Does oc8 oil control genius really work?

Christi’s Curious:

Hi Beauty Brains! I was wondering if you could tell me about the product OC8 Oil Control Genius. It says it has “ACRYSORB micro-particles” (which sounds like a marketing gimick to me), and it absorbs only the excess oil on your skin. I’m just wondering if it really does absorb the excess oil like it says it does. And if it is absorbing oil, like it says it is, and it’s all sitting on your skin, would this cause acne?

The Right Brain Responds:

Christi, The Beauty Brains applaud your skepticism! Acrysorb sounds like Marketing hype to us too! Let’s take a closer look:

The product contains the following ingredients:

Purified water, Acrysorb (brand of acrylates copolymer), propylene glycol, PEG-400, carbomer 940, sodium hydroxide, methylparaben, and disodium EDTA.

The last two are easy: methyparaben and disodium EDTA are simply preservatives. The PEG-400 and Carbomer 940 are thickeners; the sodium hydroxide is a neutralizing agent for the carbomer (that’s what makes it get thick). The propylene glycol provide some humectant properterties and finally the Acrysorb (which is just their trade name for a type of acrylate polymer, is in the formula to absorb oil as they suggest.

Is this kind of absorption possible? Well, there are certain types of acrylate copolymers that can absorb oil. So theoretically, this kind of product could “trap” some of the surface oil on the skin and make your skin feel less greasy. That should not contribute to acne breakouts, however, because oily skin is not the only cause of acne. You also need bacteria and clogged pores.

But while it could work in theory, we doubt that it could absorb enough oil to really make a difference on your skin. To be fair, we haven’t actually tested it so we can’t say for sure. Have any of our loyal Beauty Brainiacs used OC8? If so, what do YOU think?