BeBella Probiotic Skin Care Review: Cultivating Beauty Inside and Out

BeBella Probiotic Difference

If there’s someone you want to pamper in your life (yourself!?), you should consider taking a look at the BeBella line from Bebe & Bella, the first ever line to combine oral and topical probiotics. BeBe & Bella is a minority women-owned business started in 2013, and the effort they put into their products (and the customer experience) shines. Just look at the gorgeous way they pack their boxes (above), and you get a glimpse of the care they put into every aspect of their line. BeBella’s approach to skin care is comprehensive and, when used as suggested, provides rapid improvements in healing skin inflammation and skin softness. This is not just my opinion. Controlled clinical testing that demonstrated that BeBella: significantly reduced wrinkles, reversed photodamage, increased the skin’s moisture barrier, and boosted skin softness--in just 4 weeks of use, twice a day. What’s remarkable is that BeBella’s results are achieved without any harsh, skin-irritating ingredients.

TOPICALS

The BeBella topical skin care line is based on the Japanese tradition of layering, in which a series of products are applied in a specific sequence to achieve maximum results. The suggested order of application for BeBella is: Probiotic Facial Cleanser, Probiotic Purifying Facial Toner, Probiotic Facial Essence, Probiotic Eye Cream, and last the Probiotic Hydrating Night Cream.

I began using BeBella products when my skin was especially irritated and dry (the kind of irritated where almost any product stings my face), so I really put BeBella to a tough test. Fortunately, BeBella is free of any sulfates or added fragrance, and it ended up being extremely soothing and hydrating. Here are my thoughts on each product in their layering system…

Probiotic Facial Cleanser ($65): I am not one to rave about (or want to spend money on) cleansers, but this is a rare exception. I generally stick to plain water to clean my face, because most cleansers are too harsh and drying for my skin; Bebella Facial Cleanser was a creamy, luxurious exception: no stinging, no drying–instead a very gentle, yet effective moisturizing cleanser. BeBella Probiotic Facial Cleanser felt so good on my skin, I let it sit on my skin a good while and almost did not want to wash it off. I am not sure if I have ever liked a cleanser this much!

Purifying Facial Toner ($52): Used second in the layering system, this helps remove any residue and enables skin to better absorb the actives in the next layering steps. What I liked about the Purifying Facial Toner was that it managed to take clean to a new level and my minimize my pores without stinging, drying me out, or causing any irritation! Toner is generally something I avoid due to dryness and sensitivity, but BeBella’s Purifying Facial Toner was perfectly suited for my sensitive skin.

Probiotic Facial Essence ($70): After all residue has been cleansed away, skin is ready for the Probiotic Facial Essence layer. BeBella Probiotic Facial Essence has a light, easily spreadable consistency somewhere between gel and water (and is called an essence because it is water-based rather than oil-based like a serum). It contains the most actives of any BeBella product and includes high levels of hyaluronic acid and ferment filtrates. The whole layering system works in complement, yet there’s no doubt that the Probiotic Facial Essence is one of the superstars of the BeBella line. I could feel the actives in Probiotic Facial Essence working with a gentle tingle as my skin absorbed all the beneficial actives.

Probiotic Eye Cream ($55): This is a rich, luxurious cream and so soothing, rich and moisturizing that I was tempted to slather it on my entire face and neck. The Probiotic Eye Cream feels wonderful on sensitive or dry skin. It contains two probiotic filtrates and Vitamin E to deeply repair and moisturize skin. It is wonderfully hydrating.

Probiotic Hydrating Night Cream ($98): This is a creamy, not-too-heavy moisturizer that spreads and absorbs easily and offers serious hydration. Usually, my skin requires something thick (almost like an ointment) to maintain hydration, so I was slightly amazed to wake up the morning after first applying Probiotic Hydrating Night Cream to find my skin more supple and hydrated–as well as markedly softer and smoother to the touch–than it had been the night before. This cream very effectively hydrates skin without leaving behind the usual sticky or oily residue.Probiotic Facial Essence Stick ($65): A convenient way to refresh skin on the go (packaged like a lipstick), BeBella Probiotic Facial Essence Stick provides all the of the Facial Essence actives in a water-based formula that also includes lipid polymers. It is soothing and hydrating, yet absorbs well enough that it works under or over makeup. The Essence Stick is a great way to give skin a boost throughout the day.SUPPLEMENTS
In addition to their fantastic layering line of topicals, BeBella offers two nutritional supplements designed to further boost skin benefits. These supplements are: Collagen Pro ($27.60) and BeClara Skin Lightening ($27.60). Both contain the probiotic l. casei, which has been proven to reduce skin inflammation. In addition to this probiotic, Collagen Pro includes: hydrolyzed fish collagen peptide, hyaluronic acid, and biotin, among others, while BeClara includes: reduced glutathione, NAC, ALA, vitamin C, and collagen. Together, Collagen Pro and BeClara Skin Lightening are designed to boost the effects of their topical skin care by nourishing, hydrating, and brightening the complexion. Having tried both supplements, they are easy to swallow and easy on the GI system and likely deserve some of the credit for the great effects I had while using the BeBella system.

CONCLUSION: Highly recommended. BeBella is an excellent line, perhaps especially for those of us dealing with temperamental skin (lupus-related or otherwise). I started using this during a bought of skin irritation, and none of the products ever stung or felt harsh; instead they soothed my skin and rapidly reduced redness and irritation. Taking Collagen Pro and BeClara while layering BeBella’s topical skin care–even for a short time–left my skin incredibly soft and made a big difference in reducing inflammation. My skin was about as soft as it’s ever felt. With longer use, I am sure the results would only continue and that I would begin to see a softening of fine lines. The entire system works very well in concert. If the investment makes you hesitate, BeBe & Bella offers a Probiotic Essentials Starter Kit ($65), which is a great way to sample all the topical products and get a sense of their benefits for your skin. Having said that, if you are able and willing to splurge a bit, BeBella is worth getting in a full-sized set, because if you are like me, you will be sad to run out of it!