The Skin: John Tsagaris & SkinPointEight

So, when I said I was pre-toxing before the madness of Christmas sets in, I didn't mean this! Too sick to get out of bed for six days, never mind putting on makeup! It was all I could do to get up, brush my teeth and go through the motions with my skincare. If I could have paid someone to do all this for me, believe me, I would have!

So, in an attempt to keep up the skin regime, but paring it down to its bare minimum, I found myself turning to a skincare range I've been meaning to try out for a while. Now I wish I hadn't left it so long. SkinPointEight is the new skincare range from healing and wellbeing expert Dr. John Tsagaris. The  three products currently in the range harness his knowledge of Dermatology, Geriatrics, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), shiatsu and his interest in adaptogens. No, I'd never heard of them either, but here's the skinny: adaptogens are natural substances such as ginseng, goji berries and liquorice, all of which are used throughout the range. (Actually, let me blind you with a bit of science: they are a category of herbs researched by NASA, working as they do on a cellular lever, responding to how the body deals and copes with stress. There are only about 12 in this family of herbs and they help to normalise and maximise the functions of the body and skin).

As John says, "We can't fight time, no matter what we do and put on our faces or what we take internally, but we can adapt to it. The high potency of adaptogenic herbal actives addresses the ageing factors in a very holistic way. They have been used for thousands of years as medicinal botanicals because they produce a balanced defence against stresses on the skin in whatever direction is needed. The blend of traditional medical herbs target specific skin concerns and with the intervention of the highest quality of western aids to complement the effectiveness and the synergy of the concentrates, create unique and powerful formulations".

John addresses the skin as a living organism, not just as  a surface. It's an interface that integrates the outside with the within. It interferes with what goes on inside and outside the body. The skin responds  to whatever is happening to it and around it, inside and out.  The system is simple, easy to follow and super effective and it's all down to those active ingredients. They actively adapt to what the skin needs at the time of using it.

I've been using the Age-Adapt Day Concentrate (for protection, invigoration, hydration and brightening), Age-Adapt Night Concentrate (focussing on natural skin cell repair and renewal) and a light Moisturising Lotion (in the evening only). They don't claim specific functions as such; they address all the ageing factors at the same time. The adaptogens provide help and support the skin cells to do whatever they need to do to fight the signs of ageing. And it shows. In a week, in spite of tackling an awful lurgy and eating particularly unhealthily, my skin is looking radiant, luminous and plumped. 

Don't be fooled into thinking this is just another serum - these concentrates (or "essences") take skincare into a different realm altogether - just ask Japanese women, they've been into concentrates for years and we all know how seriously they take their skincare!)

SkinPointEight launches in February with these three core offerings, with a total of eight products planned. This is high-end skincare (the serums are planned to launch at around the £120 mark, but don't quote me) but if the results I'm already seeing are anything to by, if I were you, I'd be saving up my Christmas money in anticipation!

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