Alpha-H Instant Facial

I think Alpha-H were my first real skincare brand love; I used their cult Liquid Gold years ago (I believe this was my first real experience of regular chemical exfoliating too) and quickly found myself hooked, hunting down deals on their face mask, facial pads and pretty much anything else I could get my skint-student hands on from the brand.  Of course the blog took over and my love affair with skincare became considerably more promiscuous, but I was recently given the opportunity to sample some of the newer Alpha-H launches and I’m really pleased I did as I was reminded just how amazing they are.  I’ve got a couple of other products to show you soon, but today I’m talking about the Alpha-H Instant Facial.

The Alpha-H Instant Facial is a daily use (morning and evening, if you like) treatment that works in a very similar fashion to a typical chemical toner, in that it’s an acid-heavy product that you apply to a cotton pad and sweep over your face.  Alongside Glycolic Acid there are a selection of skin-loving herbs as well as Arnica, which is a great ingredient for treating and healing inflammation.  The first question you might have is what makes this different to Liquid Gold, and I think the answer is that it’s a little more gentle with a little less bite, so it’s better suited to skins that might struggle to tolerate Liquid Gold or the more sensitive or inflammation-prone; being a regular user of both, I’ll reach for this when my skin is a little on the red or dehydrated side, whilst Liquid Gold I find suits my skin better when it’s a bit more balanced, OR I’ve been crap at skincare for a few days, as Liquid Gold is a great one to kick skin back into gear.  You can definitely use both products in your routine – I would just give yourself a 24 hour break from both after using Liquid Gold – but if you have really tricky skin that’s prone to inflammation, then the slightly more gentle formula alongside the soothing ingredients is a really good choice. It’s £37 for 100ml which I would guess would last you a good few months.  You can find it here – link.

*PR Sample