting a ‘glow’.

But really, what is ‘glowy skin’? When I refer to skin that glows, I usually am just referring to freshly, or well exfoliated skin which results in smoother texture and a brighter skin tone.  A smoother skin texture reflects light greater, as does a skin tone that is free of broken blood capillaries or mottled pigmentation.  

Another kind of glow is from the removal of excess sebum. I touched on this in the blog entry titled Oxidation.

The Vichy Oligo 25 products contain 2 active ingredients which stimulate micro-circulation in the skin – Manganese and Polyfructol (which promotes epidermal exfoliation). Together these ingredients create a more glowing, radiant complexion.

This review is about the foaming cleanser which I used for awhile several years ago. The product obviously isn’t as potent as the leave-on products in the range, but it does offer some benefits of its own.

The cleanser comes in a 150 ml attractive red pump dispenser bottle.  When dispensed it automatically becomes creamy foam so there is no need to rub between your palms. It seems to last forever since only a few pumps (two or maybe three) do the job at purifying.

I would use this cleanser a lot in the summer as I found it did a fabulous job at removing sebum, and removing my sunscreen. My skin never got dry when I used it and it actually felt luxurious against my skin.

It seems to have a thermal quality to it, in which it warms up when massaged in the skin. It’s very soothing. It also has a very mild yet pleasant floral scent.

The main point I wanted to get across in this review is the ‘anti-dull skin’ properties. I must say, whenever I used this cleanser it indeed made my skin more radiant. I would apply the 3 minute rule with this cleanser in that I left it on my skin for 2 minutes after lathering it up before rinsing it off. I found upon towel drying my skin had a glow! The glow came both from the removal of oxidized sebum as well as the active ingredients. I must say, I was impressed. I did rave about this YEARS ago on the Bright Skin Forum.

It’s a great cleanser because it actually does treat your skin. It did not do anything permanent to my skin, but each time I cleansed my skin glowed and looked almost air brushed for awhile. It was a treat to use this twice daily. I am sure if used with other products in the Oligo 25 range, the anti-dull skin properties would be enhanced. 

It’s a fascinating product honestly because it does do what it claims. I didn’t expect much from it but it did give me radiance which is why I continued to use it for so long. 

It’s a bit pricey, which is why I stopped using it. The price is about $18-20 depending on where you purchase it. For Canadians, it’s very easily found at Shoppers Drug Mart.  It can be found on several online vendors such as eBay or Omorfia Shop.

Official Vichy Oligo 25 site: http://www.oligo25.com/gb/index.html

Rating: 7/10

Ingredients:

Aqua/Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Glycerin, Disodium Cocoamphodiacetate, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate, PEG-30 Glyceryl Cocoate, MEL/Honey, PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, PEG-4 Dilaurate, PEG-4 Laurate, Potassium Chloride, Isobutylparaben, Manganese Gluconate, Methylparaben, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Coco-Betaine, Disodium EDTA, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Propylparaben, Citric Acid, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Parfum/Fragrance.