Drought Free: Dotfree Collagen Resilience Oil in Balm Cream Review

I was one day into my resolved no-buy (March and April) when I came across the Collagen Resilience Oil in Balm Cream by Dotfree in Make Asobi in LA’s Little Tokyo. Several minutes of rationalizing later, I was handing over my credit card. (I think I still get a pat on the back for leaving with only this. Er, although I get a kick in the face for how I did during the rest of my no-buy.)

The marketing is a little confusing. It purports to be a 5-in-1 cream: serum, milky lotion, moisturizing oil, cream, and moisturizing mask. Directions are to apply a pearl-sized amount after cleansing.  And then the website refers to it as a moisturizing essence. Talk about leaning in!

Well whatever, I like to use it as an occlusive moisturizer, ideally to seal in serums, hydrating mists, and oils that have been applied first.

The tube is tiny (1.41 oz. or 40g) and boasts 3,000 mg of collagen. I don’t know, is that considered a good amount of collagen? Although the first few ingredients aren’t that special, it does have three forms of collagen (hydrolyzed, atelocollagen, and soluble), 14 oils, vitamin C (ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate), honey, and plant and plankton extracts.

It dispenses as a thick blob of balm, like a firmer Vaseline. I use 1 to 1.5 peas’ worth for my entire face, dabbing it all over and then massaging it into the skin. During the day, I concentrate this around my eyes and around my nose and mouth (where I’m still prone to a little flaking from using tretinoin). (Hm, it’s like a daytime sleeping mask…an awaking mask?)

The texture is very smooth, more balm than oil. The balm feels comforting and soothing with good slip, not stiff or waxy. As it melts, it stays balmy (would have been cool if it melted into an oil, but alas). Skin is left feeling smooth with a subtle sheen; not at all shiny or heavy feeling like Vaseline.

Although this does moisturize, it’s not a miracle worker. For my dry skin at least, it’s not moisturizing enough used alone. It’s quite like an oil in that sense, which I can’t use alone either and which works better to seal in and amplify prior layers of hydration. On super dry days, I can still end up with fine lines around my eyes by the evening. However, the skin around my eyes is smoother and plumper with it than without, so I would repurchase. I only wish I’d discovered this earlier this year, when winter was in full blast!

Pros: Only a little is needed each time. Seals in previous layers of skincare. Moisturizes, smooths, and soothes skin.

Cons: Not moisturizing enough on its own.