Review and Comparison of functional wrinkle treatment creams: The History of Whoo, Sulwhasoo, Isa Knox and IOPE

December is a good time to look back on new products that I got to experiment with this year and how they all worked out for me. Today I'd like to talk about a few of highly functional skincare products that target deep wrinkles that I've been using throughout this year: The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential cream (also known as Jinyulhyang Wrinkle Essential cream), Sulwhasoo Microdeep Intensive Filling cream, Isa Knox X2D2 Wrinkle A440 multi filler, and IOPE Age Corrector 2000.

I have very visible nasolabial folds (smile lines) and forehead wrinkles (frown lines), and while I'm perfectly aware that Botox and fillers would be a standard, universally acceptable way of dealing with them, I'd rather stick with milder, non-invasive solutions for now. I've heard horror stories about people with autoimmune diseases becoming allergic to filler material and suffering for a long while until their fillers wear off, and lately my allergies seem to be multiplying; I'm just not ready to risk it. I know that creams and serums will never give me the same results as fillers, but I guess it's yet another limitation that I have to accept and learn to live with. I've been researching face yoga and acupuncture recently, and it seems that both are helpful as a non-surgical ways of dealing with deep expression wrinkles; I haven't tried them yet, so this review will be for the creams only without any additional therapeutic interventions. As always, this post is not sponsored in any way, shape or form; I purchased all products myself and all opinions are my own. Also, please keep in mind that I'll be talking about my personal experience with those products, so YMMV.

I got The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential cream last Christmas as a present for myself; I had somewhat limited experience with The History of Whoo products back then, since they seem to cater for dry skin mostly, and I wanted to see if I'm missing something. There aren't many reviews for The History of Whoo products; for some reason not so many bloggers seem to be interested in them. The History of Whoo is one of prestige hanbang plant-based K-beauty brands that can drive you crazy with their product descriptions; they prefer to talk about balance of energies and secret herb complexes rather than post a good old ingredient list. Despite that, most of their products that I've got to try seemed to work. Back then the only The History of Whoo products that I've tried were from their Seol whitening line; most bloggers mentioned that it's the only line that is appropriate for oily skin. I'm sure they meant well and tried to be helpful, and I'm not going to pick up a fight with anyone; but in my experience (and again, YMMV) not all oil-based formulations are bad for oily skin, quite the opposite. I've been slowly trying out various balmy, heavy, oil-based products this year (including a few from The History of Whoo), and some of them worked miracles on my oily and sensitive skin, so go figure.

The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential

Wrinkle Essential cream comes with 8 patches; you can also buy them separately in a pack of 16 when you run out. I'm not going to concentrate on them, since most of my experience was with the cream itself. The cream comes in a rather small tube, but a little goes a long way, so you'll get to use it for a long while after you're done with patches. I was using patches twice a week along with the cream, and they did have seem to add a little extra effect, but with a couple whiteheads after each application. Perhaps they were meant to be used for special occasions only, since the cream is fairly effective by itself; I'm not sure. I didn't notice much long-term difference on days when I was using patches, they just seemed to add to immediate cosmetic results, while adding to skin congestion. I might be wrong on that though, it's hard to decide how efficient a product is after using it a handful of times.

The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential PR info - main ingredients

You can find Wrinkle Essential cream almost everywhere now, from eBay, Amazon and Jolse, where it sells for around $120, to YesStyle and W2Beauty, where it sells for around $150 and $180 respectively. I never saw any gift sets with this cream. The official website describes it as "anti-wrinkle ointment which treats deep wrinkles induced by the exhaustion of female hormone (). They don't bother posting the ingredient list online, and I don't think I had it in English anywhere on the packaging or in booklet it came with; all i have is this PR picture with all kinds of plants that were used in this cream. Unfortunately, there is no Cosdna entry for it, and i wasn't able to find a full ingredients list online for this post.

The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential spreads easily and covers flaws in skin texture very well

You're supposed to use Wrinkle Essential cream almost at the end of your routine, after serums/ampoules/lotion, but before your moisturizer and sunscreen (see picture above with recommended order of application according to The History of Whoo). It has heavy, balmy texture and it must have quite a lot of dimethicone in it, since it was the most efficient wrinkle filler among all four creams I'll be talking about in this post. But it was more than just a filler; I had permanent results after using it, not just temporary visual improvements similar to primers. I was using it on deep wrinkles and under eyes in the mornings only, and I've noticed a slight improvements in less than a week; unfortunately, I've noticed new milia under my eyes as well. I stopped using it anywhere close to my eye area, and I managed for a week or two, but then my pores started getting too clogged again. I'm double cleansing every evening, and while I was using this cream I was using peeling gels every day, still it was not enough to deal with whiteheads and clogged pores. I've a feeling my skin is not only extremely milia-prone, but also hates dimethicone. As a last-ditch effort I tried using the cream every other day; I was still getting some results, but not as good as with everyday use, and I was still struggling with clogged pores. I had to stop using it completely.

It was rather sad that such an efficient cream did not work out for me; I ended up giving it to my friend with dry skin, and she's loving it. I was so impressed with the results I had after such a short period of using this cream, that I decided to continue trying different wrinkle treatments.

The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential cream - recommended order of application

After The History of Whoo fiasco I've stumbled on Isa Knox X2D2 Wrinkle A440 multi filler that one of my favorite eBay sellers happened to have in their inventory. Isa Knox is Korean skincare brand that belongs to LG, and X2D2 line is one of its bestsellers. A few years ago X2D2 Wrinkle A440 cream was 3rd in customer evaluation of wrinkle-improving functional cosmetics currently on the market, beating many well-known products, such as SK-II Stem Power cream (here). I'm not sure why, but Isa Knox is not very well known outside of Korea, and I hardly ever see it mentioned on AB reddit; English-language AB bloggers seem to ignore it as well. As a result, it's not easy to find, but I saw it in various stores in Koreatown in Queens, and online you can find it on eBay, YesStyle and Gmarket. I was given Isa Knox X2D2 eye cream some years ago, and I remember it as one of the most efficient eye creams that I've ever used; I had great results after using it, but unfortunately, it also gave me milia as well, so I never finished it. The filler seemed to be a newer product, so my curiosity got the best of me even though I had a suspicion that X2D2 line might be too heavy for oily skin.

Isa Knox X2D2 Wrinkle A440 multi filler (straight swatch on the bottom, spread out slightly on top)

Isa Knox X2D2 Wrinkle Multi Filler PR info

According to the company's website, the whole Wrinkle Focus line contains "anti-aging ingredients Juvinity ™ by ISA KNOX and the famous French Sederma Institute jointly developed, inspired by the Nobel Prize scientific research, can play a protective role in DNA, delay cell aging; ISA KNOX many products contain Juvinity ™ ingredients, so that you more beautiful than yesterday" (here). My skin always reacted well to peptides, so it seemed like a good match.

X2D2 Wrinkle A440 multi filler is lighter in texture than Wrinkle Essential, but it ended up giving me milia and congested skin as well. I don't remember it having any noticeable smell. Unlike Wrinkle Essential cream, Wrinkle Multi filler should be used as a last step of skincare on the wrinkle areas only after the X2D2 cream. It was very moisturizing, and initially it gave me modest results after using it both am and pm for a couple weeks; then I started having skin issues and switched to using in only once a day. At the end, just like with Wrinkle Essential, I had to give it up. I think it's worth checking it out if you can find it; it was a nice and effective cream, and while it was a bit too heavy for my oily skin, someone with dry or normal skin might enjoy it.

IOPE Age Corrector (strait swatch on the bottom, spread out on top)

IOPE Age corrector 2500 was the next cream I've tried after getting my clogged pores under control. I think it's a new product; I haven't seen any reviews for it yet, but their Urban Aging corrector was mentioned favorably by a couple of bloggers, so I thought I should give it a try.Unfortunately, IOPE's official international website hasn't been updated since 2014 (here), so the newer products are not listed there. It's being marketed as "an anti-aging serum product for under-eye and wrinkles, that will strengthen the collagen springs and control facial wrinkles.A new anti-aging ingredient ‘R.2500 ™’ to promote the formation of core collagen springs and suppress decomposition.It improves wrinkles caused by aging, and makes skin smooth and taut. A 100% natural plant-derived elastic component of oleanolic acid extracted from ‘Suldam’ hydrates and gives elasticity to wrinkle-affected areas. The ‘Step melting formula’, a highly nutritious and highly moisturizing formula, replenishes skin layers and moisturizes". It sells for around $60 on Amazon, W2Beauty has it for $82, but I got lucky and found it for under $50 on eBay from one of my favorite Korean sellers.

 

IOPE Age Corrector 2500 application suggestions

It has a decent ingredients list (cosdna here); I was a bit concerned about squalane and palm butter being high on the list, but the cream does not feel that heavy. Even though R.2500, the star ingredient of this cream, is a new form of retinoid, I was not able to find any retinoids on ingredients list. According to IOPE's application suggestions, it should be used all over my face and neck, not just on specific areas. You're supposed to use it after serum/ampoule step in your evening routine, unlike The History of Whoo and Isa Knox creams, but since it's lighter in texture than both of them, it feels appropriate to use it before heavier products. It gave me no milia and/or clogged pores, and I did not notice any other adverse reactions; but I cant say I've noticed any improvements after using it for a couple months, even though I'm supposed to see "noticeable results in 6 weeks", according to IOPE's PR spiel. It was very good at moisturizing my skin, but it did nothing for my deep wrinkles; being an oily skin girl, I don't have much wrinkles anywhere else on my face, so I can't say how effective it can be against regular, smaller wrinkles...

Overall, I did not dislike this cream, but I think that something must've been lost in translation, and this cream was marketed for the wrong audience; it feels like it's more appropriate for a person with dry to normal skin in 20-35 age bracket, who might be concerned with wrinkle prevention and perhaps trying some non-prescription retinoids, than for someone with already existing deep wrinkles. Just don't purchase it as a wrinkle filler, and you might actually like the results.

Sulwhasoo Microdeep Intensive Filling cream (strait swatch on the left, spread out on the right)

I was about to give up on wrinkle fillers when I come across Sulwhasoo Microdeep Intensive Filling cream. I've no idea how I missed it before, since it sells literally almost everywhere - from Amazon to Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, to eBay and many online K-beauty sellers, for $195 (watch out for sales!). Like Wrinkle Essential cream, it comes with patches for the smile lines; they have nice and short ingredient list with PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil being the worst offender (cosdna here), but I had a bad reaction to them and had to stop using them. My skin can tolerate only a minuscule amounts of honey (I'm severely allergic to honey and bee products), so my guess is the patches had to much of it for me. The cream, however, caused no such effect, despite having honey on ingredient list as well (cosdna); I suppose it has less of it than patches.

Like IOPE Age Corrector cream, Sulwhasoo Microdeep Intensive Filling cream has retinol in it; still, it's recommended for both day and night use (official website here). I'm not entirely sure what's the logic of it, since retinol has known photo-sensitizing effects. Personally I've used it in my am routine without any issues, but my skin seems to tolerate retinol just fine, unlike many other ingredients; if you're more sensitive to retinol than me, you might want to use the cream in nighttime only.

 

Sulwhasoo claims that "in 15 days 99% of testers reported visible improvements in smile lines and after 30 days of use 86% reported younger looking skin from peers and 96% reported more supple and soft skin". I'm not sure how they actually measured the improvements, or was it just a subjective reporting on part of testers; personally, I started noticing long-term improvements in smile lines after 5 or 6 weeks of use, and it was a very mild improvement. However, the cream did work for me, albeit much slower than Sulwhasoo had promised, and as it gave me no milia and no skin congestion, I can continue using it for as long as I'd like to, adding to initial results bit by bit over time.

Microdeep Intensive Filling cream has much lighter texture than Wrinkle Essential cream; it's actually closer to emulsion than to regular cream texture. Sulwhasoo does not specify on that step of my skincare routine I should be using it, so I decided to follow my usual order by texture (light - heavier - heaviest) and to use it after essences and before an emulsion. It absorbs very fast and I've noticed no pilling no matter what else I'll be using on top of it. It works much slower than Wrinkle Essential, and it does not give me that immediate cosmetic effect, but I'm quite content with it. It's been a few months since I started using it, and I'm still noticing small improvements; I'm ok with getting my results in small increments as long as I can continue using the cream without any issues.

TL;DR

The History of Whoo Wrinkle Essential cream worked like a charm for me, I've noticed results almost immediately; unfortunately, it was too heavy for my oily skin, and it gave me milia and skin congestion. I would recommend it for someone with dry or combo dry/normal skin. It's rather expensive so try to swatch it in a store or if you're shopping in Koreatown, you can try asking a seller for testers if you have a history of milia or if you're worried it might be too heavy for you as well.

Isa Knox X2D2 Wrinkle A440 multi filler worked slower than Wrinkle Essential, but it also worked; it was a bit lighter in texture, but it gave me milia and skin congestion as well. That's another nice and effective cream that is way too heavy for my skin; it should be fine for dry and normal skin.

IOPE Age corrector 2500 turned out to be not a wrinkle treatment filler kind of product, but a general anti-wrinkle retinol-based night-time treatment. It wasn't what I was looking for, but I would recommend it to anyone who is either looking for something to deal with first signs of aging, like first wrinkles, or just trying out various non-prescription retinoids in their pm routine.

Sulwhasoo Microdeep Intensive Filling cream was my favorite of the bunch; it was light enough for my oily skin, but powerful enough to give me decent results. It has lightest texture of all creams mentioned in this post, so I think anyone can use it.