I slathered a $120 acid on my face every single morning for 30 days. No days off. No excuses.
My skin barrier didn’t fall off — but it did throw a tiny tantrum around day 12 that made me rethink everything.
It’s a 2-in-1 serum-meets-peel from Ourself that claims to resurface and strengthen your barrier simultaneously. The promise is that you can use it daily without wrecking your face — which sounded like a dare, honestly.
Daily Formula
Meant to replace your morning acid — you’re not layering this on top of your usual peel.
Barrier Support
Has a patented complex that’s supposed to *prevent* irritation, not just fix it after.
Texture Hack
It’s a milky serum, not a watery toner — so it doubles as your first hydration step.
Photo: Masum Rahimi / Unsplash
This isn’t a one-trick pony. It blends a classic resurfacing acid with a bunch of barrier-loving molecules that feel like they were formulated by someone who’s actually burned their face off before.
- Glycolic Acid: Sloughs off dead skin so your face reflects light instead of absorbing it
- Lactic Acid: Hydrates while it exfoliates — the gentler sibling
- Niacinamide: Calms redness and patches up your barrier overnight
- Squalane: Makes the whole thing slippery so you don’t have to tug at your skin
Photo: Element5 Digital / Unsplash
It glides on like a thin lotion and absorbs in about 20 seconds — no sticky film, no pilling under moisturizer. The first week, my face felt like a freshly peeled grape. Smooth, shiny, a little too smug.
Day 12 hit me with a dry patch on my chin that no amount of moisturizer could fix. I backed off for two days, and when I came back, it was fine. The unexpected part? My makeup looked better on day 25 than day 5. The glow is cumulative, not instant.
Photo: freestocks / Unsplash
My dark spots faded by maybe 40%. My pores look smaller — but that’s just them not being clogged. My skin stopped flaking in the winter air, which shocked me. The fine lines I was worried about? Same as before. This is not a facelift in a bottle.
Photo: Sonia Roselli / Unsplash
It’s the rare peel that respects your skin while it works. I’d buy it again — but only for the colder months when my skin needs the extra hand-holding.