Beneficial, Beautifying, wellBeing: Analyzing the “B” in B. Kamins

BENEFICIAL, BEAUTIFYING, wellBEING:
ANALYZING THE B IN B. KAMINS
by Jessica Skropanic

My skin is like my houseplants less is definitely better. Like my houseplants, I often pester my skin with too many products and don t give it enough time to just be . Also like my houseplants, my skin lives in a hot and very dry climate, and it loses luster and looks a little droopy if I play with it too often. Still I know that if I find just the right products, my skin glows. What s a pest to do with temperamental skin and houseplants? For the latter I finally went totally hydroponic, being vegetation-impaired. For the former, I was introduced to a lovely skincare line that really made my skin look like it had gotten a big blast of fertilizer.

Ben Kamins, a pharmaceutical and dermatological chemist, has spent over thirty years developing pharmaceuticals for physicians, especially dermatologists. Interested in developing products for peri-menopausal and menopausal skin that reduced wrinkling and increased elasticity, he looked to an interesting source of strength and age, maple trees. A Canadian, Kamins certainly had plenty of maples to study. He began by questioning how some maple trees could survive for hundreds of years in the frigid Northern Canadian climate, and after years of research he created his Bio-Maple compound. It is derived from the sap of maple trees and is found exclusively in B. Kamins products.

After founding his company, B. Kamins, Chemist, Kamins developed a large selection of different products for different skin types for both men and women. Included are products for both adult and adolescent acne sufferers, products for menopausal skin, separate products for sensitive, oily and dry skin, and the Booster Blue line for Rosacea sufferers which includes cleanser, treatment and mask.

Not since being twenty, when my skin was so elastic and healthy I could have gone face-first into nuclear waste and still looked awesome, have I been able to use a complete skincare system comfortably. Being a fan of maple products especially candies! I decided to test products from B. Kamins dry-normal skin Bio-Maple line: I chose the Bio-Maple Body Lotion, Botanical Face Cleanser, Hydrating-Ion Moisturizer, the Revitalizing Booster Concentrate, and Maple Treatment Cream-SPF 15.

The Bio-Maple Body Lotion is described by the company as a warmly scented therapeutic body lotion infused with honey, soy and the Bio-Maple compound developed by Kamins. It also contains shea butter which makes it go on smoothly and absorb quickly. My skin felt healthy and supple after I allowed it to soak in, but what I loved best about this product was the scent! It is very light, but honeyed and sweet. My skin was neither sticky nor greasy it just felt soft and well, like me!

The Bio-Maple Botanical Face Cleanser (for dry to normal skin) is a very gentle cleanser that has the consistency of a lotion and no grit, so it is easy on irritated, delicate or dry skin. It is applied to your wet face, massaged in, and then rinsed completely away. It contains Vitamins A and E which are antioxidants. I loved how this product felt. No grit in my sensitive skin, and it was full of moisturizers. I didn t want to take it off! It also contained what seems like a similar scent to the maple body lotion. I really liked the light honeyed scent.

The Hydrating-Ion Moisturizing Toner, created for normal/combination skin, is alcohol-free. In the company s words, it invigorates the upper skin layers with a gentle exfoliator while conditioning with plant extracts and moisturizers, and is formulated to both moisturize and normalize skin to its delicate pH balance. In my words, it s a GOD-SEND!

Most toners, regardless if they contain alcohol, sting my sensitive skin. I could never use a toner right after cleansing because the two procedures together were just too harsh. After cleansing with the Bio-Maple Botanical Face Cleanser I stared dubiously at the cotton ball with the toner on it. Why ruin a good experience with toner? I braced myself and wiped it on my forehead ...
Wow! No sting!
But the most sensitive part of my face, my cheeks and nose, would rebel.
Nope!
Hurray! Forget my Master s Degree, my wonderful marriage, my confirmation, and my ability to make balloon animals this was my shining moment. I succeeded in using toner! It felt fresh and cool, with absolutely no cringing necessary on my part.

After experiencing outdoor exposure to gale-force winds (long boring story), I welcomed the Revitalizing Booster Concentrate on my wind-dried cheeks, chin and nose. It is designed especially for sensitive or irritated skin, Billed as useful for skin traumatized by laser, sunburns, AHA treatments and rosacea conditions, I thought that my temperamental skin would be a piece of cake for this product; and it was! It is color and fragrance-free, and contains an anti-inflammatory to restore smoothness while calming and soothing the skin. It went on smoothly and felt terrific. Just two drops on my finger was all I needed to help the healing process along, and within 48 hours my skin was normal and in excellent health.

Last, I reached for the Maple Treatment Cream-SPF 15 (for dry skin). It is described as a lightweight, non-greasy anti-oxidant day cream that contains essential nutrients, and gives ... continuous moisture release suited to a multitude of daytime environmental conditions, both indoors and outdoors. As with the other products, the Bio-Maple ingredient helps fight wrinkles and makes skin radiance. And who doesn t want to radiate? I loved how light it felt, both on the back of my hand and on my face. Instead of competing with the other products, it enhanced their good work. It never overpowered, and it was absorbed rapidly. (NOTE: It doesn t take much.)

With dozens of products to choose from, everyone can find a product for their skin type. Check out the B. Kamins web site www.bkamins.com for more information and an on-line store.

I wish they sold plant fertilizer.