(Yeah, I was thinking about botoxing my forehead again. It’s literally been years! But I don’t have time for that right now. Or money for that matter.)
I might just be the most vain person on this planet. I’m using it as a force for good, though: Telling y’all what works and what doesn’t. It’s time for anti-aging serum update!
I’d already crowned AQ Skin Solutions (formally AG) the champ of anti-aging serums in March of this year. Five months later, it’s still my favorite. Four months ago I introduced Reluma Serum to my regimen, just in case it might be better, since the women at Truth in Aging were singing its praises. Ingredients and price-wise Reluma is in the same class as AQ. However, Reluma uses growth factors derived from adult stem cells. AQ uses stem cells from circumcision leftovers, which some people find gross.
I began my first growth serum experiment in February. By mid-March I was sold on the AQ, which was called AG back then. I switched the AQ to the untreated side of my face (see photo on left below) so that it would catch up.
A few weeks later I bought the Reluma, and sometime in April began my side-by-side serum test. I gave Reluma an advantage over AQ by putting it on my left side, the one that had been getting the AQ treatment for over a month.
The differences in their smell and texture were irrelevant to me. Reluma is more of a thick gel than a serum, while the AQ is a pale yellowy serum. Both absorbed well. There was no way to tell, initially, which one would work better.
It took over a month for the right side of my face to catch up to the left, but AQ did its job well. Meanwhile, the Reluma appeared to be holding its own. The left side of my face didn’t deteriorate, so I concluded it was working at least somewhat. I just couldn’t tell how well it was working. I decided to keep up with the experiment and broke into my second bottle of Reluma.
The results of five months of AQ. The first photo was taken in mid-March.
No makeup!
I was using other products while I conducted this experiment, so I was being very unscientific. For instance I continued to apply Retin-A on both sides, every other night, convinced I could remain objective. I wasn’t worried that Retin-A would affect my results because I’ve been on Retin-A for 20 years for acne, and by now my face is what it is because of it. I don’t think it’s having an anti-aging affect anymore.
I had one laser treatment for my rosacea in May. I also continued to cover my whole face with moisturizer at night, alternating between a cream with peptides and vitamin C with a cream with copper-peptides. I’m already well-acquainted with their effects, and both are very kind to my rosacea. Whatever they did for me, they did it to both sides.
March to July – Not bad!
Here’s my left side. Again, no makeup! The first photo was taken in March, after one month of AQ. The second was taken mid-July. By July I had been using the Reluma for three months. The spot on my chin was from my crazy hormones so I know the Reluma heals damaged skin. Normally the scar from a hormonal cyst will take several months to heal.
This was the point where I realized I should have taken more “before” shots. I had a devil of a time getting photos with similar lighting and angles. Certainly the growth serums didn’t change the color of my skin, and I certainly wasn’t laying out in the sun!
(Reluma side)
The first photo above was taken in July after two months of AQ and two-ish months of Reluma. Notice the roughness is still there. Still, the texture is better than it was in March! The photo to the right is from today.
As we creep toward Autumn – this is a long experiment! – I’ve noticed my right side (AQ) seems to be doing a little better than my left. I’m also beginning to worry that my left side is losing its prior gains, because I’m not as happy with it as I was in July. I still have half of my second bottle of Reluma and plan to use it all, but I’m not really seeing much improvement compared to what AQ has done for me.
July, early August and today. All AQ.
It occurred to me that I’d put on a little makeup the morning the photo on the far right was taken, but I’m pretty certain it had all worn off by the time I got home, when I took the picture. Consequently the far right photo might have a little makeup obscuring the results. Consequently, don’t give either serum credit for the apparent approval in my skin tone! It’s all an illusion. My skin tone has improved, but I need an “apples to apples” comparison photograph to prove it.
(Reluma side not looking so good this week)
All three of the above photos are from the Reluma side, taken tonight (update: Friday, in better lighting) after I got home from work. Pay no mind to the red splotch; it’s from snuzzling the cat. It’s real hard to tell what’s going on, if anything, and as you can see from the side shot the shadowy marionette-line-in-training still needs work. It almost looks like a “before” shot! Some roughness is still there, but my left side has some bad acne scarring so I won’t dwell on it. Over time I expect it to improve, but I wonder if it would have looked better had I just stuck with the AQ.
To the touch, it feels as though my skin has thinned out a little, at least compared to the AQ side. It’s certainly possible I’m imagining things, but the AQ side feels firmer than the Reluma side. It would take an extremely precise mini-caliper to know for sure. Spooky can’t tell the difference, and thinks I worry too much.
Conclusion: AQ outperformed the Reluma. Probably. I’m anxious to end my experiment and devote both sides to AQ, so I guess that’s all that matters. Not to say the Reluma growth media doesn’t work, because I am really happy with the Reluma eye serum (test underway). AQ, for whatever reason, appears to work better with my skin, so when it’s time to restock my face serum I’m definitely choosing AQ!
[…] Reluma serum was okay, but I found AQ growth factors worked better for me. I still use AQ Skin Solutions serum religiously and will try the company’s new eye serum when […]