Results Matter – My 28-Day Journey with Olay
If you caught me in last month’s issue of Health magazine, you may have seen my partnership with Olay and interview where I shared my results of the 28-day clinical trial for the re-launch of their award-winning Total Effects Anti-Aging Moisturizer. You can read the whole article HERE. Formulated to nourish skin and reduce the 7 signs of aging, Olay re-engineered the original formula to now include 50% more Vitamin E and double the amount of Green Tea Extract to provide full protection against free radical damage.
Why does this matter? Natural antioxidants in our skin gets depleted in our skin over time due to sun exposure (wear that SPF!). Vitamin E and Green Tea Extract which are present in Total Effects, help to boost antioxidant levels while delivering powerful anti-aging benefits that improve the appearance of sun-damaged skin. Olay also reformulated other core products this year to enable women today to achieve the best results for their skin.
I am thrilled to unveil how I was able to test the performance of these new formulas in a most exciting way *drum roll please*….through a split face blind test with my mom! Want to find out if Olay’s reformulations really deliver results at any age? Watch our video here:
What we didn’t know when we were going for weekly monitoring of our skin and tests is that we were using different Olay products!
We were given an unmarked bottle of moisturizer and instructed to use it exclusively on one-half of our face, twice a day along with the designated face wash, which could be used all over. And then come in for weekly testing to measure our skin for improvements. Let me just add some !!!! to what I just said. For a month, my mom and I used only a face wash on our entire face and then on only 50% off it used an unmarked moisturizer. For anyone that follows me on social you know how major that is since I love my essences, exfoliators, serums, masks… so to only be able to wash my face and partially moisturize was a trip!
In the name of science, skincare and for the first time in my life being able to not only see with my eyes if a product is working but with actual metrics and machines to measure the improvements, the skincare geek in me was too curious to turn down an opportunity like this. Especially since for most of my life I’ve read clinicals on the bottle of my products with words like, “70% saw improvement in hydration, 28% saw improvements in…” I was so ready to be one of those women in an actual clinical study!
While I was using the new Total Effects Anti-Aging Moisturizer, my mom was testing the reformulated Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream – which is one of my all time favorite drugstore moisturizers. It’s won so many awards and one of those skincare products I feel like every beauty editor has tried. For the update, they re-engineered the formula to add their new Carob Seed Extract which helps to accelerate recovery of aged skin while stimulating collagen, hyaluron production and aiding cell regeneration.
This proved to do wonders for my mom for as we learned from all the fancy machines and testing that she was running low on hydration, moisture barrier function and firmness – all of which Niacinamide, also a key ingredient in Olay’s formulas, can help with.
Now for the fun part, the result! My skin showed improvement in fine lines on the cheek area, forehead and around the eyes (note: I wasn’t using an eye cream, just this product so that’s major!). I also felt and saw a huge boost in hydration! As for my mom, her skin felt softer, smoother and showed improvements in her fine lines, especially on her forehead as well as boosts in hydration as well.
What’s cool is that Olay also took other real women through this journey to capture their experience.
Check it out here: https://www.olay.com/en-us/skin-care-guide/28-day-study
Nature vs Nurture – Which matters more when it comes to skin aging?
With the big re-launch of these cult favorites you may have seen the new ad campaign, “DNA or Olay”, which tells the inspiration story behind their upgraded formulas. Their scientists discovered that almost 10% of women naturally look years younger (exceptional skin agers). As in their skin ages exceptionally slowly thanks to a unique gene expression profile which was correlated with their perceived “skin age” being 10+ years younger than their actual age.
This explains why some people with enviable skin seem naturally blessed with good genes! However, the bigger question is whether the rest of us actually have a chance at attaining the same #ageless skin goal. Olay took on this challenge by partnering with personal genetics company 23andMe to understand how much of these results were ‘nature’ (genes) versus ‘nurture (lifestyle factors) through a study that was unveiled this year.
Their conclusion that in the never ending battle of nature versus nurture, they found that while your genes may give you a head start, like if you were running a race you may get a ten second lead, it’s really how you take care of yourself and these lifestyle, environment and skincare choices that matter more than genes.
Here are the top 10 lifestyle factors associated with skin aging:
- Daily sunscreen usage whenever skin is exposed to the sun (and specifically an SPF 30 or more).
- Sunbathing
- Positive attitude
- Dry skin
- Activity level
- Urban vs rural environments
- Smoking
- Regular exercise
- Average sleep
- Overall health
As a beauty blogger, I always knew the importance of choosing the right skincare – (products with long-lasting hydration and moisturizers are a must!), getting enough beauty sleep and living a healthy balanced life. However, this study and experience has truly shed light on the extent to which it can affect skin aging beyond one’s genes, meaning that women wield much more control over how youthful they can look than they might know.
For more on Olay and this campaign visit olay.com/en-us/skin-care-guide/28-day-study
Thank you Olay for partnering with me and my mom on this campaign!