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!!

[jg4754]

Yes same here!! I went to a wedding in Florida and I got a severe reaction with red, itchy, swollen skin and fluid filled blisters. Plus, I had a bunch of little whitehead type things in the initial reaction. I have also been using their Omega Repair Cream and Peptide Eye Gel and have had not one but two similar reactions in the past month now. I’m consulting with a physician tomorrow to see what’s up. It’s painful, embarrassing, and definitely not something I want to have to worry about every month. If I get any details on what it could be, I’m happy to share here. Not wanting this to happen to the next person.

[cchalifax]

I used a sample of the Biossance Squalene + Phyto Retinol Serum once last night and woke up with a severe allergic reaction.  My eyes are swollen almost shut and my entire face is red, itchy hot and bumpy.  I was shocked to google this product and see so many people have adverse reactions.  This product should not be on shelves and most definitely does not meet the quality criteria of a product that Sephora is pushing samples from. Very painful experience.

[Ella03RA]

I just used my sample from sephora today. My face is red. My neck is swollen red with rashes and hurts to touch. I rinsed off and put calamine lotion and took some Claritin. Hope it doesn't get worse. I've never had a reaction in my life. Can't believe Sephora is handing out these samples either, after so many bad reviews.

[purpleeggplant3]

Same here...it’s never happened to me before. I am so disappointed and had to get on prednisone 

[ruby121]

It burned my face. I am on topical and oral antibiotics. It’s very scary!

[sophiejane1]

So weirdly I am reacting to the plain squalane oil! When I use it my skin gets hot, red and itchy. I thought it would be fine for sensitive skin but I guess not

[nirali1989]

Yup having terrible reaction on my eyelids only from the oil, didn’t Have this problem with my previous squalene bottles, not sure if the ingredients have changed!! 

[djann]

Same here, I’m usually not very sensitive, I applied plain Squalene to face and neck and woke with puffy eyes and red hot patches on my neck. 

[nirali1989]

Omg I had red patches on my neck too and look like Eczema , never had these skin issues before

[hashanihetti]

Hi, had a similar reaction. I was given a small sample of this product at checkout and I tried it once AM/PM and the next day I woke up with a tiny white spots all over my face! I have used other retinol products quite regularly so I surprised by this reaction. 

[Anisa96]

As someone with sensitive skin, I stay away from a majority of active ingredients, retinol included. Nothing good can come out of it. 

[Catelisa]

I'm just now seeing this, because I had the same reaction! I woke up this morning to a red and swollen face. I've never had a reaction like this before to anything. I've popped a Benadryl- tomorrow is Christmas Eve and hoping this doesn't get progressively worse. 

[kimberlyP99]

I hope it went away quickly for you!!

[Catelisa]

Thank you! It was better by the next morning.

[Jojo4220]

Same here. I tried all the other products and didn't have a problem. I read the ingredients and I think it could be the yeast extract that is the culprit. some folks (like me ) have yeast sensitivities. If so, stay away from this product!

[TeaCupGirl]

I am having the same reaction right now. I do not have sensitive skin and have used squalane and retinol products before. I put a small amount under my eyes and woke up the next day to swollen, puffy eyes. The next day (today) the skin under my eyes is extremely itchy and I have small white bumps there. I don’t think they’re whiteheads but they weren’t there before and I hardly get any acne. How did this resolve for everyone else? My skin is burning and itchy and it’s driving me nuts!

[chrisybeebee]

I was having the some crazy reactions to my skin for the last 6 months and didn't connect it with the Biossance sunscreen I was using. I had been using it for over a year and never had a problem.

Then I started to notice itching around my eyes and on my eyelids and forehead and jaws. I thought this was my mascara or makeup, so I updated those and threw the old ones out. I thought it might be my masks (because pandemic times) and washed them more frequently. But I continued to have itching. I started to breakout around my eyes, I would get pimples along my lash line.

Then I started to notice itching on my neck and my decolletage. I thought maybe it was my skincare, so I changed all of that too. But this continued to the point where my neck started to scale and peel.

I finally realized it was the sunscreen when I used it on my arms in a pinch when I was out hiking. I completely broke out in a rash all over my arms and they itched like crazy and even felt like they were burning. I only had calamine lotion on hand and this seemed to help for a bit, but it lasted almost 4 days.

I reached out to Biossance about this and they were really great and responsive, took note of the batch number, but could only suggest that I return this to Sephora in exchange for another.  I got a whole new tube, and I had the exact same reaction.  It seems to be worse after spending time in the sun, so I wonder if there's an ingredient that might be photo-unstable or something that I might just be sensitive to. 

I'm really sad about this since a good physical sunscreen is so hard to find and this one had minimal white cast and felt cosmetically elegant.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure exactly what ingredient might have caused this, but saw that some of the posters here had similar reactions, so I hope this post might help someone.

[cshinny]

I had the same reaction to the Biossance sunscreen. I was in the market for a new sunscreen after all of the drama around korean sunscreens not being the marketed SPF. I've been using Biossance sunscreen for the last 4 months. I've been having what seemed like random allergic reactions with itchy/burning hives spreading across my face and neck. At first, I associated it with foods I ate but it would be inconsistent.... I got bloodwork done and went to an allergist and got a panel to test for 60 different things I could be allergic to.... came back with nothing. The allergist put me on Zyrtec twice a day bc they were stumped as well. I would still get hives randomly every couple days to a couple weeks spread out. My most recent flareup was a couple days ago.

I racked my brain to try to think of what it could be and realized this started when I started using the Biossance sunscreen. I alternate between this sunscreen, a BB cream with SPF, and a sport/waterproof sunscreen everyday. After reflecting back , this only seemed to occur when I used the Biossance sunscreen. The reason why I couldn't put it together sooner was because I wouldn't get hives right away, but I would get it 4-5 hours after application and exposure to the sun. Apparently there's something called photocontact dermatitis where you experience an interaction between sun exposure and certain ingredients in sunscreen that causes the skin to react and become irritated.

The last couple of occurrences have been bad where I also get blisters on my face. It's been extremely painful. My skin has also gone haywire and I am not dry and breaking out. I just really hope my skin recovers from this. It's crazy to see so many other people who have had similar reactions to Biossance products.

I'm not sure what the ingredient I am having reactions to but I can say I won't be using ANY Biossance products going forward.

[litera]

@chrisybeebee I'm so glad to have found your post. I broke out overnight in rashes on my face and neck, which I believe might be due to the Biossance sunscreen. I had to take a sick day today as it has gotten worse and I can barely open my eyes, ugh. I  had been using the same sunscreen for months with no issues at all. I know allergies can develop at any time but this doesn't make any sense, especially for a supposedly safer physical sunscreen. This is the second time it happened, the first I thought was due to my heat intolerance exacerbated by all the mask-wearing - though my heat allergy would usually cause rashes on my body instead of my face. 

I also noticed it seems to get worse with sun exposure, since I don't get any immediate symptoms when I first apply it at home. I double layer this Biossance sunscreen with Dr. Dennis Gross Dark Spot Sun Defense on top. The only new item I've used both times this happened was the Thrive Lash Extensions mascara, which I initially suspected though still haven't ruled out since there are apparently allergic reactions associated with it as well. I have sensitive skin but never had this type of horrid reaction to a product  (even the ones I know containing triggers for me, like avobenzone). I can sense its onset when I feel some tightening, swelling and itchiness, and areas of my face start to burn and get red. I absolutely hate this but hope it also helps someone going through the same.

I plan to see an allergist who can hopefully confirm which ingredient(s) to stay away from as it certainly would help to know, for sanity's sake if nothing else.   

[ruby121]

It burned my face. I am on antibiotics orally and topically. It’s been 4  days and it’s still a major issue.

Very scary!

[purpleeggplant3]

Oh no I hope your skin is better. I’m experiencing the same thing atm..