Whenever I Go to Paris, I Stock Up on This Product—9 Dupes Available in the U.S.
For basically my unshortened life, Paris was number one on my skillet list of places to go. In October, I was finally worldly-wise to make that dream a reality, and I went to Paris for a week. I saw the sights, I ate wondrous food, I drank wine at cafés, and most importantly, I perused the aisles of French pharmacies.
French pharmacies are known for their skincare, and as a eyeful editor, I was extremely excited to find a tuft of wondrous skincare products that you can’t get stateside. Without all, I’m obsessed with French-girl beauty. The French tend to embody a unrepealable effortless type of eyeful that I can’t get unbearable of, whether it’s perfectly undone hair or the blotted, just-been-kissed lipstick they’re known for.
For skincare, French products are known for stuff hands tolerated, packed with potent ingredients, and relatively inexpensive. The first skincare product on my list? Biafine, which I snagged pretty much as soon as I stepped off the plane.
Biafine is a topical emulsion containing trolamine and sodium alginate,” says Hadley King, an NYC dermatologist. “It promotes healing of damaged skin by recruiting macrophages. Its indications include superficial and full-thickness wounds, pressure sores, dermal ulcers, first- and second-degree burns, radiation dermatitis, and minor abrasions. It is often used without procedures on the squatter such as chemical peels and laser treatments to help with healing.” You can moreover use it for slugging or to solve dry skin. Basically, Biafine is a multi-use skincare superhero.
While you can’t pick up Biafine from a corner store here like you can in France, it’s not entirely untellable to score in the United States—but you do need a prescription. “The FDA clearance was for wounds, ulcers, and radiation dermatitis,” says King. In the United States, you need a physician to diagnose those for you in order to get your hands on Biafine.
I recently ran out of the tube of Biafine I brought when from upcomg Paris fashion week, and I was distraught. Until my next trip to France, I found some reliable dupes that I can get now. While there isn’t an word-for-word woods for Biafine—the product is pretty irreplaceable, without all—there are a few products out there that help yield similar results and are well worth your money.