Natural Skincare the Mad Hippie Way

As you know my love for skincare is just as intense as my love for makeup. I'm constantly looking for new products that are great to tell you about. It's not that I change my routine so often or looking for the next "miracle" product, I just genuinely love skincare and I want to be able to tell you about all different kinds that may meet your needs even if they don't meet mine. So that being said, yes I use a lot of skincare, I test a lot of skincare, I review a lot of skincare. When I'm testing skincare, especially acids, moisturizers, retinols and so on, I like to test it for at least a month or more. Cleansers and actual scrub exfoliators are a bit different for me I can usually get a feel for them in a week or two. 

So today I'm talking about Mad Hippie Vitamin C Serum and Exfoliating Serum. As a background I usually use Drunk Elephant Firma C serum for my Vitamin C and usually Sunday Riley Good Genes as my AHA or "acid"/"exfoliator". Now both of those products are super expensive in my eyes. About $100 a piece. The Mad Hippie products are in the $20-$30+ range a piece. They're available on their website of course, I linked it above and below, Whole Foods and Walmart.com as well as Amazon, some places are cheaper than others.

Mad Hippie is a "natural skin care" line that focuses on safe and effective skincare for customers. Which I really do prefer natural skincare if I have a choice and if it works just as well. I'm going to take this next line from their website to give you a quote about them, what their goals are and so on:

"We know and appreciate the faith a customer puts into a company when buying their line, and that’s why we strive to always make the safest, most effective products possible."

"We also take our responsibility to the planet seriously & that’s why we are always working to further reduce our carbon footprint and impact on the environment.  From recently switching to some of the only BPA-free, fully recyclable airless pumps on the market, to printing solely with soy inks & running our entire facility off alternative energy, Mad Hippie is dedicated to the preservation of the environment."

$1 off every web sale is dedicated to the Wildlife Conservation Network which I think is really cool and kind of them. I feel like they are blowing up at the moment. At least in the skincare circle. Pretty soon I think they'll be everywhere. I truly only see good things in their future. I love that they've been switching to the airless pumps because air and light can often break down products and make them less stable. The products I'm going to be talking about are in dark (amber colored) glass bottle droppers. I don't feel as if light is an issue there because I keep my serums and most of my skincare actually away from light, and so far being exposed, although very briefly, to air hasn't been an issue either so let's just get that out of the way. They've not changed color, if they do I will let you know. They haven't changed in regards to how they perform or feel on the skin, again if they do I'll let you know. They do recommend on the website that their products be kept away from heat and UV rays though.

I'll start with the Vitamin C serum. I do store this away from light. It doesn't say you have to on the box but the website does recommend it. This has 8 actives in it's ingredient deck which are: Vitamin C, Clary Sage, Grapefruit,  Hyaluronic Acid, Amorphophallus Konjac Root Powder, Vitamin E, Ferulic Acid, and Chamomile Flower Extract.  "Actives" are the ingredients with "known" antioxidant benefits to them. Mad Hippie actually has an Antioxidant Serum that I'm very intrigued by and will eventually try, for my own pleasure, after I get through some other serums first. I do love swimming (metaphorically in a big pool of skincare products) in skincare but it's not exactly ideal when you can't use all of it at once. To get to the point of this, I've used this everyday for going on a month and I feel like it does just as much as my Firma C from Drunk Elephant that is $90 I believe. I have a very in depth skincare routine mind you so my skin isn't bad but I feel a Vitamin C product is good when I notice a brightening effect and I do with this just as I did with the Firma C.  I apply this after cleansing and toning in the morning before my creams. It doesn't ball up. I use about 2 drops and that covers my entire face. I apply it to my t-zone first and work out from there. That's just my preference, it's where I need the brightening effect the most I feel. You of course, apply however you want. When I say "apply" I mean that I pat it into the skin. That is my preferred way of applying ANY serum. I like to "pat" it into my skin instead of tugging and rubbing the skin. I massage in oils and creams but I like to pat in serums. Call me crazy.

Next is the Exfoliating Serum which is an AHA. AHA's are Alpha Hydroxy Acids. They exfoliate the dead skin, they balance the skin, and they are helpful in the anti-aging realm. The reason it's called an "exfoliator" is because it gets rid of that layer of dead skin to reveal new resurfaced, brighter, skin underneath, it gets rid of that texture that you have (realistically speaking) and so on. It's not a scrub people. Not everyone needs an AHA. Especially the younger crowd, and especially if you've taken good care of your skin through your youth by using sunscreen, moisturizer, washing your face properly and so on. I am 29 and just now noticing a little bit of fine lines so I added AHA's about a year ago I would say. Due to texture issues more so than fine lines. They are probably my favorite product. If you are younger with problematic skin, or oily skin I would possibly try a BHA (under the care of a dermatologist mind you) instead which is Salicylic Acid. That's going in another direction so lets get back on target and to this product. This serum has 15 actives: Glycolic Acid, Vitamin B5, Lactic Acid, Metrixyl Synthe' 6, Niacinamide, Sodium Hyaluronate, White Tea Extract, PhytocellTec, Gigawhite, Melatonin, Caffiene,  Biotin, Tocopheryl, Ceramide 3. Now this also has "Apple Stem Cells"  which are from "rare Swiss apple stem cells which have shown to protect skin cells from age related damage." Also Gigawhite is a "natural blend of 6 organically grown alpine plants that lessen discoloration by inhibiting melanin production". So I wanted to include all that just so you know exactly what you're working with and the very innovative way this company is approaching skincare. This is to be applied to *dry* clean skin every other night and follow with face cream after 10 minutes. I have used this every other night like it said, then I've used it every night, then I've used it in rotation with other AHA's, like one night the Mad Hippie then the next night a different AHA on the same level as this one. So I suggest you use it as directed because you can feel it. Which I like. I can feel Good Genes and I like having that tingling sensation. Remember, dry skin is the key for this because damp skin is going to allow AHA to penetrate deeper into the skin and it is an acid so that may not be ideal for you. I like this a lot better, as far as an AHA, than Drunk Elephant TLC which is an AHA/BHA blend. So, they are kinda different. My Good Genes from Sunday Riley is $105-$115 by itself, which is pricey. This is around $22-$34 (depending on where you look) which is amazing. I've used it for around a month as well and it's not turned any colors. Again because this is a serum I pat this into my skin. I apply it after cleansing then follow with other serums, oils, and creams at night. I only use this at night. It houses my favorite AHA which is Lactic Acid. Glycolic is the most common because it is the most effective acid of the AHA's because it penetrates the deepest but I feel like Lactic Acid does a better job with my skin than Glycolic alone, and this has both so I'm very happy with that. G;ycolic is the 2nd ingredient on the deck and Lactic Acid is the 5th, so pretty good amounts of both in this. "Good Genes also uses Lactic Acid as well) It also houses Niacinamide, which is Vitamin B3 and certain amino acids combination that helps with anti aging, proven around the eye area especially, and rosecea relief, helps with acne, redness, and so on. You'll find it also has Ceramide 3 which is a skin conditioning agent that is found in some retinols and other skin care. *Fun Fact* "Ceramide" itself is the main component of the epidermis and the stratum corneum layer of our skin that combined with other factors from our body helps prevent water loss and provides a protective "barrier" when we're younger and that declines naturally as we get older, thus the need to introduce new skincare products as we go along to help us age gracefully. Ceramide is used in shampoos, lotions, soaps and other products. I find my skin is just as smooth as when I'm using my Good Genes. I have less red/pink areas if any on some days, and my skin does look brighter. The bright effect could be a combination of the Vitamin C in the mornings and the Exfoliating Serum at night though.

So as far as I'm concerned both of these products are really nice and a very good alternative if you're on a budget and in need of these products. Even if you're not on a budget I still recommend you try these first before buys something incredibly expensive. You may find you don't like AHA's after all or you may find this works wonderfully for you so there is no need to look further. Which, you do need to be using Vitamin C, there are no if, ands, or buts, about that. You should be using some form of Vitamin C now. AHA's may not be for you right now. or ever for that matter, you may prefer BHA's or other acids and that's fine. If you're in no need of an acid at the moment I would definitely recommend you try the Antioxidant Facial Oil because we all need to moisturize and hydrate. Like I said it's probably my next purchase and the Face Cleanser. (okay maybe the entire line) I'm talking about the AHA because I like AHA's, you may be different and that's A-OK. Be sure you're using a good sunscreen as both of these can cause sun sensitivity but again you should be using sunscreen anyway. Mad Hippie offers a good sized range of products including Face Creams, Facial Oil, Mists, Vitamin A, Cleanser and more. Check their website out or spot them in your Whole Foods store. 

*This was not a sponsored post. Mad Hippie did send the Exfoliating Serum to me after I had already bought the Vitamin C serum on my own.*

It's "no makeup" me! I had just applied my Mad Hippie Vitamin C. I'm loving my skin these days.