Naked Truth Skin Care

Naked Truth by Dr. Darren McKeown is a recently launched skin care range available exclusively in Superdrug. I was sent two items from the range to try, the Age Resistant Cleanser and the Face Renewal Mask. Dr. McKeown trained as a plastic surgeon and specialises in minimally invasive aesthetic procedures such as botox and fillers. I haven't established whether Dr. McKeown is involved in the manafucture/formulation of the products.

I've had these products a little while and have had a bit of a tough time gathering my thoughts for review. Some of this relates to products themselves and some to the brand. I'm hoping I manage not to makes this post too disjointed so I'll deal with the products themselves first.

Age Resist Cleanser
This is a foaming wash off cleanser. It comes with packaged with a handy pump dispenser and I require at least two pumps to cleanse my face. I have a habit of using makeup remover or oil cleanser before using this so I can't comment on it's makeup removing ability. In the information on the back of the bottle it explains that this product contains three AHAs: Glycolic, Lactic and Malic acid. It also states that it uses natural surfactants to cleanse. This formula is SLS free, although no attention is drawn to this, and consequently it is low foaming.

I'm not sure I've encountered AHAs in a wash off cleanser before. This is part of the "Age Resisting" function of the cleanser, as it aims to increase cell turnover by chemical exfoliation, improving the texture of the skin surface. I wondered how the AHAs would actually have opportunity to work in formula that spends a limited time against the skin. This became clear when I read the instructions for use. You are directed to massage the cleanser in to the skin for two to three minutes. I have tried to do this but it isn't all that comfortable and two to three minutes massaging in face wash quickly begins to feel like a lot longer! I wonder whether the AHAs would be very effective if this is just used like a regular face wash?

On the positive side, this cleansers seems to work well. My face feels clean after use, it rinses off easily leaving no residue and it doesn't leave my skin feeling tight. It also smells quite nice and I like the pump dispenser. The sting in the tail is that this costs £17.99 for 150ml.

Face Renewal Mask
Like the face wash, one of the functions of this mask is to exfoliate the skin and promote cell renewal. Instead of chemical exfoliants, this uses physical agents, namely crushed olive stones. It is pretty gritty and to me the stones are reminiscent of Apri Scrub in texture. This worried me at first but as you apply as a mask rather than rubbing it in, it's not all that abrasive. The mask also promises to be radiance boosting and soothing.

You apply the mask, leave it on for ten to fifteen means then rinse off (I use a warm cloth). My skin does feel lovely and smooth once I've used it and I find the scent and soothing sensation very pleasant whilst it's on. It feels quite cooling on the skin.

In the product description it makes mention of an infusion of magnesium, copper and zinc. I suspect this is the Lactobacillus ferment extract that I can see in the list of ingredients. I find it extremely odd that no attention is drawn to the bio ferment. Likewise, there is no mention of the Saccharomyces (Yeast) ferment that I spotted in the cleansers ingredients. I shall come back to this point in a minute.

This is certainly a nice face mask, though I feel the beads would be better if they were more refined. The Face Renewal Mask costs £21.99 for 50mls.

I have very mixed thoughts about this brand. I feel it is quite expensive, coming in at prices just under those of premium lines. It's being pitted against other "doctor brands" yet there is no mention of how the scientific expertise has been used to create these products or the how the formulation justifies the high price tags. Nowhere does it specifically mention the bio ferments or the fact that the cleanser is SLS free and I think this is an omission. This coupled with the advice from Dr. McKeown to only realistically expect to see results in six months and that these products aren't promising a miracle leave me very confused! With an effective skin care product you should see some result after 28 days and if a "doctor brand" is suggesting I have to use a product for six months until I see results, I would feel distinctly less inclined to part with £28.99 for a moisturiser!

I think the marketing of this brand is very confused. You're either offering good products that don't offer a miracle that are affordably priced. Or you're providing skin care with active or novel ingredients that offer proven results that justify the price tag. This seems to want to be a bit of everything and in doing so leaves the customer confused. I can't work out if it's over-priced or underselling itself. I think the answer to this will only become clear with time.

Is this a line you've tried already? What do you think?


UPDATE: Since writing this review I have had a response from Dr. Darren McKeown, addressing some of the points I made. You find my update post here - Naked Truth Update.

Disclosure: These product were sent to me without cost for the purpose of review.