Dr. Tracey Lambert, the owner of Skin Elegance, the exclusive US distributor of Synergie Skin, Synergie Practitioner, and Synergie Minerals was kind enough to let me try and feature an exceptional Anti-Aging Starter Kit by Synergie Skin, an innovative Australian boutique skincare line that is gaining increasing international acclaim. The founder of Synergie Skin, Terri Vinson, holds a BSc in Immunocology/Microbiology and a diploma in cosmetic formulation and has built a reputation for her thoughtful, results-driven blends.
As you learn about Synergie, several things set it apart from other skin care lines. First, Synergie has a completely vertically integrated business operation in Melbourne (e.g., everything from inception and formulation to packing and dispatching is done in the Synergie facility itself, giving Ms. Vinson complete control and oversight of her brand and products), as well as complete transparency with an open-door policy to consumers and others (who are always welcome to come and observe Synergie teams in action in the facility). Second, Synergie upholds unique philosophies. Synergie Skin’s motto is “Purest for the Purist.” Their working philosophy is based on principles they term “Clean Science” and “SEED.” In short, Clean Science is based on combining the best of cosmeceutical science and nature while never testing on animals and excluding questionable ingredients such as parabens and harmful preservatives, artificial colors, petroleum byproducts and mineral oil, sodium sulfates, PEG, and propylene. SEED, in turn, is an acronym based on the following tenets:
- Stable: the ingredients must be in a form that ensures they are not prone to oxidation and will not break down when exposed (e.g. pure vitamin C is very unstable and becomes less effective as soon as it’s mixed with water, so Synergie Skin offers two solutions to this: it is available as dry L-ascorbic acid crystals available for mixing into certain serums just before use, or as a water-free serum in which the L-ascorbic acid molecules are enveloped in protective liposomes. Either formulation prevents the vitamin C from degrading before a consumer is able to use it)
- Effective: there must be clinical data to prove an active ingredient’s efficacy
- Elegant: the products must be lovely to use (feel, smell, etc.)
- Deliverable: the active ingredients must be able to be delivered to their target sites to deliver desired biological effects (e.g., if a molecule is too large and not going to penetrate where it would exert the desired action, it should not be included)
Skin Elegance (exclusive US distributor of Synergie Skin, Synergie Practitioner, and Synergie Minerals) owner Dr. Lambert is a highly-regarded
cosmetic physician who relocated to the United States from New Zealand. Dr. Lambert’s passion for Synergie was first sparked when she met Synergie Skin’s founder, Terri Vinson, at a conference and heard the principles the company upholds. As Dr. Lambert explains it, “What impressed me about Terri [founder and formulator of Synergie] was her passion for the principle of ‘clean science’ and her SEED philosophy. These two tenets just struck a chord with me; it was refreshing to find someone who had the same belief in keeping bad ingredients out as I did, but didn’t want to exclude the amazing benefits of tested cosmeceutical science.” As a cosmetic physician, Dr. Lambert had experience with countless cosmeceutical lines and found Synergie’s formulations and results consistently among the best. After relocating to the US, Dr. Lambert did not see an equivalent to Synergie and wanted to share the line, sparking her decision to start Skin Elegance specifically to make Synergie available to all of us in the US.
After reading about Synergie Skin’s incredibly sensible, humane, and science-based philosophy and operating tenets, I was hugely interested in trying the products. As mentioned, Dr. Lambert was kind enough to give me the opportunity to try Synergie Anti-Ageing Starter Kit. Included in the Anti-Ageing Starter Kit is Ultracleanse, Ultimate A, Vitamin B, Super Serum (Synergie’s hero product), Pure-C Crystals, and Reclaim. Below I will tell you about each product as well as my experience with it and the regimen as a whole.
Ultracleanse features a natural coconut-derived cleansing ingredient that is gentle on skin and will not dry it out. In addition, Ultracleanse contains Sodium PCA (an ingredient that binds moisture to cells), vitamin E, and essential oils. With this special blend of ingredients, you get a product that gently removes surface debris and makeup without stripping the skin of natural moisturizing factors. As someone with dry, sensitive skin, I like that Ultracleanse gets my face clean without leaving it feeling dry and uncomfortable the way harsher cleansers do.
Ultimate A Serum–Vitamin A is particularly beneficial to skin, as it helps balance and regulate skin processes, increasing collagen production, regulating oil production, minimizing skin pigmentation, and even regulating blood vessel formation, according to Ms. Vinson. Those of us with sensitive skin, however, know that Vitamin A, as widely-lauded as it may be, can also cause major skin irritation and dryness. Synergie Skin Ultimate A overcomes this problem in Ultimate A Serum by using Rovisome™, a special form of highly stable vitamin A that is highly penetrating yet non-irritating. As I have very reactive skin and do not generally tolerate Vitamin A well, my trial put Ultimate A to a difficult test, and yet it passed with flying colors. I experienced no irritation, dryness, or increased redness while using Ultimate A.
Vitamin B Serum provides essential niacinamide, which is good for all skin types. Ms. Vinson recommends using this along with Vitamin A at night and using Vitamin C in the day. (This is because the mixing of Vitamin C with vitamin A will inactivate the latter.) The Vitamin B Serum helps cells produce more ceramides (boosting hydration), reduces pigmentation, stimulates collagen, prevents UV damage and protects against skin cancer, regulates oil (great for acne sufferers, or conversely, those with dry skin), and even boosts skin immunity and robustness. What I noticed from using Ultimate B Serum was a very rapid and lovely boost in luminosity and hydration. I highly recommend this as perhaps the best vitamin B serum I have tried.
SuperSerum, containing five active ingredients, is the culmination of years of research and is designed to combat all signs of aging. Phyccosaccaride is a marine ingredient which causes the skin to produce more of its own growth factors, supercharging skin’s anti-aging potential. I like that Phyccosaccaride boosts my own natural regenerative processes as opposed to other products, which generally introduce foreign growth factors that may have shady origins such as foreskin or fetal tissue. Juveleven is an amazing ingredient that reinforces natural mechanisms to repair DNA damage, rejuvenating skin cells. Also included is Trylagen, an exciting ingredient that targets collagen at all three levels: boosting production, reducing breakdown, and improving its organization, as is Hyanify, which is proven to increase skin hydration by 66%, and also SNAP-8, which helps relax and minimize stubborn wrinkles (especially expression lines). This thoughtful blend is potent yet completely non-irritating. SuperSerum is one of the most dynamic and comprehensive anti-aging serums I have had the pleasure to use, and it really does improve much about the look of aging skin.
As if SuperSerum were not impressive enough, you can also combine it with Synergie Skin Pure-C Crystals, which are L-Ascorbic Acid crystals coupled with the antioxidant Alpha Lipoic Acid, all kept fresh in a special container. L-Ascorbic Acid is famous for having perhaps the strongest skin benefits of any form of Vitamin C, yet being highly unstable (and having a poor shelf-life) in water-based formulations. In a stroke of great creativity, Ms. Vinson decided to store this optimal-yet-highly-unstable form of Vitamin C dry and on its own, to be mixed with serum only at the moment before application. I sometimes find vitamin C irritating, especially in L-Ascorbic Acid form, but the lovely thing about mixing Pure-C Crystals with SuperSerum is that you are in complete control of the amount of L-Ascorbic Acid you include, allowing you to gradually acclimate even the most sensitive skin to this vital ingredient. As a result of this, I experienced no irritation using Pure-C Crystals with SuperSerum even on my reactive skin. The recommended mix is 20% Pure-C to 80% Super Serum, as you work up to this, you will find that Pure-C Crystals make SuperSerum even more effective at tightening and brightening maturing skin. (Please note: Pure-C Crystals are not to be combined with Ultimate A Serum or Ultimate B Serum due to interactions.)
To complete the anti-ageing regimen, Reclaim Moisturizer is an anti-aging moisturizer that features hydrating hyaluronic acid, as well as Trylagen, with its benefits for boosting collagen production, reducing its breakdown, and improving its organization. Plus, if you are someone who likes instant gratification in your skin care (and who doesn’t?), Reclaim also contains Planktonic Exopolysaccharide, which visibly firms and tightens skin for up to 8 hours within just 20 minutes of application. I love products that deliver this sort of immediate benefit along with long-term improvements. Reclaim is a standout for its lasting hydration as well as its line-plumping and firming effects.
BOTTOM LINE: Pure, innovative, and results-driven formulas make Synergie Skin a standout on an international scale. Synergie’s Anti-Ageing regimen addresses the full range of signs and causes of skin aging, and based on my experience, reveals skin that is rejuvenated, healthier, and more nourished. Active ingredients are chosen for efficacy and in their most non-irritating forms; used as directed, I experienced skin improvements with zero irritation. For those who want a taste of the anti-aging regimen, Synergie Anti-Ageing Starter Kit offers a chance to experience the full regimen at an affordable price point. In a kit full of excellent products, SuperSerum is arguably the biggest game-changer, as it is the first serum to combine exciting actives proven to: boost skin’s own growth factors, repair DNA, optimize collagen at three levels, boost hydration, and minimize stubborn expression lines. Both Synergie Anti-Ageing Starter Kit and hero product SuperSerum are highly recommended.