A Wren Says

I tried Good Genes from Sunday Riley, a clean beauty, woman-founded/owned brand. I had seen the brand around and heard of people swearing by it, so I figured why not give it a try myself. The product I used was Good Genes, a lactic acid treatment. It is a chemical exfoliant that should help with dark marks and hyperpigmentation and plump fine lines by resurfacing the skin.

I used it the way they recommended for all skin types. To cleanse, I was using either the Fresh Soy Cleanser or the Tata Harper Nourishing Oil Cleanser, depending on what I happened to feel like that day. Then straight after I patted my face dry, I went in with the serum. I don’t have a regular moisturizer right now. Because I didn’t want to throw off this test by trying a brand new to my skin product, I just followed it up with some oils I have already used before. I alternated between the Indie Lee Squalane Facial Oil and the Biossance Rose + Vitamin C Squalane Oil.

My personal experience:

Day 1- I had an erupting breakout so I was concerned it was bad choice to choose that day to try it. But I did anyway

Day 2- Okay, my breakout actually seemed to have calmed. I think this is great for my skin.

“I think my skin is mostly fine. It hasn’t been too dry, except my forehead. I’ll given an update when I finish the tube. “

And then after day 3 things took a turn. I started noticing more breakouts and hyperpigmentation on my chin. And it looked bad.

My notes: Helped calm acne, afraid it would irritate, but it did the opposite. I am on day 7 right now. The very first day I used it, I had a large pimple that I thought would be irritated by the product. Instead, it seemed to calm down faster. Then on day 7, I will say that I had a few, okay a lot, more pimples erupt around my chin and jawline during the week. They are calming down now. I don’t know if I was already going to get those, if the product caused it, or what. 

I was hoping to finish the bottle to give a full review, but I gave myself permission to stop after 10 days. I admit after aa couple of weeks I was still trying to get my skin to calm back down.

The experience made me wonder a few things. Would I do better just leaving it on for a few minutes and then rinsing it off? I can say, now a couple of months later, I have used it like mask for a couple of days. They were not back-to-back days, and really it was only on long enough for me to brush and floss my teeth. I then rinsed it off. That seems to be going okay. I am not sure if I will try to use it for a full 15 minutes yet. If I do, it would probably be just once a week.

The second thing I am wondering is, “Why did I have this issue?” I don’t believe I have sensitive skin, other than the spots that have been rubbed by my mask. But I wonder if I just have to be careful with chemical exfoliants and my skin. More specifically lactic acid. I previously tried the Osea Ocean cleanser, another lactic acid product, a few yeas ago and had the same experience. A few great days and then chaos. (You’re probably questioning why I tried this product then. Just know that I am, too. Somehow, I thought things would be different.)

My thoughts are that potentially, my dry skin though not sensitive per se; it simply can’t handle all of the exfoliation so often. The Osea cleanser was targeted towards normal and combo skin, but Sunday Riley makes it seem like their product if good for everyone. I am also trying to figure out how often exactly you should use chemical exfoliants. There is not information on the site that you shouldn’t use the product daily, but maybe that was the issue.

Would I recommend? With hesitation. I suggest first reaching out to the brand (or a skincare professional) for more details on how they recommend incorporating it into your routine. Do this especially if you have dry or sensitive skin, or have had bad experiences with other chemical exfoliating products. If I were to do this again, I would start slowly, instead of slathering it on a leaving it. Also, please not that lactic acid has the potential to sensitize your skin to the sun. I will say that I have been vigilant about applying sunscreen everyday. If you aren’t, know that you could be setting yourself for accelerated skin aging as a result of the product.

Here are some other posts I’ve written that you just might like:

My most recent posts:

• For you
• If everyone else did it
• More on Youber, from Uber
• Uber, did anyone want this?
• A fashion field trip