If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. You know the saying, which is all too often relevant in the beauty industry. I can think of countless products that devolved from their holy grail status to completely unusable overnight. The Farmacy sunscreen update was a fail. The Clarins line of cleansers–another series of disappointments. So, when Allies of Skin hinted at a ‘new and improved’ version of the already insanely good Molecular Silk Amino Hydrating Cleanser, I was more than a little skeptical. And nervous.
Unscented cleansers rarely excite me. Allies of Skin, however, is pretty superb. While other fragrance-free face washes felt joyless to me, reaching for this silver tube in the shower brings nothing but joy. Every time. Not only does it work at removing impurities, and excess oil, it leaves my skin feeling incredibly hydrated. Below is a breakdown of the tweaks.
Ingredients
There are no new ingredients. None have been removed either. With that said, Allies of Skin quadrupled the quantity of Silk Amino Acids in the product and increased the concentration of Safflower and Moringa Seed Oils. This clever move ensures that the cleansing step also strengthens the skin barrier and prevents loss of moisture. Safflower Oil is an anti-inflammatory (and excellent for breakout-prone skin) while Moringa Oil promotes healing, so boosting both botanicals amplifies the role of this cleanser as a treatment product.
With regard to the hue of the Molecular Silk Amino Acid Hydrating Cleanser… My current bottle is lighter in color than the previous formula, which gave me pause, to be honest. I reached out to Nicolas Travis, the brand founder, who replied within minutes, and put my paranoid mind at ease.
“The lighter colour is normal as the Astaxanthin we use is naturally sourced from Hawaii and its hue varies batch by batch. So, the batch you have now has a lighter hue, and I’m sure we will have more orange-hue batches the next round. It’s not something that is set in stone but a lighter colour doesn’t mean it’s less potent. The efficacy is still the same.”
Nicolas Travis
Fun fact: Astaxanthin is an incredibly powerful antioxidant derived from a species of red algae. It’s what gives salmon fish their lovely bright color. Or, as Nicolas would say ‘colour’.
User experience
Texture-wise, the new version is a tad creamier, something I hadn’t thought needing an adjustment. I’m grateful for–it feels even more luxe. It glides on the skin with a very comfortable slip, lathers up gently, and rinses off clean. Since the INCI is so incredibly thoughtful, I’ve been extending my face cleansing step to a full minute to reap all benefits (using my Foreo LUNA 4 helps a lot). As mentioned earlier, there is no added fragrance, but that does not necessarily result in a 100% unscented product. I’d say there’s a subtle scent of… plastic? It’s so faint, it’s barely there. I like it.
Packaging
Completely unchanged, same lightweight plastic tube with a screw on cap. Thank you for not introducing an improvement on something that didn’t need it.
Final thoughts
Luckily, I worried for nothing. This 2.0 version is even better than the original so if, like me, you panicked at the re-launch announcement, all is well. All is great, actually. Pick up your next tube without hesitation. I am 100% certain you‘ll be thrilled.
Get it now because
The Allies site is running a 30% off promo with code GETREADY until April 3. After it ends, feel free to use my affiliate code BART20, which gives you a 20% discount on everything on the site.
The new Molecular Silk Amino Hydrating Cleanser retails for $40 (3.4 oz.) at us.allies.shop
