HELP! Bad reaction to Biossance Squalane + Phyto Retinol Serum

[kimberlyP99]

Hi Everyone! First time posting here. I just purchased Biossance’s Squalane Phyto Retinol Serum and after one use (overnight), I woke up with a terrible reaction. My face/eyes/mouth were swollen, red and burning. It progressively got worse and now on day 2, my face is still swollen and I’ve now broken out  with whiteheads ALL over the place. It’s burning and painful. This serum is the only change I made in my skincare regimen, and I generally do not have very sensitive skin. This is the first time I have ever experienced a reaction, and I have used retinol before without any issues. 

Please help! How do I fix this? What can I do to treat it? Thank you in advance!! I really appreciate your help!!

[Nurse628]

Me also. Purchased numerous Biossance Squalane products and had horrible read ruin, sunburned skin, bumps and itchiness. So sad, was so excited to try them. I’ve never had allergic reactions to beauty products. These were the only new products I used that day/night. The picture is not when it was at its worst. I’m a high school nurse and students and coworkers were asking what was wrong.

 

[minibee11]

ME TOO!!! I'd been using the Biossance with rose oil and other Biossance products with squalane. No problems until one night I used the Biossance Squalane & Zinc cream. (I also had a very yummy Indian dinner with cashews and cashew cream, so my doctor thought that was the cause. After a few weeks, I very cautiously tried cashews and *that's not it*.) I had a "burnt" feeling and appearance - swollen, red, itchy beyond belief, little blisters - lasted for nearly a week. Last night I tried putting a bit of the squalane cream on my face and woke up in the middle of the night to all of that TIMES A MILLION.  The pharmacist reminded me that allergic reactions don't stay the same intensity: if you're allergic to something, your body is trying to tell you something so the reaction if it's exposed to the allergen again is a lot worse. I only put it on half my neck and there is a clear demarcation, however, the reaction (itching, uncomfortable) is spreading throughout my body now, even though I took the prescription antihistamine at 5 this morning. I wish I had just tried it on a tiny spot on my arm or something. Now I am absolutely frightening to look at: bright red face (and half my neck), incredibly swollen, itchy and blistered. I've got heavy-duty night-time prescription antihistamine and hopefully that will help.

#https://www.sephora.com/ca/en/product/biossance-squalane-zinc-sheer-mineral-sunscreen-spf-30-pa-P479...

The pharmacist says I'm just lucky I didn't go into anaphylactic shock. 

[Jewels125]

I just had an allergic reaction to the Biossance squalene + mineral sheet sunscreen… it was initially fine at first, but yesterday it made my cheeks/neck/earlobes itchy, red, and inflamed. My earlobes are swollen. 

[zadkim]

hello, all I can advise you is to go see this video of the two professors specializing in this field, it's been like a while that I follow them, they really have good advice. 
https://exe.io/GEftakx (just skip thos ADS) 

[yikkees]

Me too, I have sensitive skin and all the advertising on the beauty stat box said squalane is quick absorbing, no greasy feel, non-comedogenic, non- irritating, non- sensitizing. The company said this is a single ingredient 100% Squalane. So I thought great here is a product I can use. Wrong! Severe swollen face neck eyes just from a couple of drops.

[Annalita]

Hi Kimberly,  I feel for you!!

1.   Benadryl - Read label to make sure it's ok for you to take (the "cautions" part on the side).  Follow the directions.

2.   Pillowcase - change your pillowcase and bedding to avoid putting your face into contact with the allergen again.

3.   Go to Shopper Drug Mart.  Buy Avene Tolerance cleanser and the matching lotion or heavier cream based on your skin type.   Only the Tolerance line.  Just those 2 items will help.   (Super short ingredient lists)

A similar thing happened to me with another product.  The above is what I figured out after having tried different things.

If you have to go out in public - use the avene body sunscreen on your face (it's titanium dioxide only) topped with Dermablend makeup and set with their powder -  gently.   Use this until your skin settles itself down from the allergic reaction.

Use Benadryl as you think is necessary  -  or go visit your family doctor.

Keep the Avene and Dermablend stuff for the future in case of something similar.

Have patience, and be gentle with your skin.  Take Care!!   Ann

[minhphuongvu]

it wasn’t this one but i tried biossance squalene + bha pore minimizing toner and i woke up to the same terrible reaction. my face was swollen and i started breaking out like crazy over the next few days and i had to immediately return and switched back to something my skin is used to. the breakout stopped but it took forever to get rid of the scarrings and cystic acne that developed.

i also found myself to have a mild reaction to rose oil/ products that contain rose extracts. when i first started my skincare routine i was gifted the fresh deep hydration moisturizer and picked up the matching rose toner because of how pretty the bottle is. i broke out continually for a few months but always thought it was due to my skin being already bad and acne-prone. i then get more invested in building a routine, which coincidentally excluded rose extracts and for the first time in many years i’ve managed to clear up my skin and making it look healthy. lesson learned: i need to be careful with ingredients that i might be reactive to and notice which ingredient specifically caused troubles to replace it in my routine 🙂

[LLSH17]

The same thing happened to me with a prescription retinol! 

[bv711]

So glad to have found this post. I've tried several of the products but I believe I've narrowed it down to the rose oil. That one did a number on my face. At first, I did get some irritation thinking perhaps it was the lactic acid or retinol. I then changed to using those every few days. I went on a trip and did not use the rose oil for about 10 days. Upon returning, I resumed using the oil. BAM!! Next day, full face irritation and rash; redness, dry, scaly skin, swelling, lips dry and cracked. It was horrible. I didn't know what until it dawned on me it was the rose oil. I've tried the other products with no reaction, but this....oh boy, never again. 

[nobodycares]

I also have had a bad reaction to the rose oil! Itchy red burning rash swollen eyes my neck in so red it almost feels burned. Went to the Dermatologist and he called in a prescription cream. I purchased the whole line🙈

[Kaelwhite]

I had a bad reaction as well . Burned skin . Couldn’t use rose 🌹 oil or retinol . Months later still going to Dermatologist. 

 

[blueangel25]

I just had the same reaction to biossance squalane oil - my face was incredibly swollen so bad that my eyes were almost swollen shut. And now my skin is burning with a rough texture and is still swollen. I did not have any reaction the first time I put it on, so didn't think twice about the second application. DON'T BUY. 

[Shreya31sinha]

same here  Severe allergic reaction.

[EllaBae]

I had the exact same reaction, but after using it for over a month consistently. I found it hard to believe, because it was working and I used probably half the bottle, but then 3 different times I was having skin reactions. I made sure this was the only "NEW" product I was using to test my fear/theory that it was the BIossance + Squalene vit C product that at first I was obsessed with, re: the results of dark spot removal.

[Sweetlaide]

Used it once 3 days ago and woke up to a swollen face and my eyes are almost shut with blurred vision. Going to see an ophthalmologist in two days because my vision is still having issues. I think I'm done with commercial beauty products for a while. This is the worst allergic reaction I've ever had to a product. Something is going on with my body and I'm becoming sensitive to the chemicals in these products. My skin is extremely dry and scaled and HURTS. Thank God I can wear a mask to hide my disgusting face and even my neck is burned. Definitely done with this brand forever.

[Debleelee]

Same here. Never have reacted to anything before and reacted to both the face and eye. Eyes swollen, face broke out now for several weeks and I never break out 

[Hilyo]

That’s because there isn’t retinol in this serum. The active ingredient is bakuchiol. It’s considered a natural alternative to retinol because it produces similar results. It’s nothing like retinol however.  

[Maaaagggssssss]

Wow so I’m not the only one. I used the squalene cleansing oil and my lips started to swell, irritate and fill with blisters that wouldn’t heal (which I thought were sores at first). Oddly enough, the rest of my face didn’t react...I stopped using it and my lips healed instantly

[thisisannav]

Same here 😞Used it two nights ago, Biossance Squalane phyto-retinol serum + Biossance Omega repair cream + Biossance Rose + Squalane Oil. I've never had such a horrible reaction before, my face got all itchy at night, woke up twice to wash my face but it must have absorbed by then. My face was all red and super itchy the following morning, so swollen my fine lines got all smoothed out, cheek bones gone, looking like my 3 yo niece with chubby cheeks. I used oat + greek yogurt mixture 3x times on the following day, scared to use any cosmetic products at that point. Woke up with puffy eyes on day 2, same story with my face. Now it's day three - I'm having a super dry cast on my face, it's still red, like sunburned, a bit less swollen, super dry. Taking Zyrtek, can't believe I paid $150+ to get my face burnt.. Have had a poor experience with Biossance Eye Cream too now that I think about it, their only product that I'm happy with and keep repurchasing is the lightweight day cream. 

[sunshine2014]

Same here! I am extremely sensitive, though. I would just use cetaphil or avene’s ‘cetaphil’ it’s free of parabens etc., unlike cetaphil. You can get it online. Or try using only ‘ultrabland’ from Lush, as directed, until your skin calms down. Or basic first aid beauty’s basic face wash with oat in it and a very basic moisturizer, like first aid beauty ultra moisturizer. I’m really liking first aid beauty.