Clearstem Skincare Review-anti aging anti-acne line

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I will 100% admit that I am no beauty expert, nor do I claim to be a beauty blogger. I have never really been into makeup, only on certain special occasions. As I am getting into my mid-30s I have really been into caring for my skin. I’ve found that I just really don’t feel a bunch of makeup is necessary when our skin is well cared for. This blog post will be a Clearstem skincare review, a line that has been around since 2017, but I had just recently come across in the past few months.

*Affiliate Disclosure: I do have affiliate links in this blog post. If you purchase something from my link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.  This comes at no cost to you, but is paid by the company.  I do not take becoming an affiliate with any company lightly.  If I am, it’s because I believe in the company and their product. 

Clean skincare doesn’t mean acne-free

When beginning my clean living journey about 8 years ago, one of the first things I tried to switch out was my skincare. I was already not that big into makeup, but I used products every day to wash my face and moisturize my skin. My journey has completely transformed because I just recently learned that switching to just “non-toxic” skin care, doesn’t necessarily mean it is what my skin needs. 

Thankfully, I have never really dealt with any sort of acne my entire life. I have had the occasional hormonal breakouts here and there, but nothing of any life-changing acne that I know a lot people deal with daily. Cystic acne is a real thing and can be very painful for people to live with. While I am all for doing everything in the person’s power to try and heal the body from within such as changing diets (removing dairy, gluten, and alcohol), all big offenders for acne due to liver burden and inflammation, the products we use also play a huge part. 

You would probably be surprised to know that a good majority of the skin care products on the market, even those being recommended by licensed estheticians and dermatologists are full of pore-clogging ingredients.

What exactly is “Clean Beauty?”

There’s a lot of hype around clean beauty these days, because thankfully, more and more people are becoming aware that what they put on their skin daily matters. Ingredients matter, especially when they are getting absorbed into the largest organ of the body. Let’s break down a few things about what “clean beauty” entails:

Clean beauty products typically try to avoid any of these ingredients:

• Phthalates: a group of chemicals used to make plastics more durable. They are used in cosmetics to make them shelf-stable and long-lasting

• Synthetic fragrance: If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you know synthetic fragrance is a big problem. It’s not natural and causes a lot of issues from respiratory to neurological to endocrine disruption

• Sulfates: Ingredients such as SLS(sodium laureth sulfate) are often contaminated with 1,4 dioxane and ethylene oxide, both known carcinogens. 

• Parabens: According to the FDA, parabens are used in cosmetics as a preservative. The FDA does not regulate parabens or the cosmetic industry which is very scary. A study done by NCBI links parabens to poor reproductive health and tumor growth in breast tissue. Scary stuff!

I love that Clean Beauty has made an industry full of these products that do not contain these harmful ingredients, the only problem is that even though the product is considered “clean” it still may contain ingredients that are not good for acne-prone skin.

I don’t have acne-prone skin, should I worry?

This was my same thought when I started reading about acne-prone skin and clean beauty. Well, it turns out, that even if you don’t suffer from acne-prone skin, the products may still be causing your skin to age faster than it should be.

I have to admit, I got on the beef tallow train that was sworn by all the holistic gurus on the interwebs. People are told that rubbing beef tallow all over the face will fill all my needs my face will ever need. Beef tallow is just rendered down fat from a cow and is all the rage in the holistic community. Truth be told? I never really felt a difference and my face didn’t look younger or more “filled in.” Truth be told, beef tallow isn’t made for anti-aging. My friend Suzi, over at Gurl Gone Green blog has a great article all about Tallow written by an esthetician. What’s the consensus? Tallow isn’t meant for our face.

It’s not just tallow that clean beauty products are using in products that cause pore-clogging ingredients. Unsuspecting culprits such as jojoba oil, almond oil and avocado oil join the list among with many others. 

So, what’s the course of action then for clean beauty that won’t clog pores or age our skin? Insert, Clearstem Skincare

Clearstem Skincare Review

I first heard about Clearstem through holistic practitioner, Emily Morrow who specializes in bloodwork and getting to the root cause of Acne. She is an awesome follow-over on Instagram. 

I saw her posting about Clearstem and how she recommends it to all her acne clients due to Clearstem having both clean ingredients and non-pore-clogging ingredients. 

I didn’t really pay much attention, because I had said I never suffered from acne, and I love my Beautycounter products that are clean. Check out my full review of the Reflect Effect AHA mask here. I started paying attention though when she was posting that even if you don’t suffer from acne, your products could be aging you. 

Having always suffered from fine lines in my forehead and started to wonder if the products I was using could be preventing me from getting rid of these. I took the dive and bought some Clearstem products, and let me tell you, I am HOOKED. 

The minute I started using the products I could just feel a difference, and I am not saying that lightly. I have to admit it takes ALOT for  me to really enjoy a skin care product to the extent that I feel they actually are making a difference in my skin.

I have always suffered with dry skin that just could never feel moisturized enough no matter how much moisturizer I applied. The first night I used my Clearstem products, I actually woke up and my face felt hydrated.

I’ve been using Clearstem products for a full 2.5 months now, and I don’t see myself going back. There are some new clean beauty, non-pore clogging brands I want to try down the road and I’ll give a review of those when I do!

Clearstem Products I have put into my skincare routine and Love

Here’s the roundup of everything I have tried from Clearstem. There is not one thing I don’t like and wouldn’t not purchase again.

• GENTLECLEAN vitamin C infused calming wash: I love this facewash in the morning, it almost reminds me of my teenage days when I would wake up and wash my face with those cleansers with the plastic beads and that fake “energizing” smell. You know what I am talking about if you grew up in the early 2000s. This cleanser, however, is none of that. It is super gentle and hydrates while it cleanses. It even takes off waterproof makeup. Can be used morning and night. It never dries my face out and I get a good cleansing lather without harsh toxic ingredients. Great for dry, mature, sensitive, acne-prone, combination and normal. It also contains vitamin C to help brighten the skin.

• HYDRAGLOW Stem Cell moisturizer. I use this moisturizer either day or night and it is amazing. It uses Bakuchiol which is a natural alternative to retinol, plant stem cells and olive squalene. It restores fine lines and wrinkles and increases collagen production. An Anti-aging must!

• CLEARITY serum– this is a very powerful but super gentle exfoliating serum that targets blackheads and brightens dark spots. It uses vitamin C and mandelic acid which helps with cell turnover to unclog pores, remove dead skin cells, calm oil production, and brighten skin. I use this in the mornings after I wash my face. You are supposed to let it sit in for about 10 minutes before applying any other serums so it can do its job. I have read that some people need to use this product sparingly at first as it may be drying at first, but I have not had that issue at all. Clearstem’s website calls this product a “change-maker” and they caution easing into it only using it at night for a week or two. It can be and is recommended to eventually use it AM and PM.

• CELLRENEW collagen-derived stem cells serum- this anti-acne and anti-aging serum helps to decrease inflammation and regenerate the skin. It uses ingredients such as collagen stem cells, Saw Palmetto, Green tea, reishi mushroom, turmeric, and vitamin b-pantothenic acid. This product is great for acne scars and hormonal acne. It also contains hyaluronic acid which is naturally occurring in the body and gives the skin structure and the plump look we are all looking for. This product is great for all skin types. I put this on in the mornings after CLEARITY.

• BOUNCEBACK Serum– this is the product that got me hooked! It is so popular it usually sells out a good majority of the time. This is what I call my “no-botox serum.” It is a triple peptide serum that has stem cells and calming botanicals such as reishi and B5. It helps to reverse both wrinkles and acne scars at the same time. My skin was visibly brighter and more smooth after the first use. I use this at night time after I wash my face.

• HYDRABERRY Moisture mask. This is a great barrier cream to use if your skin has been compromised from using pore-clogging ingredients or even harsh ingredients that you were told would help heal acne such as harsh acne medications. It helps to heal irritated, sensitive skin while giving skin the plump boost it is looking for. I use this either in the AM if my skin needs a little moisture after the Cellrenew serum or I alternate this moisturizer and the HYDRAGLOW at night.

Honestly, my skin doesn’t even feel or look like that same skin 2.5 months ago. I truly have the confidence to really not wear makeup anywhere and my skin feels so good and nourished.

The Clearstem website has a “Skin quiz” you can take that goes over your current skincare routine, diet, and environmental factors. It will then populate recommendations for skincare based on that quiz.

You can enter code TAYLORMOYA at checkout for 15% off of your order!

What is the History or Clearstem?

Clearstem was founded by Danielle Gronich and Kayleigh Christina. Danielle is a licensed clinical esthetician and Kayleigh is a certified holistic nutritionist. Both suffered from cystic acne and wanted to use a holistic approach to the root causes of cystic acne. Danielle was known as the acne guru after helping clients clean up their acne. They decided to dive into clinical research together after Danielle had 98% success rate in clearing her client’s acne skin. In their research they uncovered that most conventional cosmetics were made and filled with toxic, hormone-disrupting, pore-clogging ingredients. They decided to come up with their own non-toxic and non-pore- clogging line that targets BOTH acne and aging. Clearstem was made!

How long does it take Clearstem to work?

I was shocked to see results almost immediately after using Clearstem for the first time! My skin felt smoother and more hydrated instantly. My skin tone was brighter. I saw a huge difference in my skin about a week into use. Every person and every skin type is different, however, so results will always vary.

Is Clearstem Skincare good?

Yes! I am so thankful I heard about Clearstem. If I hadn’t, I would probably still be using pore-clogging and aging products on my skin. I love that they are non-toxic and anti-aging.

What are the side effects of Clearstem skincare products?

I have not had anything but good results without side effects using Clearstem but everyone is different. If you have been previously using pore-clogging products(which most of us probably have) you will probably experience what they call the “purge.” Your skin is purging all the gunk out of your pores after finally getting products into them. 

Clearstem is a fantastic top-of-the-line non-toxic skincare line that I hope more people begin to find out about. They are a clinical product so they do cost a bit more than conventional skincare products but they are SO worth it!  I hope this Clearstem skincare review was helpful to you, comment below if you try any of the products!

Check them out here! Make sure to use TAYLORMOYA at checkout for 15% off

Get Clearstem on Amazon!