As many of you know, I love a good cleanser – in fact I can happily admit that I am a cleanser junkie. I love all different types of cleansers, whether it be an oil cleanser, balm cleanser, cream cleanser or gel cleanser – I believe each and every one in my collection has its purpose. Recently, I was contacted by the Dr LEVY Switzerland PR Team and was asked if I would like to try to their 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser.
Having never tried anything from the brand before but very fascinated with the premise of the line I gratefully said yes. I am so glad that I did, as this exfoliating cleanser (that also works as a mask) has got to be one of the most efficient of its kind that I have ever tried. The 3 Deep Cleanser makes my skin smoother, brighter and it just glows.
For those that don’t know, the Dr Levy Switzerland line is developed by one of the most infamous aesthetic dermatologists in the world, Dr Philip Levy – a laser and wound healing specialist. With the discovery of dermal stem cells in 2009, Dr Levy strove to develop a line that would help his patients avoid surgery and ultimately reverse the signs of aging.
With this passion, he created the Dr Levy Switzerland line that utilises his innovative (and patented) ArganCellActiv Complex a formula that has been clinically proven to stimulate, protect and nourish skin’s own regeneration system. In short his line is supposed to show smoother, firmer, stronger, overall more youthful looking skin.
The Dr Levy range is a cosmeceutical range which combines both medical grade results and a truly luxurious experience and all products are developed and made in Switzerland.
The entire line contains 6 products, ranging from a cleanser, a serum and a range of different moisturisers depending on the skin type. I was very fortunate enough to try the 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser and I was very happy with the results.
**Please note that this item was kindly gifted to me by Dr LEVY Switzerland and no review was expected from the brand. I have had a few people as about this cleanser now and I have been using this for some time that I thought it would perfect to review (and I just so happen to really enjoy it). Please note that this review is my own honest opinion based on my own personal uses of this product.
What Is It?
The Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser is basically a cleanser that contains alpha-hydroxy acids and rice micro beads. This can also be used as ‘Fast-Mask’ to ‘re-boot’ dull complexions.
What Does It Do?
This cleanser aims to gently slough away the uppermost layers of dead skin cells of the skin using alpha-hydroxy acids and rice micro beads. This cleanser also works to stimulate cellular renewal to give the skin a beautiful glow. The Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser can also work as a ‘Fast-Mask’, to give the skin a deeper exfoliation when left on for longer, aiming to allow other masks and serums to penetrate deeper in to the skin whilst enhancing the skin’s natural glow.
Ingredients:
Aqua (Water), Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Glycolic Acid, Stearyl Alcohol, Lactic Acid, C12-13 Alkyl Lactate, Sodium Hydroxide, Steareth-2, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cetyl Alcohol, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Powder, Triceteareth-4 Phosphate, Benzoic Acid, Sodium Pca, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol, Peg-150/Decyl Alcohol/Smdi Copolymer, Phenoxyethanol, Cetyl Palmitate, Glyceryl Stearate, Steareth-21, Ethylhexylglycerin, Chlorphenesin, Parfum (Fragrance), Disodium EDTA
My Thoughts:
I have always had this misconception that high tech, cosmeceutical brands were far too harsh for my fairly sensitive skin. To be honest, when I first received my PR sample of the he Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser, I thought that this would be quite irritating and drying on my skin. Luckily, I was proven completely wrong – this cleanser is anything but.
The 3 Deep Cleanser, although strong enough to be a dedicated exfoliator, was surprisingly very gentle on my skin when I use this as a cleanser. It is quite a unique formulation which can indeed be used in three different ways and it leaves my skin fresh, renewed and brighter.
I have only used this in two out of the three ways as I am worried that the final may be a bit much for my skin.
The 3 Deep Cleanser by Dr LEVY works brilliantly for me as a second cleanse or morning cleanse quite simply due to the fact that this formulation includes lactic acid and rice micro beads. The way this works so well as a cleanser is when a little more water is added with the cleansing cream to ‘dilute’ the formulation and therefore is less likely to cause any irritation.
The combination of both lactic acids and rice micro breads, which gently manually exfoliate the skin whilst cleansing, reveal a beautiful, fresh and silky smooth complexion. The rice micro beads are not abrasive, they are tiny, and I find them to be very gentle and give the skin a little ‘scrub’ which is something that I quite enjoy. I also find it really invigorating and it actually feels really nice massaged into the skin. The addition of lactic acid in the Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser gives this cleanser an added bonus of an acid/chemical exfoliation as well which does give a deeper, more thorough cleanse to the skin.
The AHAs work in this penetrate through to the skin’s surface and slough off the dead skin cells on the skin. This leads to ‘fresh new’ skin to be exposed. The result of this is a much softer and brighter looking complexion – the perfect way to start the day in the morning or a wonderful way to finish a cleanse in the evening.
I would not recommend using this is a first cleanse or makeup remover, as the product is not great at removing makeup and heaven forbid you would not want to rub this around the eyes to remove eyeliner or mascara!
As a mask, I have used Dr LEVY 3Deep Cleanser as their suggested ‘Fast Mask’ where I have left the product on as a fast mask/cleanser for about 5 minutes in the morning or the evening (second cleanse) since receiving this in April. To use this as an exfoliator, this creamy formulation requires application of the product on to my slightly damp skin which I massaged briefly on the my face.
I then left this mask on for about 5 minutes and rinsed the product off thoroughly. I found that this worked quite well as a dedicated exfoliating mask with a little bit of a tingle felt but no irritation caused to my skin. I was a little bit careful with timing and even though the instructions say to apply this on to a dry face, I actually make sure my skin is a little damp as it is generally not recommended for sensitive skin (and my skin is pretty sensitive).
I find that the Fast Mask method really works well to exfoliate the skin – seriously my skin looks brighter, glowing and my skin feels baby soft and smooth. I find that not only does the 3 Deep Cleanser work quite well to exfoliate, decongest and smooth out the skin, it does so without any irritation or dryness. In fact when I wash this off, my skin still feels plump and hydrated.
In terms of ingredients, there is one particular ingredient that I actually dislike having in any of my products. However, it really never came to my attention until I used this 2-3 times as my skin didn’t react the way it normally reacts. I had no idea that the Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser had Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) in it.
Usually this ingredient is found at the top of a cleanser INCI list however this floats somewhere a little later on. This also doesn’t lather like most cleansers that contain this ingredient and my skin didn’t become super dry or feel stripped when using this which is why it went relatively unnoticed until a little later. I also went to measure the pH for this and it sits at a pH level of 4 (measured with my new pH tester!) which is a bit low for a cleanser but do keep in mind that this does contain AHAs which also needs to be in a certain pH for it to A. actually work and B. not be irritating the skin.
It also contains more than 10% acids (mix of glycolic and lactic) which does fall within the rule of thumb with acids whereby with AHAs, you should look for a product with a pH of less than 4, and a concentration of 4-10%. The relatively low pH of 4, does surprise me as the 3 Deep Cleanser does contain SLS (which generally tends to increase the pH). I am not sure what the ideal pH would be for a cleanser that contains acids (will update and let you all know!) but overall, despite the use of SLS, the Dr LEVY 3 Deep Cleanser performs so well as both a mask and as a cleanser.
I feel that there is no stripping of the skin whatsoever, instead it left my skin not only smoother and brighter but also very hydrated and plump. I guess this is where the importance of formulation comes into play and there is no doubt that the Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser has been formulated exceptionally well with its mix of AHAs and hyaluronic acids.
The texture of the Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser is a typical white creamy cleanser with small rice micro beads throughout. When water is added, this cream becomes a little bit more milky as you would expect. Whether it be used in its original form as a exfoliating Fast Mask or as a cleanser, the 3 Deep Cleanser is easy to work into the skin.
There seems to be no heavy scent (its very feint) to this but it does indeed contain Fragrance as an ingredient. The packaging of this is a standard plastic cylinder shaped bottle where the cleanser can be ‘squeezed’ out on the hand. As mentioned earlier it is relatively easy to work into the skin as a cleanser or as a Fast Mask. In terms of lather, I find that this has a minimal creamy lather and does not foam up excessively in any way and washes off very easily.
This cleanser/mask is actually not recommended for sensitive skins but my skin has handled this quite well – in fact it loves it. However, if you skin is generally on the sensitive side I would recommend to test this first and use this as a cleanser only a few times a week or use it as a mask once a week.
Overall, I really have enjoyed using the Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser as both a cleanser and as a quick mask to exfoliate the skin. I find that when using this as a cleanser it leaves my skin feeling brighter, smoother and hydrated due to the fact it does contain a fair amount amount of AHAs (10%) in its formulation, it is the perfect way to start the day or finish the day, especially if your skin is feeling a little congested as it cleans the skin that little bit deeper.
The 3 Deep Cleanser also works just as well as a Fast Mask too, as it reveals are truly radiant, glowing complexion that is so soft and smooth to touch. I find that whilst the 3 Deep Cleanser is gentle on the skin, it is a product that should not be overused as it is quite potent (the results speak for themselves).
I would suggest using this as a cleanser every second day (morning or night) and perhaps twice a week maximum for a fast mask for those with normal skin and those with sensitive skin may have to be a little bit more way as to how often they use this! The pricing of this is GBP £39.00 for 150ml and whilst it is a little more on the luxurious side, it is possibly the most affordable in the range (the next price bracket is GBP£165.00) and it works so well to multi task.
You wouldn’t need to get an additional exfoliating mask with this product.
Repurchase YAY or NAY:
I would definitely consider repurchasing the Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser again as I have nothing in my skincare collection that gently cleanses and exfoliates my skin effectively at the same time. I also don’t own or have come across a product quite like whereby it is gentle enough to use as a cleanser but also potent enough to use as an exfoliating mask.
The multi-tasking capability of this product is fantastic making it great for those who either wish to streamline their skincare routine and also wonderful for those who have to travel often. I personally love the results that I got from this both as a cleanser and mask – my skin look brighter, renewed and fresher. Its a wonderful way to start the day or finish the evening.
Dr LEVY Switzerland 3 Deep Cell Renewal Micro-Resurfacing Cleanser can be purchased from the CultBeauty website for GBP £39.00 for the 150ml bottle or from Dr Levy directly for 55,00 CH.