Mychelle’s new Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate is a fascinating and unusual gel serum. It helps skin to look refreshed, plump and supple. That description may sound vague, so let me try and break it down for you:
- It helps skin retain moisture, without greasiness.
- It strengthens skin.
- It remedies tired or withered skin, whether hangover- or age-induced.
- Used as a serum under your regular moisturizer, it improves smoothness and overall firmness.
The Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate works for a variety of skin types, from oily to dry.
Inside the Ingredients
The star ingredient is hyaluronic acid. The hydrogel contains a concentrated 2% of this moisture-binding ingredient. Hyaluronic acid makes skin look smooth and plump. It helps skin to retain moisture, restoring a youthful appearance.
Ingredients: water, glycerin, sodium hyaluronate (L), saponaria pumila callus culture extract, sodium polygamma-glutamate, pseudoalteromonas ferment extract, crocus chrysanthus bulb extract, neem leaf extract, neem flower extract, amino esters-1, ivy gourd fruit extract, eggplant fruit extract, aloe flower extract, turmeric root extract, basil flower/leaf extract, tulsi leaf extract, red seaweed extract, quaking aspen bark extract, leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate, honeysuckle flower extract, gluconolactone, salicylic acid, isomalt, acacia senegal gum, citric acid, sclerotium gum, lecithin, trisodium ethylenediamine disuccinate, sodium hydroxide, o-cymen-5-ol.
| Extremely Safe | Reasonably Safe | Proceed with Caution | Insufficient Data |
This formulation also contains a couple high-tech naturals.
Saponaria pumila callus culture extract, one of the primary ingredients, is made from the stem cells of a flower in the alps which has adapted to thrive in the presence of high UV radiation. It helps to fortify the skin’s self-defense activity while improving firmness and decreasing roughness.
Pseudoalteromonas ferment extract is a strain of bacteria found in Antartica (how cool is that!?) which helps to regenerate and protect skin.
How to Use
Apply to face and neck after cleansing. May be layered with other serums. Follow with moisturizer.
Appropriate for day and night use.
Jacqueline’s note: Some readers have complained of flaking. That wasn’t my experience, but be sure to check out one reader’s experience down in the comments.
Where to Purchase
The Mychelle Bio-Firm Hydrogel Concentrate is $45 for a 1.2oz glass bottle. Purchase it here.
Mychelle offers free shipping on all orders.
*This post is not sponsored. All opinions are my own.
**Products get makeovers too. Be sure to check if this product has been recently re-formulated before using it yourself.
Regina Phalange says
So, what’s your review on this product? Is it good or bad? This stuff is on their website as well.
Jacqueline@TheBeautyProof says
I really like it-it’s different than other products I’ve tried. I tested it for 3 weeks. But lack of firmness and moisture aren’t really my main skin concerns. The fact that I live in a humid climate makes this serum less of necessity for me. BUT-I travel to Los Angeles frequently (so dry!), and this is the perfect skin-plumping layer that my skin needs when I go there.
Regina Phalange says
Thanks for your input. I’m not sure I like it. It’s smooth and gel like consistency doesn’t really absorb into the skin. It says I can use it under moisturizer before I put on makeup, but I find it flaking on me after I put it on. I even skipped the moisturizer one time. Still no good. I’ve just been using it at night before bed. Haven’t seen any improvements in my skin yet but I do have combo/oily skin. I just feel that it sits on top of your face and in the morning when I take a shower, when I wash my face, it’s still there all slick and stuff. I thought maybe I was just using it wrong, but there is no right way to have this stay put under makeup. Any thoughts?
Jacqueline@TheBeautyProof says
Regina- As soon as I read this comment about the product flaking, I had to investigate. It had not flaked on me, but I did some experimentation to see if I could recreate the flaking you mentioned. When I originally tested the product, I first misted my face with Avene Thermal Spring Water, applied the serum, then topped it with facial cream or oil (depending on what my skin needed that day). I did all of this fairly quickly, in the morning, and my skin stayed somewhat damp throughout the process. By the time I moved to makeup, I had no problems with flaking, but had skin that was well prepped. So I tried changing a few things, to see if I could get it to flake, and it worked! When I applied the serum to completely dry skin, it flaked (almost pilled, like a sweater), and if I topped it with a matte-syle, oil-free moisturizer, it flaked again. Also, If I tried to apply makeup without some moisturizer or oil between the serum and the makeup, it flaked.
Personally, I use this serum exclusively in the daytime. I see a hyaluronic gel like this as a kind of skincare version of a primer-it preps the skin to look smooth and plump, and isn’t necessarily meant to create change deep within the skin. Hyaluronic acid works on the outer layer of the skin, helping it to retain moisture; for that reason, it didn’t bother me that I could feel it slick and wet when I wash my face at night (and I’m sure you felt it on your hands when you washed them after applying the serum too!). I hope you find my experience helpful, one way or another.
Regina Phalange says
SO right now I am experimenting with MAC foundations and other makeup stuff. After my shower and washing my face that morning, I put on my toner with a cotton pad. Then I put on the serum. I only put a little bit of my khiels moisturizer that day because the MAC CC cream is kind of thick. I made sure each layer was dry before I put on the next layer. The flaking happened when I was putting on the CC cream. You know those face masks that people use on their face and peel it off after it dries? But instead of peeling it off carefully, you rub it all over your face and it flakes. Those are the flakes I had. It was all over after that. I had to start over without it. I have never used avene thermal spring water. I will definitely try that, too. So do you let every layer dry first before applying the next? Like, mist, let dry, then serum, let dry, then moisturizer, let dry, then primer, dry then foundation? Do you use a primer on top of the serum and moisturizer before the foundation then? Sorry I have so many questions. I just turned 40 and my simple makeup/skincare routine needed an overhaul since my skin texture and color is changing. Thanks for all your help! I will try this again your way tomorrow morning and report back. =-)
Jacqueline@TheBeautyProof says
It seems to have worked for me because my skin was slightly damp as I applied my skincare products. I didn’t wait for the products to dry between applications. It wasn’t a deliberate choice to apply to damp skin-it’s just how things went when I was rushing in the morning. When I did that, everything blended and worked beautifully. And the Avene mister is nothing but water-a face just damp from the shower should work equally well. That said, I’m not familiar with the Mac CC cream, so I don’t know if there’s something specific that makes that product and the serum not work together. But I definitely noticed that the serum seemed to flake when it was applied to dry skin, or when I applied less-moisturizing/drying products on top of it.
Regina Phalange says
So I did things different this morning and made sure I applied enough moisturizer on top of the serum before I put on the Mac CC cream which is supposed to be a primer and color corrector. It was ok at first but then when I was starting to blend it started flaking again. Not that bad this time, but I stopped with that and started applying my foundation. Foundation looked good except for a few spots where I had the CC cream and I just had to brush away the flakes or wet it a little to make it go away. That worked out better. Maybe the CC cream just isn’t made to be used with the serum. I am breaking out today so I will see what caused that. It was in the low 90’s today so it was pretty hot and my makeup didn’t slide off my face like I thought it would. Do you use a powder foundation or liquid?
Jacqueline@TheBeautyProof says
I’ve been using cream concealer from Honest Beauty (applied with a damp BeautyBlender) and Lily Lolo’s powder mineral foundation (applied with a dense brush).