Garden of Wisdom • Skin Buffet Oxygen Rich Anti-oxidant Gel • Treatments

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mllryjo on 1/24/2013 4:57:00 PM more reviews by mllryjo

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

I love this stuff. My acne isn't bad enough to use benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, and they both dry my skin out horribly and make everything worse. This makes my skin smooth, clear and my blackheads non-existant. I started using this with the Simply Clean Tea Tree Cleanser from GoW and my skin has been flawless ever since. I still use my Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel as a final step.

It might not be strong enough for someone with severe acne, but for someone with light to moderate acne, it is a great product.

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iceboi on 8/8/2012 12:14:00 AM more reviews by iceboi

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

Let me say that this has great potential and great things about oxygen, but this just didnt work at all for me. I bought 2 bottles of this and the supercharged version. Went thru them and at first i thought worked great as i didnt break out after usage but after 2 weeks my skin broke out. the only thing i added in was this so i have to name this as culprit. I continued usage as my skin may have been purging and just left this aside to use as a primer. Let me say it works great as a makeup primer not so much for use as an acne product. Well till this day i still have more left and its a waste to just let this sit around so i continue to use and my skin still breakouts and has Acne so this is a no go for me at all!! Also its very PRICEY!!!

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hanmu on 2/27/2012 6:00:00 AM more reviews by hanmu

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

Unfortunately this didn't work for me as a preventative or as a spot treatment. In fact, when applied to existing spots it actually seemed to make them much worse unlike benzoyl peroxide which dries them up overnight. My quest for a gentle acne treatment continues...

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mystryder on 11/9/2011 8:38:00 AM more reviews by mystryder

Age: 30-35   Skin: Very Oily   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

not a bad product, but my skin seems to like the tea tree or anti-pop up a lot more. (or it could just be that my fingers like applying the latter more). i like the fact that if i want to attack my skin with some good O2, there isn't a chance i'm going to bleach my clothes or sheets or dry out/age my skin like w/ BP--so that's a definite plus. so far, though, my skin seems to prefer some other GoW products at the moment, so that's the only reason why it's not a repurchase at the moment. i didn't have any adverse reactions. perhaps if i my skin had been more BP-dependent prior to trying out GoW would i need the O2 rich gel.

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yellowjello on 11/1/2011 8:01:00 PM more reviews by yellowjello

Age: 19-24   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I generally use Neutrogena BP mask to spot treat hormonal cystic acne and it kills the spot before it gets a chance to emerge. Since the Oxygen Rich gel was meant to be a replacement for bp, I figured it would work on hormonal cysts, but it didn't do anything. I tried it out on regular bumps and still nothing! I still like GoW, but this product really didn't do anything for me. Also, the bottle didn't work and I actually had to disinfect a pin and jab it through the opening to get any product out.

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*TOP REVIEWER* renyun on 7/8/2011 9:18:00 PM more reviews by renyun

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I had high expectations for this product when I got the smaller, trial sized version. I'm looking for a good alternative to BP so when I came upon this I was really excited.

However, this was not an effective product for my skin. I usually put on this gel after a facial exfoliation so that my skin can fully absorb the effects of this product however, the results were less to be desired. I have very oily, acne prone t zone and when I applied the product and left it overnight, I woke up with small pimples on my forehead.

This product did not work for me. I don't think it's potent enough alone to combat those with moderate to severe, oily facial acne problems. Would not repurchase.

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lokid on 5/29/2011 11:31:00 AM more reviews by lokid

Age: 25-29   Skin: Sensitive, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

This didn't seem to help my acne, but it didn't cause any issues either. It did soften my skin and lessen the look of fine lines.

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*TOP REVIEWER* DDGattina on 4/14/2011 10:35:00 PM more reviews by DDGattina

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I began using this at about the same time I began using GoWs Tea tree Serum. Thus it was hard to tell which was working. Turns out the combo of both is exactly what my skin needs. The O2 gel is clear, light, unfragranced. Used alone it is very slightly drying, but with the Simply TT Serum on top it fine, no other moisturizer needed. Seems to calm redness too. But you do need to use this for a while to see the difference because it does not dry out blemishes that have already emerged. Instead it concentrates on preventing the development of new ones. It is now a staple, and with the Simply Tea Tree Serum has really kept breakouts at bay.

UPDATE: When I ran out of the oxygen gel, I really had a chance to see how good it was for my skin. No O2 gel was the only change in my routine, and I began to see a few more breakouts. Added it back in to the routine-- gone!

It is kind of a sleeper, because the effect isn't instant (like Tea Tree Serum or the newer BHA Azelaic Acid Serum, but continued use defiinitely calms my reddish rosacea prone skin and defeats breakouts. Can't be without it now.

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mml2145 on 2/7/2011 4:33:00 PM more reviews by mml2145

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

One word: AMAZING!!!!

I will continue to buy this product over and over and over again. If GoW ever stops making this I will be absolutely devastated!! I do not normally write reviews but I just wanted to share my experience with this product in hopes of helping someone.

I have been on Benzaclin (prescription BP) for about 10 years. I finally got fed up with the Benzaclin drying out my skin so I started doing research. The lovely MUAers on the skin board pointed me towards GoW and I started reading the forum on their website. I took their advice and slowly started to wean myself off BP ( and yes, I was nervous about doing so!). When I was finally off BP, I started applying the oxygen rich gel every morning at the same step I would normally apply BP. The oxygen rich gel just sinks right into the skin and does not leave any residue. I was so thrilled that day after day my skin started to look better, feel less dry, be less flakey and best of all: no new breakouts!

I've been using this product for over a month and have had only had one pimple, ONE! I was amazed! I've struggled with acne since I was 16 (I'm now 26) And (TMI) but I credit that pimple to my cycle :\ Also, my one pimple was tiny and was gone within 2 days. Simply amazing!

If you are looking for something other than BP for acne give this a try!! You will not be dissappointed!!!

UPDATE- 7/8/11

I went through the first bottle of this stuff and happily ordered a second. I don't know what happened but halfway through the second bottle this product just stopped working! I constantly had huge pimples on my chin, sides of my face and between my eyes.

I recently went to back to my prescribed Benzaclin. I would rather combat the dryness than constant pimples and scarring.

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cali on 11/13/2010 11:39:00 AM more reviews by cali

Age: 30-35   Skin: Sensitive, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Great product! It definitely helps soothe my slight redness and blotchiness and it helps limit breakouts. I only put this on my trouble spots to conserve the product and I don't really think I need it all over. If you're looking to get away from BP or salicylic acid type products and/or you just have sensitive skin that breakouts then you should def give this a try.

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ventanabluesky on 7/23/2010 4:47:00 PM more reviews by ventanabluesky

Age: 30-35   Skin: Acne-prone, Olive   Hair: Brunette, Coarse   Eyes: Brown    

This is a must-have product if you suffer from acne and sensitive skin and are looking to get off of the benzoyl peroxide/salicylic acid rollercoaster once and for all. In my case, both BP and SA irritate my skin horribly, although I would use BP anyways because it seemed to be the only thing effective in reducing the amount of acne I experience. This product works as a replacement for BP by doing basically the same thing that BP does: adds oxygen to the skin and pores. Since p. acnes bacteria like to thrive in an environment with no oxygen, the added oxygen helps to reduce and kill off the p. acnes bacteria. What makes the Oxygen Rich Gel so special is that it does this without all of the additional, irritating ingredients and preservatives found in most BP creams and gels. It does not dry out my skin at all (most other BP creams would dry my skin horribly), and other treatments such as moisturizer or makeup go easily and smoothly over this product. Also, no more bleaching sheets, towels, and clothing with this product, which is an added bonus. I have been using this product for over a month now, and the fact that it keeps my skin just as clear as BP without all the irritation speaks volumes to its effectiveness. HG all the way!

I feel I must also mention that Garden of Wisdom has the best, most personal and caring customer service that I have ever experienced from any skin care company, ever. These ladies will take the time, either in email or on their awesome forum, to help you choose products and work out a skin care routine, and answer any sort of questions you may have about a product or ingredient. This is a truly amazing company.

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zmat2009 on 5/9/2010 2:09:00 AM more reviews by zmat2009

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Hazel    

Oookay, if you are a cystic acne sufferer and tried everything possible without much success, give this gel a try. I used it every day for 3 weeks straight and got only one cyst. That cyst was defeated very quick, like magic! What happens is that a new cyst either flattens or comes to a little whitehead next day. I'm fine with either of that as long as it doesn't turn into big and painful bump that won't go for weeks and leaves a purple mark for months. Another positive thing - this gel won't dry your skin at all! So you can still apply your foundation without those patches of dry skin around your acne. I am only half way of the sample bottle and plan to buy full size.
Now, the downside: This gel didn't do anything to my old acne. It worked only on new cysts.
I highly recommend this gel to prevent hormonal cysts.

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basbleu613 on 3/28/2010 9:12:00 PM more reviews by basbleu613

Age: 25-29   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I'm very impressed with this product! I'm a little bit of a GoW junkie, but this might be my favorite finished product so far. It's marketed as a natural replacement for benzoyl peroxide.

This is a clear, watery gel that is a very effective pimple reducer/flattener and anti-imflammatory. It's "stabilized oxygen" plus green tea and a little glycerin, with some preservative. Basically, the oxygen works the same was as benzoyl peroxide, to kill the anaerobic bacteria that cause acne. But this doesn't dry and irritate the skin like BP, and according to the ladies on the GoW forum, stabilized oxygen does not cause free radical damage like BP, either. It comes in a one-ounce airless pump bottle.

Now, my experience with this product: I have seriously struggled with cystic acne since giving up BP a couple of years ago after realizing that it had damaged my skin pretty badly. I took my sample of Skin Buffet on vacation to Puerto Rico (humidity and travel are usually major triggers for me) and have been using it since. I got only a couple of tiny new pimples in Puerto Rico (where usually it would be at least half a dozen) and have found that this gel works very well applied directly to active pimples -- flattens them and lessens redness. It seems to work a bit more effectively on freshly exfoliated skin, I guess because it can get into the pore and work more directly on the bacteria. I'm using it all over once every day or two and directly on pimples once or twice a day.

After the sample ran out, I was working on a round of MUAC chemical peels and was experiencing some ooky purging. I usually get big ugly cysts that never come to a head and then linger for weeks if not months. After four light peels, I didn't have any more active cysts but there were a bunch of lovely new whiteheads springing up. My full-sized version of this oxygen gel arrived on Friday and two days later, almost all of the whiteheads are either completely gone or significantly reduced. I'm starting to see what my skin might look like if it were completely clear, which hasn't happened in years -- very very exciting!!

I have to admit I'm a little skeptical (i.e., totally unqualified to judge) about the idea of this form of oxygen being less likely to contribute to free radicals. But, I get plenty of anti-oxidants, externally and internally, so I'm not hugely worried about that. Worst case scenario, they'll cancel each other out.

Regardless, this product is vastly superior to benzoyl peroxide in its immediate effects: just as effective at pimple reduction, and causes no irritation, redness, or dryness whatsoever. I'm a fan!!

**Parts of this review are copied from the review I gave on the GoW forum.

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*TOP REVIEWER* user1988 on 3/23/2010 3:15:00 PM more reviews by user1988

Age: 19-24   Skin: Acne-prone, Fair   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

I got this as a sample when they were still in the testing phase. I actually didn't even know what this was used for but I used it anyways. GOW did make this a permanent product though and on the website states it as a BP replacement minus all the harsh chemicals.

I just bought the full 1oz size from the website after finishing my sample. It's a good serum, I haven't had any pimples since using this and it seems to be making my complexion more even. I just wish it didn't come in a jar but a pump bottle.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No