Zyderma
Clinical skincare for compromised and reactive skin. A short range built around micronized silver, aimed at breakouts and sensitivity at the same time.
What Zyderma is, and what it is not
Zyderma is a short line for compromised and reactive skin, and micronized silver is the thread running through it. The Clarifying Cream is described by its maker as combining skin nurturing ingredients with micronized silver to support the skin’s healthy appearance while cleansing it of environmental microorganisms, and it is positioned for daily use on sensitive skin. The Foam Cleanser is the same idea in a wash-off format for oily and breakout-prone skin.
It is not a complete regimen and we will not pretend otherwise. There is no sunscreen here and no antioxidant serum. If Zyderma is what suits your skin, you will still need an SPF from elsewhere in the shop, and probably a moisturiser too.
The Zyderma range
Three products: a cleanser, a cream and a cleansing sponge.
What we use it for
The awkward middle ground: skin that is breaking out and is also too reactive to tolerate a standard acne routine. Most of the acne products in this shop lean on salicylic acid, and for some people that is more than the barrier will take. Zyderma is the alternative we reach for there.
The Clarifying Cream has one property worth knowing about if you are considering it, because its own description makes a point of it: the finish is almost imperceptible and it works as a makeup primer. That matters more than it sounds to anybody who has abandoned a treatment cream because of how it sat under foundation.
The Konjac Facial Sponge with Tourmaline is the third item, hand made from konjac powder with an infusion of tourmaline powder. It is a gentle daily cleansing and exfoliating tool rather than a product with actives in it, so it belongs with the cleansers rather than with the treatments.
How it compares with the other lines here
Narrower and gentler. AlumierMD and ZO Skin Health both offer full routines with retinol, acids and antioxidants; Zyderma offers three products and nothing of that kind. That is the point of it rather than a shortcoming, and it is why it suits a barrier that is already struggling.
Ask us first, if
Your acne is inflammatory or cystic. A cream is not the answer to that, and our peels page is direct that acne rarely responds to one treatment in isolation. That page also describes the Clear Skin Start program, which combines in-clinic treatment with a plan you follow at home, and it says plainly that some acne needs a prescriber first.
You are already using an active cleanser or exfoliating pads. Adding a fourth cleansing step is the most common way a reactive face gets worse rather than better.