medik8 firewall

Our Rating: 5 stars

Reviewed by Marta on January 26, 2015

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It has been a few years since I first got to know Medik8 Firewall ($145 in the shop), and ever since, it has been one of the most utterly reliable anti-aging products that I can recommend with impunity for those concerned with sagging skin and wrinkles. Not for nothing, it is one of our top bestsellers. Medik8 just recently revised the formula, and I have been testing it for more than a month to see if the new version lives up to the old one. It does — and then some.

I’ll cut to the chase because I know that burning question is whether new Medik8 Firewall works better than the old one. My main observation is that new Firewall shows results a little faster. I am not talking about an overnight miracle, but I did start to see improvements on my forehead lines after about 10 days. Now five weeks in, I feel that those lines (and for me they are toughies) are considerably smoother — both to the eye and touch.

Medik8 Firewall is also a very good skin firmer, and I am particularly pleased by more supple cheeks. It is proving a great “pick-me-up” for the sagging pouches that appear at the sides of my mouth. This along with ultrasound treatments are (thankfully) still keeping any thoughts of fillers at bay.

So what are formula’s highlights? Well, Medik8 has upped the concentration of copper peptides quite considerably. Copper is the key mineral in lysyl oxidase, an enzyme that weaves together collagen and elastin, and there is a mountain of research on how topical applications of copper heal wounds. Also given a boost are the other key actives, superoxide dismutase, an antioxidant that overpowers the damaging reactions of superoxide and protects the cell from superoxide (the most common free radical in the body) toxicity, and the peptide combo known as Matrixyl 3000.

Other heavy-hitters include niacinamide, a form of vitamin B, vitamin E, aminobutyric acid (which is supposed to act as a relaxant and is responsible for muscle tone and can improve skin barrier recovery), plus some botanical extracts in the form of purslane, green tea and panax ginseng.

Firewall is still packaged in a dual chamber bottle that keeps the actives separate until the moment of application. The idea is to pump each cylinder on to the back of the hand, mix up the white and blue serums and then apply. It might sound a bit fiddly, but it isn’t really.

Medik8 is no less heavy-handed with its use of silicones, which is a pity. On the plus side, it has dumped a couple of offending preservatives — although, it must be noted the formula still contains phenoxyethanol and sodium benzoate.