You may have seen the infommercials with Minnie Driver, the British actress and singer, for the doctor-backed (actually, not just any old doctor but one with a center stage seat on The Doctors) Derm Exclusive line. And if so, your curiosity may have been piqued. Not enough I hope to sign up for the monthly automatic renewal program of $50 a month without doing some homework. I took a look and all I can say is Minnie, this is major!
As in majorly mediocre. Let’s look at Fill & Freeze “the anti-aging treatment that works right before your eyes.” One of the best things about it is that (unlike Derm Exclusive’s Intensive Repair Serum) it doesn’t kick off with sodium hydroxide, a pH balancer about which the CDC says: “Skin contact with sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns with deep ulcerations.” There is plenty of silicone, as well as polymers that are formulated to behave like silicone. There are almost 10 of them.
Now I don’t want to sound (to coin a favorite phrase of Margaret Thatcher) like a Moaning Minnie. There are a few things that Derm Exclusive’s Dr. Andrew Ordon has added to his formula that are perfectly respectable. There’s vitamin C and several peptides, including Matrixyl 3000 (palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7) and the expression line inhibitor acetyl hexapeptide-8, plus a hibiscus extract, which performs the same function. There’s also the anti-inflammatory glucosamine HCI and a skin lightener called diacetyl boldine.
Unfortunately, the good is overshadowed by the abundance of aforementioned silicone and the toxic preservatives chlorpenesin and phenoxyethanol.
Minnie has just been cast as a vegan mom in an NBC series. Here’s to hoping her inner vegan will attract to her more natural, plant-based potions and lotions.
Ingredients in Fill & Freeze: Water (Aqua), Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol Crosspolymer, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Butylene Glycol, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, VP/VA Copolymer, Glycerin, Ascorbic Acid, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Glucosamine HCI, Algae Extract, Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Extract, Hydrolyzed Hibiscus Esculentus Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch Octenylsuccinate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Diacetyl Boldine, Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Lactic Acid, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, Amodimethicone, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer, Xanthan Gum, Polysorbate 20, Dextrin, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Carbomer, Silica, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Urea, Caprylyl Glycol, Chlorphenesin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol