REVIEW: Boscia Thermal Black Cleanser

This is the Thermal Black Cleanser from Boscia. It retails for $40.00 CAD on the Sephora website for 150 ml of product. This product has been given the “clean” seal by Sephora so it claims to be made without sulfates, parabens, phthalates and more (there is a 50 ingredient list of what has to be omitted to be considered clean) so that is promising. Its most notable ingredients are:

- Artichoke Leaf Extract: Improves elasticity to help tighten pore walls.

- Charcoal: Draws out excess oil and impurities as it detoxifies.

- Glycolic Acid: Helps clarify skin and smooth rough texture.

- Vitamin C: Helps brighten skin tone and minimize the appearance of fine lines as it defends from free radical damage.

The Claims

This cleanser is described as a deep cleaning, skin detoxifying warming cleanser that improves skin complexion. It is formulated to heat up once it touches the skin (warmth is known to soften skin aka “open pores”) so it is able to give a deep clean. Also when the gel comes in contact with water, it turns into a lather that is supposed to effectively dissolve makeup, oil and dirt. In essence, this cleanser claims to overtime improve skin texture, brighten the skin and minimize the appearance of pores.

First Impressions

I do enjoy a lot of Boscia’s skincare mainly because of their brand values and the ingredients they incorporate in their products. Typically some form of botanical without harmful preservatives and such. They are generally non irritating and very gentle on the skin.

At first glance, the packaging is beautiful and simple (my favourite). It is sleek and to the point. The pump is very easy and dispenses just the right amount of product in one pump. It also comes with a pump lock in case you take it to travel.

The cleanser it self is a really thick gel. It has a light citrus scent (most likely due to the Vitamin C and the citrus seed extract listed on the ingredient list). And it is very moisturizing.

About My Skin

As always, lets start off with a quick run-down of my skin so you can better gauge if it will give you similar results. I am in my early 20s, I am dark skin, I have semi-sensitive acneic skin type that is very prone to post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation. If you have been following my acne journey you’ll know that as of late, I have pretty much gotten rid of my cystic acne and tend to get a few white heads, and pimples on my temples and chin around my period.

See my May Skincare Update 2019

My Experience

The first time I used the cleanser, I immediately noticed how rich and creamy the texture is. It literally feels like butter on the skin. I use it predominantly at night to give my skin a deep cleanse.

The second time I used the cleanser I decided to put it to the test and see how well it removed my makeup. I am actually astonished at how well this cleans the skin. I use a cotton round after cleansing to judge how well it took off my makeup and I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn’t anything left.

After my experimentation, I decided to use the cleanser as I normally do in my routine. I am a big fan of steam. I think it does amazing things for the skin (softens the skin / open pores) so I decided to use this cleanser after steaming. I removed my makeup with oil, used Micellar Water, steamed with my Secura Nano Iconic Facial Steamer and then used the thermal cleanser which was really nice together. I felt like it gave me more of the heat factor that this product claims to provide.

As far as the “thermal” factor is concerned, I’ve never really found products that warm when applied on the skin give off much heat. Initially when you put it on your hands it feels warm, as soon as it comes into contact with the water however that effect goes away. So then I tried applying it directly to my skin with no water but it has no spread-ability whatsoever. Maybe I’m not using it correctly to get the warming effect, so anyone knows how to get that heated feeling going (and staying) let me know.

Overall

My skin feels so smooth and hydrated after using this. I especially love that it balances out the oils in the skin but it doesn’t strip the skin of natural oils. Because this product already has both vitamin C and glycolic acid (and I’m using the cleanser for 60 seconds at a time) I feel like it really helped the texture of my skin. I didn’t use an additional exfoliator (other than my witch hazel toner while using this for the first week) and my skin felt smooth and well taken care of. The second week I added my usual facial peel from Vine Vera and had good results.

The only thing I did notice was that there was a bit of irritation above my eyelids and brow area. I suspect this may have something to do with the Retinol that I have been using rather than the cleanser itself. But I really enjoyed this cleanser. It has good reviews for a reason and I would buy this again.