Battle of the Cica Creams
Centella Asiatica (or just Cica) is one of those ingredients I fell in love with almost at first read… which sounds like a fairly odd phrase. What I’m referring to are my first few tentative steps into the skincare world, taken almost 3 years ago now, where in typical Rose fashion I decided that reading as much as possible about a subject was the best approach to get comfortable with it (still to this day I won’t buy a product without reading as many reviews or articles I can about it!). My skin had been giving me trouble for a while at this point, adult acne and severe eczema ravaging my face and causing some pretty serious damage to my self confidence, I was desperate to find something that would work.This also coincided with some career opportunities in China and Korea, where the skincare, and Korean skincare market specifically, was booming. So, I devoured as much information as I could about the processes used in Korean skincare, the types of products, and most importantly the ingredients. That’s where I found Centella Asiatica. Lauded as the one stop shop for helping calm angry, easily sensitised skin- I was enthralled and could wait to get my hands on a few products containing this magical elixir!
About the ingredient
To be fair, my research (and gleeful collapse into the ever-alluring arms of the Korean beauty marketing world) wasn’t too far off. It has been used for centuries as a way to reduce inflammation, to calm and soothe irritation and to decrease skin redness (which is a common side effect of the first two issues). Historically across Asia it’s one of the most recorded plants used in traditional medicine; from China, where it was listed over 2,000 years ago as one of the great ‘miracle elixirs of life’ (ref), in Korea it was referred to as ‘Tiger Grass’ after legends were told of the mighty tigers of the peninsula rolling around in the plants to cure themselves of injuries, while it’s been a staple in Indian herbal medicine for thousands of years and listed in the historic ‘Sushruta Samhita’, an ancient Indian medical text. More recently it’s been embraced by the skincare industry, I expect largely due to an increase in external stressors that our skin faces in the modern world; higher levels of pollution, more extreme weather and physiological stress can all contribute to skin irritation and the development of more serious issues such as eczema and psoriasis.
You can pretty much get any sort of product containing Centella Asiatica. My particular favourites to use are super concentrated serums such as this one from Be Plain, and lightweight toners that cool and calm my skin, like this one from Skin1004. However, there seems to be an increase in people wanting to combine Cica with more hydrating ingredients to provide all round anti-aging skin haling benefits. Today I’m going to be talking about two products that are essentially vying for the top stop in that very category- they’re both creams, both contain Centella Asiatica, and they both say that they’ll do basically the same functions. Although on the surface they seem remarkably similar, there are fundamental differences, which I reckon make one a little more worth spending your hard earned cash on, if you do want to invest in a little more Cica in your life!
Dr.Jart+ Cicapair Cream
The first product is Dr Jart’s Cicapair Cream. This brand was one of the very first to introduce me to the world of K-Beauty. They were right at the forefront of the industry, and one of the first to migrate across the world and conquer the western markets. Indeed, to be totally honest, they’re a ‘Korean’ brand that’s MUCH more famous in foreign counties than it is in it’s homeland, where although people do still use their products, especially their famous sheet masks, they’re not considered to be the most popular nor sought after. However, that being said, they do produce some excellent products, including a whole range of Cica based products, of which one of them is this repair cream.
According to the brand, this product is meant to ‘strengthen, balance and improve skin’s defences against dryness. Centella Asiatica cream soothes redness and protects sensitive skin’. To a certain extent their ingredients list looks to back up this aim. It includes Centella Asiatica Leaf Water, Panthenol in large percentages, while further down the list we have Houttuynia Cordata Extract, Madecassoside and of course Centella Asiatica Extract, all of which are super soothing. We have Butylene Glycol and Glycerin in there to boost hydration levels, and Niacinamide to improve the tone and brightness of the skin. However, I do have a couple of qualms with the ingredients list, including a few ingredients I’d rather not have in my products such as shea butter and bees wax, both of which tend to be too cloying for my skin, and Rosemary and lavender oils which I really try to avoid as they can be irritating. I was also a little disappointed to see Centella Asiatica Extract all the way down near the bottom of the list. Although we do have Centella Asiatica Leaf Water right up near the top, this a much less potent and effective derivative of the ingredients, and for the price of the product, I would like to have seen top tier ingredients… on the top tier? Bad puns aside, from first glance, I must admit I was a little sceptical about using this product- the ingredients list seemed to go on forever, and appeared very jumbled and topsy-turvy- I was READY to hate it.
Though when I actually started using it, it was a different story entirely. It comes in a metal tube, which retains its shape once you squeeze, a bit like tooth paste, which I always think is a good call for moisturisers like this because you can easily tell how much product you have left. Texture wise- she’s THICC. Way heavier than I was expecting, and as such I only used the smallest, pea size amount, so as not to overwhelm my skin (since I tend to use almost exclusively super-light products). When I started massaging it into my skin, however, it blended absolutely beautifully into my skin. It seemed to transform into a much lighter texture upon contact with my skin, but still maintained that very rich consistency too. I was very glad I only used a small amount, because if I’d used more, it would have been far too much. I concentrated it on the areas I suffer with dryness/redness, although to be honest there was probably a bit spread on every area of my skin. I decided to forgo a moisturiser that night, to really test it’s performance, and I woke up with calm skin, not too oily, nor too dry. I have been using it about 3x a week for a month now, and am surprised that I am still enjoying it, despite being certain I’d hate it!
In regards to its promise to hydrate the skin, I’m not convinced someone with oily skin should using this all over the face, because it is very rich, and it might be too much. The same could be said about wearing it during the day, I’ve found it too much, and it leaves my skin oily in the afternoon. For those with normal/dry skin though, this is a really good option if you want a luxurious cream, that won’t cause any irritation. In terms of anti-redness, I think this product could do more. It’s not a miracle cream by any stretch of the imagination. I would look at it more as a tone enhancing cream- it will give you an all over more uniform tone to the skin, but for the parts of my skin that are really damaged/irritated, it didn’t help hugely. I think this could probably be improved by Dr Jart increasing their percentage and concentration of Centella Asiatica.
Overall, I’m a little on the fence about this product, because although I have actually really enjoyed using it, and probably will continue to use it because my skin does seem to respond very well, I don’t know how I’d feel about actively encouraging others with specifically sensitive skin to try. This is because 1) it contains to many potential irritants (why put essential oils in a calm formula?!) And 2) because the thigh, rich texture could potentially cause issues for those with active breakouts, or very oily skin. I think this is one of those unicorn cases that even though it absolutely shouldn’t, for some reason, for me it works. It might also work for you too, and if it does, I really think you’ll like it, but I would test it out first. Either in store, or with a tester on another order, or if your friend has some. Especially for the price- at around $30, or £36, it’s an investment, and one you should be confident making!
VT Cosmetics VT Cica Cream
The next product is from a brand most famous from their collaboration lines with BTS (in Korea, they’re well known for having huge life size cut outs of each member to decorate their stores with, I remember there being huge lines every time I walked past with people waiting to take photos with… the cardboard?!)! VT was, for years a hugely popular cosmetic company, though it has recently turned to producing more skincare, including their Cica Care line. Given the popularity of their collab with BTS, which included the infamous BT21 line which comprised of 7 cute characters created by each BTS member individually, their recent offerings have yet to reach such stratospheric heights, however they’re slowly receiving more praise and recognition as a brand in and of themselves. Their Cica cream is part of a range of products aimed at ‘Giving trouble skin a gentle and comfortable soothing care’.
The ingredients list for this product was hugely more impressive to me that the Dr Jart cream. The top half is overwhelmed with soothing ingredients such as Asiatic Acid, Madecassoside, Portulaca Oleracea Extract and of course Centella Asiatica Extract, which sits FAR highly than in the other cream. There are also high concentrations of hydrating ingredients such as Glycerin, that my skin loves. Gone were the essential oils, and vast lists of random unnameable molecules, thankfully! However, the ingredients aren’t perfect. I could do without the alcohol, that can be very irritating to be, the fragrance, which I seen no purpose for. The cost is much more reasonable, in my opinion, than the Dr Jart, especially when you relate it back to the ingredients list. In this cream you get a much more sensible list, with the important ones right at the top, improving your value for money. At about $16, £30, this is an ingredients list I’d pay for. Overall, I was hugely excited about using this product and thought it was going to be perfectly suited to my skin.
Dr Jart Cream above; VT Cosmetic cream below
I was wrong, unfortunately. Although the texture is significantly lighter than the Dr Jart Cream (in my opinion much more like a gel than a cream, with a green tinge to it) it absorbs about as well as paint does! I just couldn’t get it to sink in, no matter how many times I tried, or whatever I used it combination with. I used it right after toner, which made it just sit on the skin, like a sort of oily layer? I used it straight after showering, which worked a bit better, but I feel it rendered my other products useless, and I like layering my skincare, I’m not really the ‘just moisturiser and done’ type of girl. Using it the day was a bit of a nightmare because it made my skin very oily. And the fragrance was a little strong for me. It was very mint-y, which was odd, because I didn’t see much in the ingredients list (except for the fragrance listed right at the bottom) that would indicate a particularly strong smell. In regards to how well it works once it’s actually on the skin, I will say I think it calmed my skin better than the Dr Jart- I saw a significant reduction in irritation, particularly around my nose area, and the overall tone of my skin greatly improved. I also do think it’s very hydrating (perhaps a little TOO hydrating due to the weird film it left on my skin).
Overall, I just could get it to work for me, although I so wanted it to! I loved how well it worked, but hated the way it worked.
Conclusion
In one of the weirdest skincare trials I’ve ever conducted, the one I thought I’d hate, I actually quite like, and the one I thought I’d love, I just couldn’t get to grips with! Overall, I would spend my money on the Dr Jart Cream, because I know it works, and I know my skin gets on with it. The VT Cosmetics cream was just unfit for purpose, which is such a huge shame- however, I hope they reformulate it because I do think they’re on to a winner, and I would be very excited to try this product with perhaps a slightly different end result!
If you were interested in purchasing either of these yourselves you can find them over at StyleKorean, who were kind enough to send these over for me in PR.
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