Graymelin Centella50 Regeneration Natural Toner Review

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I have had really great experiences for the most part with Graymelin products ~ these are renowned for their vintage, apothecary bottles and jars, with great ingredients. I have reviewed several Graymelin products in the past and their Beta Glucan is HG status with me. On my quest for more centella products, I found this gem at W2Beauty ~ I am addicted to toners as I have oily skin; I love and need to layer watery, hydrating products that aren’t oily or greasy on my skin.

Skin Type/Concerns: Oily, blemish prone, aging skin with fine lines/wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation

image from w2beauty

Even though the printing on the bottle is in English, it is quite jumbled, for the lack of a better word. As I do not know any other languages fluently other than English (and that is debatable!! lol), I won’t belittle a company’s attempt to describe their product. From the bottle, this is my translation of the description:

This toner contains centella and it has an immediate, high regeneration effect on parched skin. Centella asiatica extract improves damaged skin, creating wet and glossy skin, while its botanical ingredients helps over-stimulated skin become firm and elastic skin.

Fatigued skin is energized with its soft absorption and provides nourishment and elasticity care.
Your skin feels soft and hydrated, while centella activated components improves skin tone and provides care for trouble and blemish prone skin.
The formula helps repair and protect the moisture barrier and hydrates dry, parched skin
This toner provides pore control and creates clearer and refreshed skin, with no irritation.

Centella asiatica extract: also known as gotu kola, contains madecassic acid which is well known for its skin regeneration effects ~ such as wound healing, blood circulation and anti-wrinkle care.
Green tea extract: Catechin in green tea binds moisture to skin, while providing soothing care in fatigued skin and provides anti-aging care
Betaine: Natural, moisture amino acid ingredient derived sugar beets roots, also known as glycerine betaine
Sodium chondroitin sulfate: Helps retain water in tissue for glossy skin ~ The reason why young ones skin is more elastic and smoother than older people is due to the presence of of chondroitine sulfate ~ as we age, chondroitin decreases.

Whatta Toner!

Centella asiatica, of course! It is the first ingredient in the list and makes up for 50% of the product. It soothes and heals your skin and has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. It is rich in amino acids as well as essential fatty acids, beta carotene and other phytochemicals, which help with wound healing and stimulating new skin cell growth. It not only just helps with healing, it helps reduce blemishes and skin rashes as it has anti-bacterial properties. It will help minimize the appearance of pores and it stimulates collagen production so it will make your skin more supple and firm while reducing scarring. It contains certain chemicals that also makes this herb an anti-inflammatory, so redness and swelling will be reduced. The reason why this is so good for healing and soothing your skin, as it contain saponins: “The primary active constituent is triterpenoid compounds. Saponins (also called triterpenoids) known as asiaticoside, madecassoside, and madasiatic acid are the primary active constituents. These saponins beneficially affect collagen (the material that makes up connective tissue), for example, inhibiting its production in hyperactive scar tissue.” (source Herb Wisdom)

Green tea (camellia sinensis) is full of powerful anti-oxidants, due to its high concentration of polyphenols, and will help reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This also will stimulate collagen production, due to rh-Oligopeptide- 1, aka human oligopeptide-1, which is an EGF ~ Epidermal Growth Factor. This will also fight free radicals, reduce and repair wrinkles, smooth the texture of your skin, while hydrating and moisturizing your skin.

This contains a trio of berries, which are an important skincare ingredient as they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory proprieties, high in anthocyanins that contain 150 flavonoids. Anthocyanins help protect your connective tissue from being damaged by enzymes and they also repair damage. They are full of phytochemicals and antioxidants, which help suppress oxidization and therefore, inhibit the free radical production. Free radicals cause damage and can destroy cells, which leads to premature aging. Not only do these berries help fight free radicals, but they will soothe and condition your skin. They will help increase skin elasticity, making skin more tone and firm. They also have Vitamin C and A, both which reverse the skin damage caused by free radicals ~ fine lines, wrinkles, hyper-pigementation, broken capillaries. In the case of blueberries, they are also good for blemish prone skin, as it contains salicylates and that will remove dead skin, dirt and debris from pores and also is anti-bacterial and an astringent. Cranberries provide a brightening and evening out of your skin tone as it contains hight concentrations of arbutin. Acai berries have more anti-oxidative activity properties (ORAC) than many other fruit extracts and contains anthocyanin, 3 omega essential fatty acids ~ 3, 5 and 9 and vitamins, including Vitamin B1, B3, C, E, all which will help combat free radicals, protect and strengthen your skin.

This also contains hibiscus, an anti-oxidant rich ingredient due to its polyphenolic compounds, helping combat free radicals to prevent and reverse damage caused by external stresses. Hibiscus is also an anti-bacterial and will prevent infections and speed up wound healing. Anthocyanocides help reduce swelling and redness as it is an anti-inflammatory and astringent.

This also has several very powerful hydrating and moisturizing ingredients: humectant sodium hyaluronate is an ingredient which bonds water to keep skin hydrated. It is a natural substance found in the human body and it made up of amino and uronic acids, and helps retain 100 to 1,000 times its own water weight in our skin cells; Sodium chondroitin sulfate is a derivative of mucopolysaccharide or glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and it increases hydration as it efficiently binds itself to water, resulting in firm elastic skin. It can also reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles by plumping up your skin, while healing and soothing. Betaine, an amino acid derived from sugar beets, acts as a humectant and anti-irritant, providing silky smooth skin, while providing soothing, calming care.

Beta glucan helps stimulate the production of collagen, speeds up wound healing, soothes and calms skin due to its anti-irritant and strong anti-inflammatory properties, moisturizes, locks in natural moisture, anti-aging and anti-wrinkle due to its anti-oxidant properties and also helps repair your moisture barrier. And finally aloe vera, a powerful moisturizer that doesn’t leave your skin feeling oily or greasy. It soothes, treats inflammation, helps speed up skin healing and also has a plethora of antioxidants to help improve your skin’s firmness and keepsyour skin moist and hydrated.

If you got this far, thank you!! It is amazing how much is packed into a toner, isn’t it? We don’t think of all of the ingredients and what benefits they will have for the most part ~ and I didn’t even mention the other lovely herbals in here. For those wondering how I can post so much about an ingredients, it is because every time I research an ingredient, I add it to my personal master list of ingredients information. It really helps when I am looking for new products too ~ as I can see what the ingredient is good for and if I had good results with it or not.

Ingredients: Centella Asiatica Extract (50%), Butylene Glycol, Water, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, 1,2-Hexanediol, Betaine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Beta-Glucan, Sodium Chondroitin Sulfate, Human Oligopeptide-1 (EGF), Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Alchemilla Vulgaris Leaf Extract,Vaccinium Macrocarpon (cranberry) Fruit Extract, Aspalathus Linearis Extract, Melissa Officinalis (lemon balm) Leaf Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit (rose hips) Extract,Vaccinium Angustifolium (blueberry) Fruit Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit (acai) Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (rosemary) Extract Caprylyl Glycol, Allantoin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Powder, Styrene/VP Copolymer, Carbomer ,Triethanolamine, Adenosine, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Chlorophyllin-Copper Complex cosDNA analysis

Can I praise the packaging on this beautiful product? This comes in a nice apothecary-style, clear glass 130 mL bottle, with a matte pewter-colored cap. The toner is a beautiful light silver-sage green color there is white paper label with stylized printing, explaining the toner and its purpose.

This glass bottle has a pin hole opening, which I am not a fan of. The liquid comes out nicely, but I would have rather had a pump applicator on this one. The liquid in the bottle looks to be a light green shade, although when I apply it to my skin, it isn’t green at all ~ but it makes for a beautiful presentation on my {crowded} bathroom counter. I am so fascinated by the liquid in the bottle. It looks so thick and juicy in the bottle, with little air bubbles disbursed through out it. I thought this was going to be a gel toner, due to its viscosity in the bottle. However, it is not a gel toner ~ the pin hole applicator also adds to the illusion that this toner is thick, as you have to shake it a bit to get the product out of the bottle. However, its texture is a thicker-than-water and does have a nice bounce to it. It has a nice slippery, cooling feeling ~ very slick, but it isn’t greasy or oily. It is so refreshing and feels very good on my skin, very calming. It is unscented as well, or at least I cannot detect a scent from it. I pour the toner in my hand and then pat on my face as I do with most hydrating toners. I feel I want the product on my skin, not a cotton pad. It does take a few minutes to absorb into my skin ~ leaving behind no residue, just really moist, soft and smooth skin. This improved my moisture level by about 21%, but decreased my oil by 43%! This is a great toner for oily skinned folks, as it really helps reduce that oiliness and control it. My skin feels hydrated without feeling overwhelmed by lipids. Graymelin Centella50 is a nice 6 pH level, which is just a little bit acidic, but not too much. This toner does not claim to be an exfoliating toner, but for soothing and calming care, along with anti-wrinkle benefits. This is a fantastic toner for everyday and also for when I have over exfoliated, as it does not sting or cause any irritations on my skin. I literately could bath in this toner, it feels that good!

Final Thoughts

Graymelin Centella50 is now alongside my HG status toners, such as Benton Aloe BHA Toner. In fact, it reminds me a lot of Benton Aloe BHA Toner (review here) with its texture and it has similar results, but it has an added benefit of the healing centella asistica along with anti-wrinkle and anti-aging ingredients. If you ever wondered how a liquid could be described as “soft”, use Graymelin Centella50 as Exhibit A for an example. It leaves my skin moist, hydrated, without a sticky feel. My skin feels so smooth and plumped up with moisture, along with a nice clean finish ~ not oily or greasy. I found that its claims are on point: This toner will help smooth rough skin, provide pore care ~ cleaning and acting as an astringent. It will moisturize with botanical ingredients and improve your skin’s moisture barrier while leaving your face feeling refreshed and calm. I have been using this toner for a few months now and it is one of those products that you really don’t pay a lot of attention to… until you remove it from your skincare routine. Then you notice the difference in your skin and how it feels.

Have you tried Graymelin Centella50 Regenerating Toner? How did you like it? Or other Graymelin products? Let me know in the comments below ~ as I am always looking forward to trying more Graymelin 🙂

Where to Purchase

image source w2beauty

Huh, not a lot of places, that is for sure. I purchased mine at W2Beauty for $30.00 USD ~ click here to purchase. It also looks like W2Beauty has just revamped their website and I have reached out to Alice, the owner of W2Beauty, to find out about what happened to the referral codes. I will keep you updated on that development here and on my Discount Codes page. They are very generous with free samples, which vary depending on availability. The more you order, the more (and bigger) freebies you get. FREE shipping for purchases $60.00+ If under $60.00, there is a one flat rate fee ~ for example, for USA, it would be $12.50. You can check out the rates here. If you also order products from Benton, Eclado, Sandawha and/or Cellnco, your shipping is free!