Review: Skin Repair*

I've spoken before of my skin woes and just when I think I'm getting into a routine and my adult acne is under control, it rears it's ugly head again. I've been struggling a lot with it since before the summer and my doctor prescribed me yet another gel that would 'dry out' the spots. He didn't tell me my face would feel like it was burning (quite literally) and that I'd be left with severe red 'burn' marks where I'd applied the product. Combine that with an intolerance to everything I put on my face (my skin was so over-sensitised even water or my fingers would hurt and burn), I've yet again been at my wits end! Cue an opportunity to try out a new skincare brand, I figured it really couldn't get any worse and anything was worth a try.
Skin Repair (my wee red face is liking the name) is what I'd describe as a 'back to basics' brand. There's no fancy packaging (just functional and practical), it's easy to read and find what you're looking for and the ingredients are natural and designed to encourage your skin to work as it should. The initial aim of the brand was to cure eczema by strengthening the skin barrier, but many of the same principles apply to other skin issues such as sensitivity, ageing and rosacea and so the entire range was developed. Skin Repair products are free from perfumes, emulsifiers, preservatives and mineral oils which commonly irritate the skin and by repairing that barrier, issues and flare-ups should lessen.
I've been using two products from the range, the first is Cleanse Me* (150ml £17.99), a gentle milk cleanser aimed at lifting dead skin cells without stripping away the natural oils. It will balance, nourish and moisturise the skin, removing makeup, grime and excess oil, leaving skin smooth, soft and clean.
As you can see it comes in a pump dispenser and I found one full pump was ample. I usually used a half pump (which was easy to do). I'm normally a wash-off cleanser kind of girl, but I actually preferred using this on a cotton-pad. What struck me was how gentle it was. This was at a point when everything that touched my face hurt and yet this felt so mild. I liked that it didn't dry out my skin (which was another issue I was experiencing due to the prescribed gel) nor did it make it greasy and my face didn't look red afterwards.
Surprisingly it did remove makeup rather well (washing off), but I prefer something more heavy duty (oily) for that, so most often used this in the mornings. The second item I'm reviewing is Calm Me* (150ml £29.99), a refreshing and gentle toner containing horsetail and cucumber extracts.
Now toner is an item I've experienced most problems using these past few months. It burns! I've not wanted to skip it though as I'm keen to stick to a cleanse, tone, moisturise routine in the hope of normalising my skin. Calm Me immediately surprised me as it's a foam toner, something I've never heard of or tried before. It comes in a spray and I spritzed 2-3 times onto a cotton pad and applied to the face. I used two pads if I'd been wearing makeup to successfully remove all traces and I've been using this morning and night.
Again, the fact this was so mild and gentle amazed me. I actually went weeks without ever feeling it burn. The past few days I've noticed a little tingly sensation, but nothing like what I would experience with another toner. I have to add my skin has been suffering bad breakouts the past week and so I've never skipped using the prescribed gel like I would occasionally.  If I used the cleanser without washing off, I loved applying the toner to 'cleanse' further.
I've noticed my skin isn't as red as it was before using these two products and I also think my tolerance for using other skincare and makeup has significantly improved from what it was previously.  I think my 'barrier' probably is becoming stronger, so inflammation and issues such as the burning are happening less often (and I'm able to use the gel more often than usual as a result).  I've found it an interesting experiment anyway, to try and get my skin to behave as it should rather than it reacting to these external factors.  Just trying to get it back to functioning properly really.  It's certainly a brand worth looking into, especially if you suffer from issues such as eczema.  The acne is still an issue for me and as yet I don't think Skin Repair offer a specialised treatment for that, but hopefully in the future they will.  Prices range from £14.99-£29.99 and you can find more info via the Skin Repair website.  Is this something you would like to try?