I customised a serum for my skin and, wow, it’s life-changing

 When it comes to feeding your skin, you need two things: the right nutrients, at the right time. The Skin Identity Check quickly reassesses your skin’s unique condition so you know what it needs – finding my customised serum starts with this three-minute quiz.

The brand’s motto is: “Custom beauty for every you”, and they’re the world’s first skin supplement bar, with one million skin profiles in their database. The quiz is an online diagnostic tool that marries data with technology, using the database to determine the best serum for you. It’s beauty, hacked.

I answer questions about my age, skincare concerns and lifestyle habits – because good skin goes beyond genetics. Skin Inc says that 80 per cent of your skin condition is caused by lifestyle factors, not your genes. So if you can protect your skin against lifestyle factors such as a lack of exercise or sleep, a poor diet and stress, then you are on your way to beautiful skin.

The website then recommends the My Daily Dose® Custom Blended Serum to address my skin concerns optimally. Every three-serum cocktail is mixed from Skin Inc’s stable of 10 serums – a whopping 120 possible permutations for any skin need.

Mine comprises Vitamin A to improve skin tone and reduce the look of dark circles , Vitamin B3+ (niacinamide, panthenol and hyaluronic acid) to manage troubled skin and reduce redness), and Vitamin C (paired with vitamins B6 and E) to reduce the appearance of pores and balance oil production.

Just so you know how carefully Skin Inc has conceptualised and created its serums, here’s what the others are and how each helps your skin.

• Collagen: For skin elasticity and suppleness
• Coenzyme Q10: To firm and lift
• Chlorella: To brighten dull, uneven skin
• Hyaluronic Acid: For long-lasting hydration
• French Pine Bark: To protect against environmental stressors, and reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles
• Ceramide: To strengthen the skin barrier, and soothe dehydrated, sensitised skin
• Licorice: To calm irritated, sensitised skin

I add the serum to cart and throw in a coloured 30ml bottle to house it. I pick Saffron (out of seven colours available) to represent my positive and lively energy. The My Daily Dose® bundle of serum and bottle costs $169.

All I need to do is combine the serums and give the bottle a light shake to mix the encapsulated ingredients, and I am now on my way to getting a radiant and dewy glow.

Let’s talk about encapsulation and why it’s such revolutionary tech. After all, tech is tech, right? Not for Skin Inc. Aside from using well-researched, results-driven active ingredients in its formulas, the brand says a product’s ultimate success depends on whether those very ingredients can get to, and work on, the skin.

Each serum includes the brand’s Proprietary Encapsulation Technology. That means the active ingredients are encased within caviar-like capsules that keep them fresh and potent, so they don’t break down and oxidise from light exposure.

Active ingredients are volatile, and combining them may destabilise a formula. Take vitamin A and C, for instance. Both are notoriously unstable but encapsulation protects each ingredient. The technology means that Skin Inc’s serums are 100 times more effective than non-encapsulated serums.

This helps your skin in two ways: First, the different active ingredients in your customised serum can be mixed together in one bottle effortlessly, without any impact on the efficacy of each one. Second, the capsules remain intact until they burst upon contact with skin, releasing and delivering the fresh actives when and where they’re needed.

Skin Inc also uses a higher concentration of active ingredients. This is the key to great skin and the brand has put every effort into making this happen in its products.

I used the My Daily Dose® Custom Blended Serum for two weeks, morning and night, applying three to five drops each time. Right from the first application, my skin felt more hydrated and softer, thanks to the serum’s humectant-rich glycerin base.

One week in, my skin looked brighter and I noticed fewer clogged pores, especially along my jawline. My pimples seemed to heal faster too (I’ve suffered from acne for 10 years). I love the serum’s anti-pimple effect so much that I even use it as a spot treatment for a forehead zit. Major surprise (and love) here: the pimple not only did not become inflamed, as it usually does, it subsided after a few days of this tender-serum-care.

The Vitamin B3 worked wonders. It helped regulate excess oil production, which I’ve been experiencing more of, working from home in a non-air-conditioned room. The vitamin is known for its anti-inflammatory properties, and after a few days of using the serum, I could see that my sensitive skin was less red.

At the same time, Vitamins A and C helped brighten my skin tone while erasing the dull, sallow appearance my complexion was taking on (this WFH situation!). My skin also felt more hydrated, thanks to the formula’s moisture magnet, glycerin.

But my biggest skin woe is enlarged pores, and this is where my personal Custom Blended Serum proved a star. The use of Vitamins B3+ and C not only helped refine my skin, it also helped clear clogged pores to minimise their large appearance.

If you have sensitive skin like I do, then Skin Inc’s My Daily Dose® Custom Blended Serums are perfect as they’re paraben- and fragrance-free. I usually have a mini flare-up – sometimes even a full-on breakout, when using new products, but this didn’t happen at all.

To make the My Daily Dose® Custom Blended Serum work even more effectively, I paired it with Skin Inc’s Optimizer Voyage Tri-Light++. The handheld device inspired by NASA technology makes the perfect home self-care LED facial.

It uses ultrasonic vibration and different lights – red, blue, yellow, orange and purple – to tackle various skin issues. So depending on my skin that day, I might use the red light for skin repair, blue to soothe inflamed skin, or purple, a combination of the two. Skin Inc says that using the Tri-Light++ helps increase the absorption of skincare by 300 per cent.

Skin Inc knows that skin is evolving all the time, from day to day, month to month, and with lifestyle changes, the weather, hormones, or simply, age. And since skin is ever-changing, what works for you today, might not be what you need months down the road.

That’s why, when I go back for my next bottle, I’ll be doing a new Skin Identity Check, to see how my skin might have changed, and if I need to switch up my customised serum for other ingredients. It’s also a useful tool to go back to whenever you feel your existing serum isn’t reflecting your skin’s current needs.

I love this beauty on demand concept. Rather than being one-size-fits-all, it’s one-size-fits-me. I get to choose how to care for my skin based on its needs. After two weeks, I can see how My Daily Dose® Custom Blended Serum has charged up my skin – and that’s because I’m giving it the right combo of active ingredients. I’d recommend a customised serum to anyone looking for a glow up.

Remember too, that less is more. Multi-function products like Skin Inc’s customised serums save you time and money. You get glowy, moisturised skin in fewer steps, with fewer products. After all, isn’t that what we all want for our skin?