little white truths

I bought this serum late last year and finally cracked it open a few months ago because I wanted something that would address the drier skin I've been getting and also hopefully deal with things like scars and pigmentation to boot. 

As you may know, I love Alpha-H skincare and I'd seen glowing reviews of this product - plus it came in a jumbo-sized 50ml bottle that cost the same as the standard 30ml one - so it seemed like a smart purchase at the time because I needed a serum anyway and this fit the bill.

Unfortunately the product doesn't work for me at all, and I've used it every day for something like three months (half the bottle is gone), and for a couple of weeks there I tried it twice-daily to see if that helped. No love. Indeed, it may be the only Alpha-H product I've used that I can call completely ineffective (at least on me), but more on that below.

On the packaging, apparently all Alpha-H vitamin serums are refillable and available in a larger bottle like this one.

Also, according to Alpha-H: 'The outer packaging acts as a kind of thermostat, ensuring that the potent antioxidants are maintained at a constant temperature while being shielded from environmental aggressors. The UV coated outer casing also allows us to use fewer preservatives as the formulation is protected from degrading UV rays.'

This is worth mentioning because the packaging is decent and sturdy, and you can tell the contents are well-protected. It also means that the few products I've received in this packaging have had longer, 24 month shelf-lives. This is important to me because I do like switching things up without worrying about products expiring too quickly.

Verdict

As mentioned above, this is unfortunately one of the few Alpha-H products I've used that I can call ineffective - at least on my skin - and it's honestly done nothing for me over the three months I've used it.

Don't take my word as gospel though because I've seen plenty of people rave about the product so it could just be that it doesn't agree with my skin. 

I should also say that I'm pregnant (which could be impacting the product's efficacy), so what I'm going to do now is give the serum a rest and return to the remaining half of the bottle once I've given birth. If my feelings on the product change later on, I'll update this review - but I was happy enough to write it now because I've used plenty of products during the pregnancy that do work for me so I'd be surprised if I saw any change on non-pregnant skin. But you never know.

It's a light, cloudy white serum that absorbs beautifully into the skin and doesn't leave a sticky or heavy residue, so there's nothing wrong with it on that front. It smells faintly of coconut to me but the scent is barely there so I suspect it won't bother most people.

It perhaps feels a little like a coating on the skin but it's not overly tacky like some serums I've used. My moisturiser glides on afterwards and I don't think the serum interferes with its penetration, so that's a plus.

I use mine in the morning as my only serum, and I've honestly seen no impact throughout the three months of use - even when I tried using it twice-daily to see if that helped. It's also not particularly hydrating so I can't even use it to target dry skin, and I need to make sure that my moisturiser is super hydrating to keep dryness at bay because this serum won't do that for me.

I was expecting to see some impact on redness, pigmentation and scars (vitamin e is known for being good for such things), but it hasn't done anything for me in that sense and I can't say that any of its claims are true - including those relating to skin brightness and clarity because I haven't seen any impact of that nature either.

All in all, I can't recommend this product and I'm putting it aside as the only Alpha-H product I've used that I don't think is any good. I wouldn't call it a terrible product, it's just that it does nothing for my skin and I've given it a 'disappointing products' tag for that reason.

Not for me.