Bring the salon home

SkinQ

Safety concerns have seen most beauty lovers ditching the salon to experiment with home-based routines. To take this experience a step further, SkinQ, a dermatologist-backed platform that focuses on formulations intended for Indian skin, has introduced a set of at-home facial kits. Depending on your skin type and concerns, you can choose between kits intended for acne control or ageing skin. There's also a kit that offers a hydration boost and one that promises a tan removal for a glowing complexion. We took the latter for a spin.

Hassle-free application

The kit has five components which take a total of 45 minutes to apply. The first step is with the micellar water, which is used for cleansing. Next is an actives-based exfoliator, which contains glycolic and lactic acids - the active ingredients used are mild but effective, even for sensitive skin types. As the instructions advise, we then move to a quick five-minute massage, which progresses quite smoothly thanks to the detailed instructions and the luxuriant shea butter and cocoa butter-based massage cream, which we think is well-suited for the dry weather at this time of the year. We follow this up with a hydrating and brightening pre-mask serum, which contains licorice, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid. The final step is a DIY sheet mask, which we prepare by mixing up the powder formula with a little water.

Our verdict

The kit's simple packaging and clear instructions make it easy to use. The attractive price point - the kit costs R750 and will last you several applications - makes it a much more pocket-friendly counterpart to salon treatments. By the end of the facial, we found that our skin felt smoother and looked visibly brighter and refreshed.

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