Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel

Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel: ($38 for 1.0 oz)

Positives: This contains efficacious amounts of the antioxidants pomegranate, vitamin C (though in the biologically less viable form-ascorbyl glucoside), as well as the anti-irritants willow bark and licorice. The emollients and water-binding agents present include glycerin, sodium hyaluronate, and jojoba leaf extract. There’s also a (tiny) dash of vitamin E.

Neutrals: The artichoke extract that’s touted, is a very good antioxidant and cholesterol-regulator when consumed orally. However, there’s no study that demonstrates or even suggests that artichoke has any effect on the skin. My recommendation? Stick to eating artichoke, rather than smearing it on to your skin. Also, there’s a large concentration of glycolic acid. However, because the pH of the product is unknown, I can’t tell if this product will allow for exfoliation. (The pH needs to be less than 4).

Negatives: It contains a large amount of the irritant menthyl lactate, an analog of menthol. This ingredient is what causes the product to feel tingling and cooling on the skin, which means that its irritating your skin. Menthol does enhance penetration of the product (ER/IP ratio < 1/5), but at the cost of excessive irritation. Though the irritation probably isn’t significant enough to trigger physical changes, long-term use of this product could produce unwanted results. Being a “natural” brand, Boscia included a moderate amount of grape seed extract in this product as the natural preservative. Despite anectodal evidence, GSE has no well-designed study that demonstrates its alleged antimicrobial properties. And since this is packaged in a jar, a lack of preservatives knocks this ingredient from the neutral to negative category. This also contains low levels of the essential oil geranium. It have no significant benefits, but does provide irritation to your skin, even if you don’t see it.

Packaging: From the pictures on Boscia’s official site, it appears that large quantities of the product are exposed to air simultaneously. Not to sound like a broken record, but jar packaging is never good because the antioxidants mentioned above, will begin to deteriorate the moment you open the jar.

Overall: This product is just decent because it has its balance of negatives and positives. Now, if this were packaged correctly, I would recommend it to people with normal to oily skin types. Please note that the tiny amount of charcoal powder present, which functions as an oil absorbent, will most likely not exhibit a noticeable difference to the skin.

Score:

If packaged in a JAR: PS = [[[PIS – [(NI1 x MHS1) + (NI2 x MHS2) + (NI3 x MHS3)]] x WIC] + [TPS x WPC]] x 100%

PS = [[[PIS – [(1/10 x 3/3) + (1/10 x 2/3) + (1/10 x 1/3)]] x WIC] + [1/3 x 1/3]] x 100%

PS = [[[8.5/10- [3/30 + 2/30 + 1/30]] x 2/3] + 1/9] x 100%

PS = [[[25.5/30 – 6/30] x 2/3] + 1/9] x 100%

PS = [[19.5/30 x 2/3] + 1/9] x 100%

PS = [39/90 + 10/90] x 100%

PS = 49/90 x 100%

PS = .544 x 100%

PS = 54.4%

AS = F

If packaged in a PUMP BOTTLE or TUBE: PS = [[[PIS – [(NI1 x MHS1) + (NI2 x MHS2)]] x WIC] + [TPS x WPC]] x 100%

PS = [[[PIS – [(1/10 x 3/3) + (1/10 x 1/3)]] x WIC] + [3/3 x 1/3]] x 100%

PS = [[[8.5/10 – [(3/30 + 1/30]] x 2/3] + 3/9] x 100%

PS = [[[25.5/30 – 4/30] x 2/3] + 3/9] x 100%

PS = [[21.5/30 x 2/3] + 3/9] x 100%

PS = [43/90 + 30/90] x 100%

PS = 73/90 x 100%

PS = .811 x 100%

PS = 81.1%

AS = B-

Check the Product Review Rubric for a full explanation on how I rate products.

Ingredients:

Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Glycereth-26, Isononyl Isononanoate, Lactobacillus/Punica Granatum Fruit Ferment Extract, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Glycolic Acid, Menthyl Lactate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, PEG-10 Dimethicone, Sodium Hyaluronate, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Cynara Scolymus (Artichoke) Leaf Extract, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Leaf Extract, Citrus Paradisi Seed Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Carbomer, Sodium Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Silica, Ceteth-25, Oleth-10, Charcoal Powder, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, 1,2-Hexanediol, Tropolone, Potassium Hydroxide.