This Cult Nordic Skincare Brand Has Just Launched A Cleansing Line

It’s the brand Karl Lagerfeld calls one of his favourites.

Specifically, EGF Serum by Icelandic skincare brand BIOEFFECT has been praised by the CHANEL Creative Director himself as one of his personal beauty must-haves. But, what exactly is EGF? And, what of BIOEFFECT?

Well, make yourself a cup of tea and settle in because it’s time to get schooled on a little thing called EGF—the next frontier in anti-ageing and an acronym worth reading up on. Here we go…

EGF (which stands for Epidermal Growth Factor) came to the beauty market by way of modern medicine. A polypeptide (or molecular chain of amino acids) developed to speed wound recovery, EGF stimulates skin growth deep at the cellular level. EGF’s success as a healing agent (success is a bit of an understatement actually; scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for this breakthrough) has led many in the beauty industry to parlay its powers in anti-ageing products.

In other words, EGF is said to activate cellular regeneration, which as we all know slows as we age. So basically it compensates for where nature might be getting a little lax on us, by grinding the ageing process to a halt, evening your skin tone, and just boosting your overall skin health.

[responsive imageid=’29265′ size1=’0′ size2=’641′ size3=’1024′][/responsive]

Enter the front runner: BIOEFFECT. The Nordic brand is based entirely around EGF but allow me to preface with this: BIOEFFECT is not your average skincare company. In fact, true story, the brand didn’t even set out to become one. The discovery of EGF inspired three Icelandic scientists to develop a method of bio-engineering a plant-based replica of EGF, a naturally occurring human protein, in barley. The barley seeds are planted in volcanic pumice and grown inside of carbon emissions-free greenhouse. The barley, with its naturally-occurring EGF, is then harvested by hand, purified and placed into the aforementioned, EGF Serum.

After several months of testing said serum, and even travelling to its place of origin in Iceland, this beauty editor can confidently vouch EGF Serum is a skin serum worth the investment ($195). And, here’s why… The fragrance-free serum is compromised of just 7 (yes, seven) ingredients (others usually have over 40 ingredients, many of which are synthetic) and comes in a 15ml vial. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that good things can come in small packages and this particular face serum has no scent, no irritation and a little goes a long way. It leaves skin smooth, hydrated and radiant without unnecessary chemicals, additives, stabilisers, parabens, or preservatives.

Ideal for anyone who wants to prevent ageing or even reverse some of the aging that has occurred on their face. Best applied at night after cleansing, this serum is so deeply moisturising that it even overthrows the following step of a face cream. Yep, you read right. Nada. Apply 2-4 drops, go straight to bed and wake up to plump, glowing skin. Really.

While Lagerfeld’s beloved EGF Serum is a cult product in Northern Europe (over 30 per cent of Icelandic women swear by it), it’s the launch of the brand’s new cleansing line, which consists of a micellar cleansing water and face mist, that join the existing volcanic exfoliator – which has this skin care aficionado really excited.

[responsive imageid=’29264′ size1=’0′ size2=’641′ size3=’1024′][/responsive]

[responsive imageid=’29271′ size1=’0′ size2=’641′ size3=’1024′][/responsive]

BIOEFFECT’s Micellar Cleansing Water dissolves dirt and makeup like other micellar waters (tiny balls of cleansing oil molecules or ‘micelles’ work like magnets attracting impurities without drying out the skin) only unlike other micellar formulas, this one contains something different: pure, soft, Icelandic water. The natural resource is both sustainable and purified as it is geologically filters through layers of inert volcanic lava over time resulting in pristine water. In a nut shell, it’s this process that makes it ideal for all skin types especially sensitive.

[responsive imageid=’29269′ size1=’0′ size2=’641′ size3=’1024′][/responsive]